Tag: Brooklyn Nets

Nets’ Jalen Wilson, Trendon Watford react to Steph Curry’s Team USA heroics

Brooklyn Nets forwards Jalen Wilson and Trendon Watford reacted to Steph Curry’s heroics in Team USA’s 98-87 win over France on Saturday.

The Brooklyn Nets are on vacation as they await the start of training camp and eventually, the start of the 2024-25 season for a rebuilding franchise. Even though Nets guard Dennis Schroder was unable to lead Germany to the bronze medal, some of his Brooklyn teammates tuned in to watch Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Team USA win the gold medal.

Team USA came into Saturday’s gold-medal game against France as double-double favorites and they met those expectations by beating Victor Wembanyama and company 98-87. The main reason that the United States was able to win the gold medal for the fifth consecutive Olympics was because of Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.

Curry went off for 24 points in the contest and while he did not make a shot inside the three-point line, he went 8-of-12 (66.7%) from deep, including some incredible shots to keep America in the game. As a testament of how well Curry played down the stretch of the game, he made eight three-pointers, the most for any player in the final of an Olympic tournament.

To be clear, Curry got plenty of help from his teammates as James put up 14 points and 10 assists while Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant dropped 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists. As many around the world were watching the gold medal game, so were some of the Nets and here are their reactions:

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Nets’ Dennis Schroder, Germany loses to Serbia 93-83 in bronze medal game

Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder and Germany lost to Nikola Jokic and Serbia on Saturday in the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medal game.

Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder and Germany came into the 2024 Paris Olympics with the goal of winning a gold medal for the second straight year after winning it at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. While Germany lost out on the chance to win the gold, they had their eyes set on the bronze medal.

Unfortunately for Schroder and Germany, they lost to Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic and Serbia 93-83 on Saturday in the bronze medal game. Germany trailed by as many as 19 points in the contest as Serbia poured it on in the third quarter thanks to the play of Jokic and Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Schroder put up 13 points, four rebounds, and six assists, but he also shot just 4-of-11 (36%) from the field and also turned the ball over six times thanks to Serbia’s pressure defense. Schroder got help from the usual players on his team as Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner put up 18 points and nine rebounds while Orlando Magic center Moritz Wagner dropped 16 points and four rebounds.

In the end, Jokic and company was too much to overcome as Jokic put up a triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists while Bogdanovic recorded 16 points and two rebounds. This was a game that became tense in the second half as Germany mounted its comeback, but they were unable to overcome their 19-point deficit.

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How have the Nets been affected by the NBA’s new CBA?

How has the Brooklyn Nets’ offseason been affected by the NBA’s new CBA and its restrictions on spending at certain levels? Here’s how.

The Brooklyn Nets have been looking for the best way to move forward as a franchise following the end of the Big 3 era during the 2022-23 season. After Brooklyn traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks last month, they had to figure out how to navigate the new CBA along with their direction at the same time.

In a recent article by Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report, he analyzed how every team was affected by the new CBA, most notably the brutal restrictions that affect teams in the first or second apron. For those wondering, in Pincus’ opinion, the Nets were marginally affected by the new salary cap rules and that holds true in comparison to other teams.

As of right now, the Nets are hard-capped at the first apron after trading Bridges to the Knicks because Brooklyn acquired guard Shake Milton via a sign-and-trade as part of the deal. As of this writing, the Nets are $5.2 million below the first apron so assuming that they do not add more salary than they send out, they will avoid paying the repeater tax after being one of the most expensive teams in the NBA from 2020-21 to 2022-23.

Considering what the Nets were able to get done this offseason, such as trading Bridges for as many as five first-round picks along with three players and re-signing center Nic Claxton to a four-year, $97 million deal, this summer has been great for them. More to the point, with plenty of veterans still on the roster, it’s likely that there will be more moves to come for a rebuilding Brooklyn franchise.

