Tag: Day’Ron Sharpe

Why the Nets could delay extensions for Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe

The Brooklyn Nets are now embarking on a full-scale rebuild and Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe are eligible for extensions. What happens now?

The Brooklyn Nets have made their decision to enter a full rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks last season for forward Bojan Bogdanovic and as many as five first-round picks. Now that Bridges is elsewhere, Brooklyn can focus on the future, including the matters of paying two of their younger players on the roster.

As the Nets navigate their new reality as a team with a boatload of draft picks from now through 2031, the franchise now has to think about which players to invest in as part of their future, which brings up guard Cam Thomas and center Day’Ron Sharpe. Both are eligible for extensions this summer, but NBA salary cap expert Yossi Gozlan recently explained why Brooklyn may be better served to wait on those extensions.

“They’re (the Nets) in a position to generate somewhere between $30 (million) to $50 million in cap space. I could see them moving on from Dorian Finney-Smith at some point which could help further increase those projections. Now, some of these (projections) factor in Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe making it to restricted free agency.” Gozlan said.

Essentially, what Gozlan is explaining is that if Brooklyn were to extend Thomas and Sharpe this offseason, those extensions would lower their cap space for the 2025 offseason when the free-agent class is expected to be more star-studded than this summer.

For example, Thomas’ restricted free-agent cap hold next summer will be $12.1 million, but if the Nets were to extend him this offseason for $25 million per year, that means that Brooklyn goes into next summer with $12.9 million less than they would have if they waited to extend Thomas in 2025.

Granted, Gozlan made his video on the matter prior to the Nets trading Bridges away and re-signing center Nic Claxton to a four-year, $100 million deal so it’s likely now that Brooklyn isn’t worried about next offseason’s free-agent class.

However, as Gozlan also points out, if the Nets accomplish everything that they want to this summer, there’s also no reason for them not to extend Thomas and Sharpe if the organization views them as building blocks for the future.

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Report: Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe receives ‘exploratory’ interest from Grizzlies

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Brooklyn Nets backup center Day’Ron Sharpe is receiving interest from the Memphis Grizzlies once again.

The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of an offseason where they are thinking of every way to improve their team enough to make it back to the playoffs. Like Brooklyn, almost every team in the NBA is trying to do the same thing and one Western Conference team is trying to acquire some of Brooklyn’s depth.

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Memphis Grizzlies expressed ‘exploratory’ interest in trading for Nets backup center Day’Ron Sharpe ahead of the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday. The Nets already have a few players that opposing teams have been interested in and now, Sharpe can be added to that list.

“The Grizzlies also expressed exploratory interest in trading for Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe at the trade deadline this past season and have now circled back again, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote. With the Grizzlies looking for more center depth behind Jaren Jackson Jr., it makes sense that they’re in the market for a center to back him up.

Sharpe, 22, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 6.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 57.1% from the field and 61.0% from the free-throw line. Sharpe has been primarily a backup since he came into the NBA as the 29th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft out of the University of North Carolina.

With Memphis being interested in Sharpe, it’s possible that they are willing to part with draft capital and/or young players for him, but the decision is not as easy for the Nets. Starting center Nic Claxton is an unrestricted free-agent this summer and if he leaves in free-agency, Brooklyn will need Sharpe on the roster to make up for the loss.

Either way, if the Nets are going to trade back into the Draft, they may have to part with someone like Sharpe to do it. If Brooklyn is able to get a first-round pick in this Draft, they could select a center as a way to navigate those losses.

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Armando Bacot reveals his top five UNC teammates on Ian Jackson’s podcast

UNC record holder Armando Bacot reveals his top five teammates on Ian Jackson’s podcast.

These days everyone has a podcast, including incoming five-star recruit [autotag]Ian Jackson[/autotag], who asked University of North Carolina record breaker [autotag]Armando Bacot[/autotag] the one-million-dollar question.

Who is Bacot’s top five UNC players he’s played with?

Jackson and his co-host Pat Wavy had Bacot on the Captain Jack podcast, asking him a slew of questions. The one that easily took the icing was getting the Tar Heel to answer the five best players he teamed up with while at UNC.

