Nets Notes: Pelle, Shamet, Irving, Drummond
Center Norvel Pelle played just 17 minutes before fouling out Saturday in his first game with the Nets, but he showed how he can help the team as a rim protector, writes Alex Schiffer of The Athletic. Pelle, who had to wait through a seven-day quarantine after signing last week, blocked three shots during his short stint. Coach Steve Nash expects better things once Pelle works through conditioning issues.
“He’s out of shape a little bit for NBA standards,” Nash said. “You could see him out there. I was proud of him for fighting through, trying to get his legs and his lungs going. He obviously has some instincts blocking shots, which is I think his reputation and why we looked at him. I was proud of the way he conducted himself and worked hard.”
Iman Shumpert, the Nets’ other free agent addition, didn’t play at all Saturday, and Nash isn’t sure when he’ll make his debut. He also had to quarantine and won’t participate in his first practice with the team until Monday.
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- Landry Shamet seems to have rediscovered his shot and could be a valuable scoring option off the bench, Schiffer adds in the same story. He’s averaging 12 PPG and shooting 40% from 3-point range in his last five games. “Just change a few things mentally, stay solid, simplify,” Shamet said of breaking out of a slump. “It’s not the end of the world. It’s basketball. It’s just knowing what I’m capable of and knowing that I’m doing everything I’m supposed to be doing, working hard, taking care of my body, doing everything I’m supposed to be doing. It’s mostly mental.”
- Kyrie Irving‘s sprained finger isn’t expected to be a long-term concern, according to Greg Joyce of The New York Post. Irving missed Saturday’s game and is being considered day-to-day. “(Irving) genuinely has a swollen finger and took a knock to it (Friday),” Nash said. “So hopefully it’s day-to-day. I think everybody’s proceeding as it is.”
- ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is the latest media figure to comment on the possibility of the Nets acquiring Cavaliers center Andre Drummond after a buyout. On Friday’s pre-game show, Wojnarowski said Drummond might be willing to take a buyout if the Cavs don’t trade him by the March 25 deadline. He suggests the Nets could offer Cleveland Spencer Dinwiddie, who is out for the season with an ACL injury, but other teams are also interested in the 27-year-old guard.
Kyrie Irving To Miss Game Due To Right Finger Sprain
Nets point guard Kyrie Irving will not play in Saturday’s contest against the Sixers in Philadelphia due to a right index finger sprain, the team announced in its injury report.
Irving played in the Nets’ 123-117 loss at home to the Raptors on Friday, notching 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists in 39 minutes. It was Irving’s first game scoring fewer than 20 points since January 25.
Ever since returning from an extended mercurial absence in early January, Irving has played well for the Nets. In total, Irving is averaging a career-high 27.5 PPG along with 5.7 APG and 4.8 RPG in 16 games.
Additionally, Brooklyn listed Kevin Durant as questionable for Saturday’s game despite a report he could miss multiple games and that he would not travel to the team to Philadelphia. Durant is undergoing health and safety protocols after a person he was around returned a positive COVID-19 test.
Atlantic Notes: Irving, Jersey Swaps, Sixers, Len
It hasn’t been a smooth transition since the Nets formed their Big Three, but Kyrie Irving remains confident that the group will eventually work, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Brooklyn is 3-2 since James Harden joined the team, including a pair of losses this week in Cleveland.
“Don’t trip. It’s a long journey,” Irving posted on Instagram. “We will be on that stage. The stage where the best of the best meet. … You know. The main stage. Where those who can, do. And those who cannot talk about those that are doing. If you rolling with us, great. Let’s rock. If you’re not, you know you wanna talk about our greatness anyway.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- As promised, the NBA is cracking down on post-game interactions between players to minimize COVID-19 risks, notes Liz Roscher of Yahoo. Irving and Miami’s Bam Adebayo were interrupted by a security guard Saturday night as they attempted to exchange jerseys. “I’ll give Kyrie the jersey on my own time,” Adebayo told reporters.
