For me, Cameron Johnson is right up there. Johnson transferred to UNC – from Pitt – ahead of the 2017-2018 campaign, North Carolina never won a title in Johnson’s two years, but he made a lasting impact.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19 in a 116-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Johnson scored a season-best 34 points. He shot an unconscious 6-of-12 from the perimeter, made 11-of-20 shots overall and all six of his free throw attemps.
Johnson wasn’t just contributing on the score sheet. He showcased his versatility as a well-rounded contributor, adding five rebounds, four assists. two blocks and a steal.
Brooklyn isn’t playing great basketball, sitting 6-9 not even a quarter through the NBA season, but it’s currently seeded ninth in a weak Eastern Conference.
Johnson is 49th in the entire NBA with 18.1 points per game, which ranks second on the Nets behind Cam Thomas. With Brooklyn thought to be early sellers, Johnson might not be in Brooklyn much longer – though he’s a great, young talented player to build a franchise around.
North Carolina only had Johnson for the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons, but like I alluded to earlier, Johnson made an immediate impact from Day One.
He started 56 of his 62 games as a Tar Heel, averaging 15 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Johnson earned First Team All-ACC Honors after 2019 ended, when UNC lost to Auburn in the Sweet 16.
Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.
The 2024-25 NBA season has gotten underway, which means it’s time to watch Notre Dame’s two representatives. Neither player has exactly had a glowing start though.
[autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] began his 10th NBA season by scoring nine points and grabbing four rebounds in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Oct. 23 season opening-win over the Philadelphia 76ers. He followed that up by shooting a combined 2 of 10 from the field in losses to the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets. He’s averaging 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds a game in this young season.
[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] now is in his third season with the San Antonio Spurs. He tipped off his campaign with six points and two assists while losing to the Dallas Mavericks in the Oct. 24 season opener. He had a single field goal and two more assists in six minutes during an Oct. 26 victory over the Houston Rockets.
Wesley is averaging a mere 4.0 points and 0.5 rebounds a game over two contests, but he has the Spurs’ second-highest plus/minus through two games. Granted, that came entirely during the Mavericks game, but still:
Here’s to decent seasons from both Connaughton and Wesley.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
The Brooklyn Nets have finally decided to fully embrace a rebuild, starting by trading away Mikal Bridges and reclaiming control over their next two drafts. This strategic shift gives the franchise the flexibility to chart a new course. The big …
The Brooklyn Nets have finally decided to fully embrace a rebuild, starting by trading away Mikal Bridges and reclaiming control over their next two drafts. This strategic shift gives the franchise the flexibility to chart a new course. The big question now is whether Brooklyn will also look to move other key players like Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dennis Schroeder, who all have potential trade value. Even Nic Claxton, fresh off his offseason re-signing, could become a trade asset when he’s eligible to be moved this season (which is January 15, 2025).
While expectations are low for the Nets, the departure of Bridges opens the door for a new star to take center stage. Cam Thomas, who averaged 22.5 points per game last season, will now have an even larger role, solidifying his rising trajectory. The 22-year-old guard is emerging as a key building block for the team’s future or a valuable trade asset. Meanwhile, Schroeder, coming off a stellar performance in the 2024 Paris Olympics, will run the offense at point guard. Nic Claxton’s new long-term deal provides some stability in the paint for Brooklyn.
Despite this foundation, the Nets seem poised to tank in hopes of landing a top prospect, potentially someone like Cooper Flagg, as they fully commit to a long-term rebuild.
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Have feedback for the Layup Lines Crew? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey. Now, here’s Prince J. Grimes.
What’s going on, y’all. Welcome back to Layup Lines. I apologize for using such an old meme reference in the headline to get you here, but it is kinda fitting considering we were probably using that meme the last time Ben Simmons was good.
OK. That was mean. But hear me out.
In the three years since his last All-Star season in 2020-21, Simmons has played a grand total of 57 games. Some of that is due to injuries, some of it is because he never fully recovered from what happened against the Atlanta Hawks. Whatever the reasons, it’s been a long time since we’ve had enough evidence to believe he can be a good NBA player again.
Unless, of course, you’re into those offseason workout videos athletes love to post of themselves working on things they never actually do in games. Then, believers of the Brooklyn Nets forward have the most promising evidence yet of his impending bounce-back after four years of trying.
Simmons has been in the gym with renowned trainer Chris Brickley, and the results look about as good as you could expect for someone with good editing and no defense in front of him.
I hope I’m wrong. I would love to see Simmons be good again. He’s only 28. And Brickley is really selling it, responding to another skeptic on X by saying Simmons “is better now than his All Star seasons.”
That’s saying a lot.
Thanks bro but Ben is healthy, moving very well, he is better now than his All Star seasons. I’ve never co-signed a player that didn’t prove it when their season started. Trust me on this one. https://t.co/B2r0Z0UKtX
At the same time, the problems with Simmons have been just as much about his physical breaking down as his mental. Back issues limited him to just 15 games last season. It’s the third straight year he’s been sidelined by back problems. Brickley can’t fix that.
