Tag: Brooklyn Nets

Nets’ Cam Thomas is looking forward to being a leader this season

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is set to be the primary scorer for a rebuilding Nets team, but he is also looking forward to being a leader.

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas is slated for an important role for the 2024-25 season as he will most likely be the lead scorer for the rebuilding franchise. After last season in which he put his name on the map by scoring 22.5 points per game, Thomas is looking to expand his game beyond the tangible.

“Just being more of a leader. I’m really honing in on that and starting early with that,” Thomas said last month to Erik Slater of ClutchPoints when asked about what’s the next step for him. Thomas rose to being one of Brooklyn’s best players last season despite not having a stable role in the rotation until the second half of the season.

“I kind of did it towards the second half of last year because it’s something I wanted to try as the year went on,” Thomas explained. “I’m gonna try to start this year off focusing on that because, honestly, I am [a leader]. I think I’m the second-longest tenured guy on the team, so I am one of the leaders on the team. So I’m definitely trying to hone in on that.”

Heading into this upcoming season, Thomas will be the primary scorer on the team especially after the Nets traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks last month for as many as five first-round picks and three players.

There are still plenty of veterans from last season remaining on the roster, but regardless of what other trades happen between now and the beginning of the season, Thomas is ready to be everything that is required of a team’s best player.

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Could the Nets have swapped Kyrie Irving for Mavericks’ Jalen Brunson?

The Brooklyn Nets could have been able to swap Kyrie Irving for Jalen Brunson before trading Irving to the Dallas Mavericks?

The Brooklyn Nets are in the middle of their latest rebuild as they are looking to find their next superstar or two in the upcoming NBA Drafts. The hope is that Brooklyn can find a player that they can develop in-house, but there is one player that could have been with the franchise if certain events went differently.

ESPN’s Tim MacMahon recently went on the “Knicks Film School Podcast” with Jonathan Macri to discuss various topics related to the New York Knicks after everything that has happened this summer. One of the talking points that came up was whether the Nets could have gotten Knicks star Jalen Brunson in a trade for Kyrie Irving during the 2022-23 season with the Dallas Mavericks.

“The funny thing is, if Brunson signs that extension with Dallas, I think there is a high likelihood that he would be with the Brooklyn Nets right now,” MacMahon said. MacMahon is giving his opinion here, but it is interesting to hear these comments from him given that the Mavericks are part of his coverage for ESPN so it’s possible that there could be some chatter behind what he’s saying.

“Mark Cuban has always been about chasing stars,” MacMahon explained. But, I think there’s a decent chance that Jalen Brunson would have been moved to Brooklyn with Kyrie Irving still ending up in Dallas.” During the 2022-23 campaign, the Nets traded Irving to the Mavericks after the two sides were unable to come to terms on a contract extension and Brooklyn received Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith along with draft picks.

To add to this revisited moment, the Mavericks had the chance to offer Brunson a four-year, $55 million deal prior to when he broke out with the Mavericks during the 2021-22 season. As Brunson explained on the “All The Smoke” podcast with former NBA players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Dallas wanted to wait to give Brunson the extension and after that, it seemed that Brunson wanted to go elsewhere which is how he ended up signing with New York in free-agency the following summer.

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Suns troll Nets fans, Brooklyn residents during release of 2024-25 NBA schedule

The Brooklyn Nets finally saw their entire schedule for the 2024-25 NBA season, but the Phoenix Suns decided to troll them for their laughs.

The Brooklyn Nets can move forward knowing every matchup that they will be playing during the upcoming 2024-25 NBA season after the league released the full schedule on Thursday. With Brooklyn patiently awaiting the start of training camp and everything that follows, they may have some extra motivation from a Western Conference foe.

As is the case for most events in the NBA calendar, every team tries to partake in the event in a creative way, such as doing something cool that’s related to the release of the schedule. For a team like the Phoenix Suns, they decided to approach their schedule release by making sure that every team had a reason to get back at them in some way.

When it came time for the Suns to describe Brooklyn’s fanbase, they used a trope that is common for the Nets, especially since the team hasn’t been in Brooklyn for the franchise’s entire existence. In what is one of the most common memes to be used nowadays, the man (Brooklyn residents/fans) that is walking with his girlfriend (Nets) is looking back to look at the other girl (New York Knicks).

For anyone that is in a relationship, this is a big no-no, but it seems that enough people believe that Nets fans are always looking at the Knicks, especially with the franchise potentially on the brink of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals this upcoming season. Ultimately, all of this trolling is in the name of good fun and it brings an added element to one of the most exciting times of the offseason for NBA fans.

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Nets’ 2024-25 regular-season schedule overview; notable matchups

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full schedule for the 2024-25 regular season, including when Mikal Bridges is coming back to Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Nets have changed the direction of their franchise after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks this summer exchange for a ton of draft picks. After the release of the preseason schedule and the matchups for the Emirates NBA Cup, Brooklyn fans now don’t have to wait any longer to know the rest of the schedule.