- Sixers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons are committed to getting the most out of their partnership, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. They are interacting more off the court and trying to mesh their talents together on a Philadelphia team that has the East’s best record at 12-5. “We both see different things, so now for me and Jo, I think the relationship continues to grow,” Simmons said. “We talk a lot more now in terms of being on the floor and certain things we say. Knowing where he wants the ball, all the sets, and just flying, getting into the flow of the game, and just trying to read it the right way.”
- After waiving Alex Len on Tuesday, the Raptors have a financial incentive to hope he stays with the Wizards, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN. If Len remains on Washington’s roster past February 24, which is the last day to release players before their contracts become fully guaranteed, Toronto will receive a $126,029 offset on his $2.258M salary, which is still on the Raptors’ books.
Atlantic Notes: Nets Big Three, Tatum, Curry, TD Garden
Nets general manager Sean Marks is hopeful that the team will be able to extend Brooklyn’s new Big Three of forward Kevin Durant and guards James Harden and Kyrie Irving, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. The three stars, all of whom can become free agents in 2022, will not be eligible to ink contract extensions until the new league year commences in August.
“We’re definitely committed to these guys,” Marks said in a local radio interview on WFAN. “We’ll continue to build with this group, and we’ll just see where it goes. But hopefully it’s a lot longer than a year-and-a-half.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Though Celtics All-Star small forward Jayson Tatum remains closer to an on-court return for Boston, he will remain unavailable for at least Friday’s tilt with the Sixers, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. Tatum has not played for Boston since the team’s 116-107 win over the Wizards on January 8.
- Sixers starting shooting guard Seth Curry has seen his health status upgraded to probable ahead of Philadelphia’s Friday game against the Celtics, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Curry has not played since injuring his right ankle in a 122-109 January 6 defeat to the Nets. Since then, he tested positive for COVID-19, but has since cleared league protocols and now is working on his conditioning ahead of a return.
- The Celtics have inked a 15-year extension on their current lease with their home arena, TD Garden, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. The contract will keep Boston home games located at TD Garden through the 2035/36 season.
Kyrie Irving Practices With Nets, Expected To Play Wednesday
Nets guard Kyrie Irving, who hasn’t appeared in a game since January 5, returned to practice on Tuesday and is expected to be back in action on Wednesday when Brooklyn takes on the Cavaliers, head coach Steve Nash told reporters today (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
Irving was required to quarantine for several days after violating the NBA’s health and safety protocols, and more recently has been going through workouts in an effort to get his conditioning level back to 100%. Before that, he had been away from the team on personal leave.
Asked today about his absence, the star point guard declined to go into much detail, telling the media – including Malika Andrews of ESPN (Twitter link) – that he’s had “a lot of family and personal stuff” going on during the last two weeks.
“I’m happy to be back, I’m happy to be with these guys,” Irving said, per Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). “I addressed the team and ready to move on.”
Irving also apologized to the fans he disappointed by not playing, explaining that he “just needed a pause,” according to Andrews (Twitter link). He added that he’s excited about joining the Nets’ new-look lineup alongside James Harden, and is looking forward to letting his “game speak for itself.”
Assuming Irving returns to the court on Wednesday, it’ll be the first time we see Brooklyn’s new Big Three (Irving, Harden, and Kevin Durant) in action, as well as the first time Kyrie has played a game in Cleveland since October 17, 2017, as Marc Stein of The New York Times notes (Twitter link). A longtime Cavalier, Irving played in his first game for the Celtics on that date over three years ago.
Nets Notes: Harden, Durant, Kyrie, Allen, Prince
The superstar duo of James Harden and Kevin Durant has looked terrific in Harden’s first two games with the Nets, wins over Orlando and Milwaukee.
Durant has averaged 36.0 PPG in those two victories, while Harden has contributed 33.0 PPG, 13.0 APG, and 9.0 RPG. Their 138 combined points are the highest total since 1961 for any two teammates in their first two games with a franchise, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.
Harden and Durant, of course, played together with the Thunder earlier in their respective NBA careers, and Nets coaches and management have said they’d lean on the two stars’ previous chemistry in the early going this season. As Andrews details, Harden believes the increased maturity level of the two former MVPs has helped them quickly reestablish that chemistry.