That’s before we get to his shaken confidence. Though he averaged a career-high 11.9 rebounds per 36 minutes in those 15 games last season, and his 8.6 assists per 36 minutes were the second-best of his career, he was clearly a more tentative offensive player. Yes, he shot a career-high 58% from the field, but it was on a career-low 7.4 attempts per game — a number that’s dipped each year he’s played.
Even if he somehow gets over that mental hurdle, how much have the injuries and time away from the floor impacted his mobility and defensive abilities?
I don’t know the answer to any of that, but I know this video doesn’t bring me any closer to knowing either. So, I’ll just wait to see Simmons in a real game before I believe he’s back. You probably should too.
Adrian Wojnarowski retires
The Vertical
You’ve surely heard by now, but ESPN NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski announced his retirement this morning.
Our guy Mike Sykes contextualized the news about as well as anyone could in today’s The Morning Win: It’s the end of an era.
“Of course, I’m happy for him. He’s worked hard and has earned the right to enjoy the fruits of his labor.
But at the same time, Woj was one of the defining characters of the NBA basketball era I loved the most. His reporting shaped the zeitgeist. He didn’t just break news stories – he changed how the league was covered. Nobody scooped things the way he scooped things.
For so long, in the early aughts going into the 2010s, following Woj on Twitter was like being an NBA insider yourself. The platform was still young — everyone in real life wasn’t on it. But Woj used the platform as a news-breaking forum, so you’d have the scoop before all your friends did. It was almost like you were breaking the news yourself.
It’s not hyperbole to say that the NBA doesn’t become the league it currently is without the work Woj did covering it. He’s an essential character in the league’s story over the last decade and change in the same way an NBA superstar would be.”
Shaquille O’Neal recently went viral for comments he made about Rudy Gobert and Ben Simmons, and he is already doubling down on it.
During a conversation with Complex Sports, the hoops legend was asked who he felt was the worst NBA player of all time. O’Neal immediately said it was Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert.
He added that Ben Simmons, who like O’Neal played college basketball for LSU, is “another bum” as well. According to O’Neal, guys like Gobert and Simmons are ruining the pay scale for other players and he doesn’t “respect” guys like that.
“It’s also personal motivation. So now Rudy and Ben: Show me what you got. See, like, people don’t understand the things I’m saying no on TV, it’s the same things I said to my players as a leader. Young man … you’re getting paid $20 million, you ain’t doing nothing. Step your game up. The outsiders that what we know, they’re like ‘oh, he’s hating.’ No, I’m not hating. I’m telling you the truth. And if you don’t like the truth, that’s something you got to deal with. So now, it’s out there. It’s viral. So show me what you’re going to do, Rudy and Ben. Shut me up.”
Gobert responded to these comments from O’Neal, adding that he is “sad to see” O’Neal was “triggered by another man’s finances” despite all of Shaq’s personal accomplishments on and off the court.
But based on O’Neal’s comments to Salmon, it seems obvious that Shaq is simply trying to motivate Gobert to strive for greatness so that he be the best version of himself.
Ziaire Williams, the Brooklyn Nets’ newly acquired wing, has shown glimpses of his potential as he navigates his early years in the NBA. Standing at 6-foot-9, Williams’ combination of length, versatility, and athleticism positions him as a …
Ziaire Williams, the Brooklyn Nets’ newly acquired wing, has shown glimpses of his potential as he navigates his early years in the NBA. Standing at 6-foot-9, Williams’ combination of length, versatility, and athleticism positions him as a prospective piece that could become key for the Nets’ rebuilding efforts.
Williams began his career with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he appeared in 150 games through three seasons averaging 7.5 points and 2.6 rebounds. His best season was his rookie campaign, when Williams averaged 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 62 games in 2021-22.
In a chat with HoopsHype, on behalf of Herbalife, Williams opened up about his NBA journey, sharing how he’s focused on leveling up his game and looking forward to a fresh start in Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas knows that his role will be even bigger after the Mikal Bridges trade, but he seems to be ready for it.
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has been seeing his role change drastically from the 2022-23 season with the superstar era and last season with a team in need of scoring. After the Nets traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks last summer, Thomas is set up for an even bigger role heading into the 2024-25 campaign.
“Just knowing that and embracing it. Attacking it head-on. I’ve kind of been having those roles [as the leader of the team] ever since I was in high school and college,” Thomas said when asked about his role after the Mikal Bridges trade recently in an interview with Curtis Rowser III of SLAM magazine. Last season with the first time in Thomas’ three seasons that he had a consistent role in the starting lineup and he thrived as a result.
“So, I’m not really worried about it,” Thomas said. “I’m just excited to get it going and to try to do it in the League. I’m not really worried about it at all; I’m just ready.”