As promised, the NBA released the schedule for all 30 NBA teams on Thursday and for the Nets, they will have one of the less eventful slates, but there’s still a lot to look forward to. For starters, the Nets will be opening their season on the road against Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

Brooklyn will be playing their home opener against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, Oct. 27 in a matchup that could have been the beginning of the end for the Nets last season. At this moment, the most important date on the calendar is when Bridges will make his return to Barclays Center after being traded to the Knicks.

Bridges makes his return to Brooklyn on Tuesday, Jan. 21 as the Knicks and Nets will face off for the third time this season when that matchup happens and it will be interesting to see how the fans welcome him back to Barclays Center. After having 11 national television games last season, the Nets will not play for a national TV audience once this upcoming season. (Correction: the Nets will play five games on National TV, three within the month of March.)

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Former Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris retires from NBA after 10 seasons

Former Brooklyn Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris is retiring from the NBA after 10 seasons, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

The Brooklyn Nets are currently in their latest rebuild attempt as they try to find their way back to NBA relevance with the hopes of the Draft answering their calls. One of the players that was a staple of the franchise in its journey from rebuilding team to title contender is hanging up his sneakers.

Per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium on Thursday, former Nets sharpshooter Joe Harris is retiring from the NBA after 10 seasons. Harris is going out on a sad note as he played in just 16 games for a Detroit Pistons team that was the worst in the league last season and could have used Harris’ shooting ability.

Harris is known for his time with Brooklyn as he spent seven of his 10 seasons with the organization and had his best years with the team through different iterations of the roster. After coming into the league as the 33rd pick (second round) of the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2014 NBA Draft, Harris spent two seasons with the franchise before signing with the Nets as a free-agent in the summer of 2016.

Harris was a solid contributor for the Nets as the team was looking to find its way following the franchise’s rebuilding attempt after moving on from general manager Billy King and players like Deron Williams and Joe Johnson. After Brooklyn signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the summer of 2019, Harris was still one of the more important players on the team as his three-point shooting was key to spacing the floor for the two superstars.

Harris retires from the NBA with career averages of 10.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 47.9% from the field and 43.6% from three-point land. Harris has made the most three-pointers (984) in Nets franchise history and is second three-point shooting percentage (44.0%).

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Nets full schedule to be released on Thursday at 3 PM ET

The Brooklyn Nets’ full schedule will be released on Thursday as part of the annual event for all 30 NBA teams, per the league on Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Nets are less than two months away from beginning training camp in preparation for the 2024-25 season in which they’ll begin the first year of their current rebuild. The NBA has not released the full schedule for the season yet, but Nets fans can rejoice in the fact that that will change soon.

On Tuesday, the NBA announced the schedule for the In-Season Tournament, officially called the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup, and that slate of games should be exciting for fans to see. However, in the league’s press release, it also mentioned that they will be releasing the full schedule for all 30 teams on Thursday.

The schedule will be released at 3 PM ET on ESPN’s NBA Today, similar to what happened on Tuesday when the NBA rolled out the schedule throughout the hour and talked about various important matchups. As of the writing of this article, the Nets know who they will be playing during the preseason and who they will facing off against as part of the NBA Cup.

Not much fundamentally changes with the release of the schedule, but this time of years gets NBA fans excited for when the season begins in late September. For Nets fans, Thursday will be the beginning of when they can plan out which games are winnable and which games will be part of the growing pains for their rebuilding Brooklyn franchise.

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Nets’ Ben Simmons has shorter wingspan than Liberty’s Breanna Stewart

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has great positional size, but he also has a shorter wingspan than New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.

Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has been unlucky with injuries over the past few seasons, but when he was with the Philadelphia 76ers, he was known as one of the better two-way players in the NBA. One of the main reasons for Simmons all-around ability is his great size for a point guard, but his wingspan is shorter that someone else who also plays in Brooklyn.

In a video posted on X, Overtime Maddy (social media manager for the Overtime League) plays a game with New York Liberty forward and reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart. The game is that Maddy gives her a list of NBA players and Stewart has to guess which one she has a longer or shorter wingspan than.

As some context for this challenge, keep in mind that Stewart is listed at 6-foot-4, but has a wingspan of 7-foot-1, meaning that she has some long arms, especially for her frame. When Simmons’ name came up, Stewart understandably hesitated given that he is listed at 6-foot-10 and already appears to have long arms when watching him play.