“We were young in Oklahoma City,” Harden said. “We are grown men now. We know what we want. We really know the game of basketball now. We are not those young guys that want to run around and just shoot and dunk all day. And then for me, I sit back and I know what player Kevin Durant is. He’s one of the best players to ever touch a basketball.”
While Durant said the Nets still have “room to improve,” he told reporters after Monday’s game that incorporating Harden into the lineup has been “pretty seamless,” per Andrews.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Head coach Steve Nash said that Kyrie Irving will “hopefully” be available to return to the Nets’ lineup on Wednesday against Cleveland, tweets Andrews. Irving is back with the team and has been cleared from COVID-19 protocols, but is still ramping up his conditioning. “What you want to see is him to get some time in his legs so he’s more able to adapt back to playing,” Nash said.
- Asked on Monday if they would have pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Harden to Brooklyn if they were running the Nets, both Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince admitted they would have, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Look at what happened with the Lakers, they did the same thing,” Allen said, referring to the Lakers’ 2019 acquisition of Anthony Davis. “The next year they went and got their ring. So take myself out of it, I’d love to stay in Brooklyn, but I understand in the opportunity like that you have to go do it.”
- Both Allen and Prince also said on Monday that while they understand the business side of the NBA, that understanding didn’t necessarily make it easier to be traded. “It was definitely rough on me,” Allen said, according to Lewis. “Even though you say it’s the business of basketball, it never makes it easier. But it’s the business and I had to move on.”
- In case you missed it on Monday, we relayed a report indicating that the Nets shopped Landry Shamet in an effort to avoid including Allen in the Harden blockbuster. We also passed along a series of NBA franchise valuations that estimate the Nets’ worth to be $3.4 billion, fourth-highest in the league.
Kyrie Irving Remains Out For Monday’s Game
JANUARY 18: The Nets have listed Irving as out for Monday’s game. The point guard continues to ramp up his conditioning following his absence and seems likely to return for Brooklyn’s next contest on Wednesday, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).
JANUARY 17: Nets star Kyrie Irving has been upgraded to questionable for Monday’s marquee game against the Bucks on TNT, Malika Andrews of ESPN tweets.
Irving has missed the team’s last six games due to personal reasons and the league’s health and safety protocols. Should the 28-year-old become available for Monday, it could be the first time he, James Harden and Kevin Durant share the floor since last week’s massive multi-team trade was finalized.
Harden and Durant combined for 74 points in the team’s win over Orlando on Saturday without Irving, shooting an impressive 24-for-44 from the floor.
“We didn’t even have 11 (Kyrie Irving) tonight. Scary hours wow!!!” Harden wrote on social media postgame.
Brooklyn (8-6) has one of the league’s most formidable offensive rosters, while Milwaukee (9-4) is known for having one of the top defenses. Both clubs will have plenty of time to develop their chemistry as the season progresses.
Irving, a six-time All-Star, was recently fined $50K for violating the league’s COVID-19 protocols. The violation also cost him in excess of $800K in salary.
Nets Notes: Harden, Irving, Claxton, Roster Spot
The four-team deal that brought James Harden to Brooklyn is now official, and Nets coach Steve Nash put him in the starting lineup right away, writes Malika Andrews of ESPN. Harden hasn’t been able to practice with his new team, but he was on the court for today’s game against the Magic.
“I think everyone’s excited,” Nash said. “We welcome one of the best players in the game to our team, so the mood is great. This is a moving target that we have to try to incorporate him as we go here and learn on the fly, adapt and try to jell.”
Nash doesn’t expect much of a learning curve for Harden, who is among the most gifted offensive players in the league. Harden won’t be on a minutes restriction, but Nash plans a “see as we go” philosophy on how much to play him.
“(He is) more or less a full go,” Nash added. “But we don’t want to run the batteries down on our new Christmas present this early.”