Thomas went from averaging 10.6 points and 1.4 assists per game during the 2022-23 season to dropping 22.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest while shooting 44.2% from the field and 36.4% from three-point land. After leading the Nets in scoring last season, Thomas will be expected to do that and more for a rebuilding Brooklyn team that will have even less established production.
Thomas previously spoke on how the offseason has been going for him and how he has been working to improve his skill set so that he can be even more effective. From the comments that he made about embracing his leadership role, Thomas sounds like he’s ready to be the best player for a Nets team that has always hoped that he could fill that kind of role.
The Brooklyn Nets are getting a lower grade for trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks during the 2022-23 season for good reasons.
The Brooklyn Nets began their process of entering a rebuild during the 2022-23 season when they traded Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks. Though Brooklyn only ended up trading Irving because the two sides could not come to terms on a contract extension, it seems that the trade doesn’t look as good more than one year later.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report’s NBA staff in which they re-graded some of the biggest trades in the league over the past five years, the Nets did not come out as good for the Irving. In fact, compared to the grade they received when the Irving trade initially happened, it seems that Brooklyn is receiving a significant downgrade for the deal.
When B/R first gave their grade of the Irving trade, the Nets received an A+ due to their return of guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick, and second-round picks in 2027 and 2029 in exchange for Irving and forward Markieff Morris. However, with the re-grade, the Nets are now getting just a B for the deal.
This makes sense given that most around the NBA agreed with the Nets trading Irving away given that he was mostly unavailable for Brooklyn due to injuries and extracurricular activities that happened during his tenure.
Where this grade ends up changing for both sides is that Irving ended up re-signing with the Mavericks following the 2022-23 season and played a huge role in Dallas getting to the NBA Finals for the 2023-24 season before losing to the Boston Celtics in five games.
With Dinwiddie no longer with the Nets and Finney-Smith most likely playing for another team at some point during this upcoming season, there is still time for the grade to improve depending on the return. So far, Brooklyn was able to use Dinwiddie to acquire Dennis Schroder from the Toronto Raptors last season and could use Finney-Smith to get one first-round pick and possibly a young player as well.
Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton did not receive a vote to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award for next season by ESPN.
Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton will be coming into the 2024-25 season with a new contract and with a different coaching staff that wants to get the best out of him. While Claxton has stated plenty of times over the past few years that his defensive prowess is underrated by the rest of the NBA, it seems that his voice remains unheard.
ESPN recently put out an article where their NBA experts made their picks for which players should win certain end-of-season awards such as the Defensive Player of the Year award. When it was time for the experts to put their votes together for the award, Claxton did not receive a single vote for the accolade.
This shouldn’t be surprising for the simple fact that the Nets are not expected to be very good next season now that the franchise is going through the rebuilding process after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks. With Brooklyn projected to win around 20 games next season, it’s clear that the NBA public as a whole is out on the Nets being competitive and for good reason.
Ever since the 2022-23 season when Claxton’s name was first generating buzz for his play on the defensive end in support of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Claxton hasn’t been able to get the benefit of the doubt from the voting public. That isn’t sure to change unless Brooklyn is better than expected, but Claxton will still look to be the best version of himself either way.
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas recently did an interview with Curtis Rowser III of SLAM magazine to discuss his offseason and skill work.
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is heading into an important season for his career as he is eligible for an extension this summer and will be a free-agent next offseason if the extension doesn’t happen before then. Now that Thomas is essentially destined for another starring offensive role, he recently talked about what he is doing this offseason to prepare.
“It’s been good. Just laying low, resetting, getting ready for next season. It’s been real good,” Thomas said in an interview with Curtis Rowser III of SLAM magazine about how the offseason has been going for him so far. Thomas will be one of the most interesting players on the Nets this season given what is expected of him for this upcoming season.
“I usually try to go with a clean slate because you never know,” Thomas said about how he approaches every offseason. “Stuff changes from year to year, like coaches, schemes, etc. This summer was probably the longest I took off—about two or three weeks. Then I got right back to it.”
What makes Thomas so interesting to the Nets fanbase and media is because of how his career has changed along with how the organization has changed over the years. Thomas went from having an inconsistent role in the rotation during the superstar era of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving to now having full rein of the offense for a rebuilding franchise that needs him to be a scorer and playmaker.
Thomas knows that his main contribution to the Nets will be what he does with his scoring, as evidenced by his 22.5 points per game last season that led the team despite having to share the scoring responsibilities with players like Mikal Bridges and Dennis Schroder. He had this to say about how he approaches that reality:
“I just want to keep working on everything. Last summer, I tried to put more emphasis on catch-and-shoot shooting, and I think I was way up in the League percentage-wise on catch-and-shoot [this past season]. So, just continue to work on that and fine-tuning the skills I had coming into the League, like my off-the-dribble stuff and finishing around the basket, [while] still improving on catch-and-shoot, trying to have the best percentage in the League.”