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Nets will not play on Christmas for 2024-25 season

The Brooklyn Nets will not play on Christmas during the 2024-25 season, according to a recent report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Brooklyn Nets are a little over one month away from beginning training camp in preparation for the 2024-25 season as the team seeks to have a productive rebuild. Brooklyn fans can be happy knowing that the team has already released its preseason schedule and now, more of the regular season schedule is being put out as well.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported on Thursday that the NBA has put together the slate of games to be played on Christmas for this upcoming season. While it comes as no surprise given the recent development of the franchise, the Nets will not be playing on Christmas this time around.

As almost every NBA fan knows, the league tries to schedule games on Christmas that should be exciting either because of how successful the teams are expected to be or due to the players participating in the contests. For example, an argument can be made that nine of the 10 teams slated to play on Christmas will either be in the playoffs or close to it by the time the season comes to a close.

For the one team that doesn’t fit this description (San Antonio Spurs), they have center Victor Wembanyama who is already one of the most popular players in the NBA already and is already considered a generational player despite the Spurs being in a rebuild of their own. The last time that the Nets played on Christmas was during the 2021-22 season when they beat the Los Angeles Lakers 122-115 when James Harden had a triple-double of 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists in the win.

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Nets’ Dennis Schroder, Germany to face Serbia in bronze medal game

Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder and Germany will be facing Serbia on Saturday in the 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medal game.

Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder and Germany had a chance to play for a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics when they faced France in the semifinals on Thursday. Despite Germany falling to France and losing the chance to play for gold, the Germans will still be able to play for a medal.

Germany lost to France 73-69 despite Schroder putting up 18 points and four assists and Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner dropping 10 points and eight rebounds. However, due to the loss, Germany was destined to play in the bronze medal game, which is still something to play for in the grand scheme of things in the Olympics.

Later on Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and the United States took on Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic and Serbia and managed to have one of the best finishes in recent memory. Despite leading by as many as 17 points in the contest, Jokic and company were unable to hold off the Americans as they got a 36-point masterpiece out of Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry.

With the conclusion of these two games, Germany and Serbia will be facing off in the third place game on Saturday with the chance of coming away with some hardware for their work thus far in Paris. Germany will have another tough test against a Serbia team that gave USA a run for their money on one of the biggest stages in the basketball world.

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Nets do not have a point guard that ranks in the top 30 in the NBA

In HoopsHype’s recent ranking of the top-30 point guards in the NBA, the Brooklyn Nets did not have a single player make the list.

The Brooklyn Nets are heading into their latest rebuild as they look to acquire their next superstar through the next few drafts thanks to their cache of first-round picks. As Brooklyn heads into the 2024-25 season, player development will be the most important theme, but that also means that the rankings aren’t kind for them right now.

In a recent ranking of the top-30 point guards by HoopsHype, the Nets did not have a single player that made the list. Despite having players like Dennis Schroder, who is playing pretty well for Germany right now, and Ben Simmons on the roster, neither player made the top-30 listing.

To be fair, HoopsHype does specify that the list involves them “using some projection and some analysis of what they have done over their most recent campaigns in the Association” as part of the evaluation process. While Schroder played well for the Toronto Raptors and the Nets last season, there are plenty of talented point guards in the NBA.

When it comes to Simmons, he played in just 15 games last season as he dealt with a variety of injuries, including a couple of nerve impingements that limited his athleticism. With that being said, it’s possible that this list could give both of those players some motivation for next season regardless of which direction the Nets head in.

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Nets’ Dennis Schroder, Germany beats France 85-71 in Paris Olympics

Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder dropped 26 points and nine assists to lead Germany to a 85-71 win over France on Friday in Paris.

Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder has been on a mission to help Germany win a gold medal for the second straight season ever since the 2024 Paris Olympics began. Schroder and the German National Team did a good job of giving themselves a chance to compete for the gold, but their latest game was definitely their best.

Germany played the last game of Group Play against France on Friday and they won 85-71 for a stunning victory over San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama and company. Schroder has been one of the main players for Germany throughout the Olympics and did not change against France.

Schroder put up 26 points and nine assists while Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner dropped 26 points and five rebounds. Magic center Moritz Wagner put up eight points and five rebounds off the bench and Daniel Theis recorded seven points and eight rebounds.