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- Completion of the deal means the Nets’ new Big Three is almost together. Kyrie Irving is missing another game today due to health and safety protocols, Andrews tweets, and his return may be a few days away. Nash wants Irving to go through a few workouts before returning to the lineup (Twitter link).
- Nicolas Claxton could be ready next month, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. The second-year center has been sidelined with tendinopathy in his right knee. “I think Nic is probably closer to the midseason break than he is to now,” Nash said. “Sometime in February for sure. But no setbacks, just working through it.” (Twitter link)
- An article on NetsDaily examines some of the options for filling the team’s three open roster spots. The Nets expect to have point guards Jeremiah Martin and Elie Okobo on the roster of their G League affiliate in Long Island, and both have NBA experience. Shooting guard Kaiser Gates and center Tariq Owens, a pair of G League veterans, are two other possibilities. Some other names to consider are Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford, who both signed with Brooklyn before the summer restart, along with Andre Roberson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Dewayne Dedmon.
Nets Notes: Harden, Irving, Open Roster Spots
James Harden has completed his physical with the Nets, but wasn’t able to participate in today’s practice, a team spokesperson tells ESPN’s Malika Andrews (Twitter link). As Andrews explains, every player involved in this week’s blockbuster trade must complete their physicals before Harden can participate in any on-court activity for his new team.
Speaking to reporters today, Nets head coach Steve Nash expressed optimism that Harden will be available to make his Brooklyn debut against Orlando on Saturday night, tweets Howard Beck of Sports Illustrated.
As for Kyrie Irving, the NBA announced today that the star guard is on track to clear a five-day quarantine tomorrow, and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported (via Twitter) that he’s expected to play on Saturday. However, Nash didn’t seem certain about that, telling reporters today that he hasn’t been updated on Irving’s timeline (Twitter link via ESPN’s Rachel Nichols).
Here’s more on the Nets:
- General manager Sean Marks said on Thursday that the Nets were “disappointed” by Irving’s absence, as Joe Vardon of The Athletic notes. Meanwhile, Wojnarowski said during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up (video link) that Irving will have to explain to the team “what’s transpired here in the last week” (hat tip to RealGM).
- The Nets have three open spots on their 15-man roster following their acquisition of Harden and will have to fill at least two of them soon. Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype takes a look at a few veteran free agents who could be fits for Brooklyn.
- As Sopan Deb writes for The New York Times, there are some questions about how the Nets’ new Big Three will fit together, given how ball-dominant Harden, Irving, and Kevin Durant are. Nash said today that he thinks Harden and Irving can both comfortably play off the ball, while acknowledging that the three superstars will have to make the necessary adjustments to make it work (Twitter link via Ian Begley of SNY.tv).
Kyrie Irving Fined, Loses Game Checks For Violating COVID-19 Protocols
Nets star Kyrie Irving has been fined $50K for violating the NBA’s protocols related to the coronavirus, the league announced today in a press release.
According to the announcement, the violation occurred when Irving attended a private indoor party last weekend. Presumably, this was the event – believed to be a family birthday party – captured on the video that surfaced online earlier this week. The league’s protocols prohibit players from attending indoor social gatherings of 15 or more people and from entering bars, lounges, or clubs.
While $50K isn’t a substantial loss for a player earning $33.46MM this season, the NBA also announced that Irving has been subject to a five-day quarantine period this week for his protocol violation, making him eligible to rejoin the Nets on Saturday, assuming he doesn’t record a positive COVID-19 test. He’ll forfeit salary for the games he missed during that quarantine period, according to the league.
Since the Nets’ Tuesday and Wednesday games happened during his quarantine period, Irving will be docked two game checks, Shams Charania of The Athletic confirms (Twitter link). As recently reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link), each game missed due to a COVID-19 protocol violation costs a player 1/81.6th of his salary.
In Irving’s case, the result is about $410K per game in forfeited salary. Taking into account his fine and the two games he missed this week, Irving’s violation will cost him a total of approximately $870K.
Prior to this protocol violation, Irving had been away from the Nets for personal reasons, but it sounds like his leave is coming to an end. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Irving is expected to play for Brooklyn on Saturday as long as he’s cleared.