To Stewart’s surprise, Maddy told her that she was the one with the longer wingspan and for those familiar with Simmons from the NBA Draft process, the numbers bear out. Per Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of Draftexpress.com all the way back in 2016, the duo wrote the following for Simmons’ scouting report:

“In terms of talent, there is quite a bit to like in Simmons’ profile. He has ample size at 6’10, and a sturdy frame at around 240 pounds. While he does not possess great length, with a wingspan measured between 6’11 and 7’0, he is one of the most fluid and coordinated athletes you’ll find.”

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76ers’ Paul George names Nets’ Nic Claxton as dynamic NBA big man

Brooklyn Nets center Nic Claxton is considered a dynamic NBA big man by Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George that could unlock Trae Young.

The Brooklyn Nets are moving forward with their plan to rebuild around some of their younger players as they try to find their next group impact players in the NBA Draft. One of the players that Brooklyn has invest almost nine figures in this summer is being recognized for his ability to contribute on the floor.

Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George recently had Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young on “Podcast P with Paul George” and one of the topics discussed was how the Hawks could build around Young heading into the future. In the clip posted below, George mentions that what unlocks Young’s game is having a dynamic big man and the first name that comes out of his mouth is Nets center Nic Claxton.

“I think what unlocks your game so much is having a dynamic big… say you had like a Nic Claxton,” George said. While dynamic could have different meanings in terms of describing a basketball player, it seems that in this context, George means dynamic in terms of athleticism when he refers to Claxton.

“Dynamic roller, locks up, controls the paint, great screen-setter, you can just play shooters around you at that point,” George continued. To be clear, this conversation isn’t good George or Young suggesting that a trade happens so that Claxton and Young can play together, but it is notable that George’s first player that would be a good fit with Young is Claxton.

Heading into the upcoming 2024-25 season, Claxton will be coming in with some heightened expectations now that he is getting paid like the dynamic big man that George and others have dubbed him to be at this point of his career. Earlier this summer, the Nets re-signed Claxton to a four-year, $97 million contract, ranking him as the 12th highest-paid center in the NBA as of this writing.

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Is Nets’ Noah Clowney still a secret around the NBA?

After a 2023-24 campaign that saw Brooklyn Nets forward Noah Clowney show his promise to the fanbase, is he still a secret for this season?

The Brooklyn Nets added themselves to the list of teams that will be rebuilding next season in the hopes of getting their next superstar or two in the NBA Draft. As is commonplace with rebuilding franchises, Brooklyn will be taking a long look at their young players, one of which may not be much of a secret anymore.

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently wrote that the Nets’ best-kept secret is forward Noah Clowney, implying that he is set for a breakout season of sorts. While there is much unknown about this current roster outside of Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, and the host of veterans still on the team, Clowney may not exactly surprise people next season.

Obviously, Nets fans know how well Clowney played towards the end of the 2023-24 season as he showcased all of the abilities that made him a promising prospect coming off of Alabama. Due to the fact that Brooklyn was still trying to be a playoff team last season, Clowney did spend most of his time in the G League, but once he got his chance to play more, he took the opportunity and ran with it.

Clowney ended last season with averages of 5.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks per game while shooting 53.8% from the field and 36.4% from three-point range. However, in the Nets final 12 games of the season when the team was still in the play-in tournament hunt, but dealing with some injuries, Clowney put up 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game on 52.7/39.3/62.5 shooting splits.

To be fair, it’s safe to say that the average NBA fan is not familiar with Clowney or with what he did when given playing time last season as he wasn’t on a Rookie of the Year pace. However, assuming that Clowney gets more consistent playing time, he will make his name known around the league and could even become a household name.

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Could the Nets take a chance in trading for Cavaliers’ Dean Wade?

The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers have been linked in trade rumors throughout this offseason. Could Dean Wade be a Net next season?

The Brooklyn Nets have decided that they will find their next superstar in the Draft as they are embarking on their latest rebuild in the franchise’s history. At this point in the organization, Brooklyn is concerned with player development and finding diamonds in the rough, a description that one player could fit for them.

When Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report recently wrote that forward Dean Wade is the best kept secret for the Cleveland Cavaliers, NetsDaily pointed out that the Nets have inquired about him multiple times. Those reports have mostly come out from the media that covers Cleveland, specifically Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Fedor said on the “Wine and Gold” podcast earlier this year that “A source tells me that the Brooklyn Nets have expressed interest in Dean Wade in the past” when discussing Wade. Wade is one of the players that has come off the bench for the Cavaliers over the past few seasons, but with the team looking for more wing depth, it’s possible that Wade could be one of the players that sees himself out of the rotation or on a different team for next season.

With the Cavaliers reportedly having interest in Brooklyn forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, the Nets may find themselves in a position to get a player in Wade that could be one of those players that can shine in an elevated role. However, considering that the Nets and Cavaliers haven’t been able to come close to terms on a trade that would involve forward Isaac Okoro and Finney-Smith, it’s possible that Brooklyn doesn’t get Wade either.

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