With the win, Germany ensured that they will be one of the top-two seeds in the tournament for the quarterfinals and will be the best team in their group that includes France. The second quarter is where things turned on their head as Germany outscored France 24-9 in the period thanks to some physical defense combined with some excellent execution.

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Nets’ Jordi Fernandez, Canada beat Spain 88-85 in Paris Olympics

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez led Canada to a 88-85 win over Spain on Friday in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez came into this summer looking to lead the Canadian Men’s National Basketball Team to a gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Fernandez and Team Canada had a tough test coming up against Spain, but it looks like Fernandez and his players were ready for the challenge.

Canada beat Spain 88-85 on Friday in a nail-biting game that required some heroics from players like Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett. Canada led by as many as 14 points in this one before Spain fought back valiantly to bring the game down to one possession before Barrett hit a dagger three-pointer with 38.8 seconds to give the Canadians a 85-80 lead.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 20 points and three rebounds while Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard had 18 points and two assists. Barrett finished with 16 points and Houston Rockets guard Dillon Brooks had 13 points in the crucial win for Canada.

The Canadians are now 3-0 in the Olympics as they wait to see who they will be facing in the quarterfinals of the tournament. With Canada’s win over Spain, they will advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000.

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What can the Nets expect from Dariq Whitehead next season?

With Brooklyn Nets guard Dariq Whitehead turning 20 years old on Thursday, what can be expected of him heading into the 2024-25 season?

The Brooklyn Nets are at the beginning of its latest rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks last month in exchange for as many as five first-round picks and three players. With the franchise headed in a different direction compared to the past few season, the door is open for the young players to play more.

Nets guard Dariq Whitehead turned 20 years old on Thursday and with that being a celebration for him, it also represents how much lies ahead for him as well. Whitehead did not play as much last season as he and the organization had hoped due to various injuries that he suffered, including a stress reaction in his shin that required surgery.

Not to mention that Whitehead came into the 2023-24 season behind the eight-ball as he was recovering from foot surgery following his freshman season at Duke University. Ultimately, Whitehead will be judged by what he does on the court over the next few seasons and at this moment, he essentially has a clean slate.

It was encouraging to see Whitehead play in the Las Vegas Summer League earlier this month given the fact that he couldn’t play last summer, but his performance left a lot to be desired. In four games in Vegas, Whitehead averaged 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 14.6% from the field and 8.3% from three-point land.

While Whitehead did not play as well as he would have liked, he did show the signs that he was healthy enough to showcase the athleticism that had him regarded as a top-5 pick prior to his time at Duke. Only so much can be expected from Whitehead during his second season in the NBA, but he can show that he has gotten back to his old self in terms of his physicality, that would be something to hang on to in the early going.

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Should the Nets consider trading for Trail Blazers’ Anfernee Simons?

Should the Brooklyn Nets consider trading for Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons if the team is intent on trading him soon?

The Brooklyn Nets have finally decided that they are going to enter a rebuild with the hopes of drafting their next superstar in the next few years. While Brooklyn is hoping to find their own star players through the draft and develop them, it doesn’t mean that they can’t look for players on other teams.

During his appearance on “The Drive Guys” show with Kevin Gleason and Kyle Draper of Sactown Sports 1140, Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian said that the goal for the Portland Trail Blazers is trading guard Anfernee Simons or forward Jerami Grant. With the Trail Blazers having both Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe within the guard rotation, it makes sense that Portland could be looking to move on from Simons.

“I would be surprised if one of the two is not moved. I was told that’s definitely the goal that one of the two would probably be gone before training camp,” Fentress said. If what Fentress was told checks out, that could mean that Simons could be had for a reasonable price, although he is one of the more promising young guards in the NBA.

For the Nets, their current guard rotation looks to be Dennis Schroder and Ben Simmons at point guard with players like Cam Thomas and Keon Johnson likely to fill the shooting guard roles. With Schroder and Simmons heading into the last year of their respective contracts, it would be smart of Brooklyn to plan for their future at the guard position to pair with Thomas.

Simons, 25, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 22.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 43.0% from the field and 38.5% from three-point range. However, Simons played in just 46 games last season as he missed over a month of action to begin the season due to thumb surgery.

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