Bacot has played with stellar talent during his playing days with UNC, including a few current NBA players. Some names that Bacot said were a given, however, there were a few shockers that he named.

The big man had no problem naming [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag], [autotag]Cole Anthony[/autotag], and [autotag]Caleb Love[/autotag], but after that things got tricky.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C7m1hr-J-QV/?igsh=djk4bzZvbzZ6d3R2

It’s always fun to go down memory lane, especially seeing the onslaught of talented players Bacot laced up with. Seeing [autotag]Day’Ron Sharpe[/autotag] was a bit of a surprise, but hard to deny how unstoppable that force was.

Davis was a given, but it was also nice that Anthony got acknowledged for his freshman campaign. Picking [autotag]Brady Manek[/autotag] over [autotag]Harrison Ingram[/autotag] had to be hard, but then again, who could deny UNC’s version of Larry Bird?

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 Nets went to Barclays Center not to play, but to support the Liberty

Some of the members of the Nets organization went to Barclays Center on Monday to support the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

The Brooklyn Nets are in the middle of their offseason so at the moment, no games are being played for Brooklyn that are going to count. However, with the Nets’ summer just beginning, some members of the team decided to show up at Barclays Center and it wasn’t to play basketball.

In a recent post on the Nets’ “X” account, the team posted some pictures of some of Brooklyn’s team that showed up to the WNBA’s New York Liberty’s 74-63 win over the Seattle Storm on Monday. Some of the players that showed up were guard Mikal Bridges and center Day’Ron Sharpe (pictured on the left of the post).

Not only did some of the players show up in support, but so did newly-hired head coach Jordi Fernandez (pictured on the right) along with some of his assistant coaches. This is not the first time that the Nets have shown support for a Liberty team that is poised to make it back to the Finals for the second time in as many years.

Forward Breanna Stewart, the reigning MVP of the WNBA, put up 16 points and 11 rebounds while guard Sabrina Ionescu dropped 20 points and eight assists to lead New York to a 4-0 record. With their win over the Storm, the Liberty are 4-0 for the first time in 17 years when they began the 2007 season with a 5-0 start before floundering at the end.

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What would an extension for Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe look like?

What would a potential extension for Brooklyn Nets backup center Day’Ron Sharpe look like? Keith Smith of Spotrac gives some insight.

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a 2023-24 season in which they finished with 32-50 record was that below their expectations given that their goal was to make the playoffs. Brooklyn does not have many options of improving the team outside of trades, but there is one matter that the team could address this offseason.

Nets backup center Day’Ron Sharpe is eligible for an extension this summer and while Brooklyn has other matters to tend to, like re-signing starting center Nic Claxton, Sharpe’s contract could be something to worry about moving forward. Sharpe will be a restricted free-agent following the 2024-25 season so the Nets could let Sharpe reach free-agency with the safeguard of being able to match any offer that he gets.

For the purpose of this article, it would be prudent to look at what a possible extension for Sharpe could look like if Brooklyn decides to head in that direction. Per Keith Smith of Spotrac, he noted that Sharpe could see an offer similar to the four-year, $32 million rookie scale extension that the Denver Nuggets offered forward Zeke Nnaji.

As Smith wrote, that would also depend on whether Sharpe would be happy with that offer in order for him to accept it. However, Sharpe could choose to bet on himself if he feels that a better situation could earn him more money when he reaches free-agency again.

“Did we see a new market-setting deal with Nnaji or an abnormally team-friendly deal? That’s what Brooklyn and Sharpe will have to hammer out,” Smith wrote. Similar to Nnaji, Sharpe has been a backup during his time in the NBA so that could also play a part in whether the Nets feel that it’s worth it to sign him to an extension.

Sharpe, 22, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he averaged 6.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 57.1% from the field and 61.0% from the free-throw line. Sharpe, the 29th overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, achieved per-game career-highs in points, rebounds, and assists.

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Nets’ Kevin Ollie makes an interesting lineup change at Bucks

In Thursday’s 115-108 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie made an interesting lineup change.

The Brooklyn Nets are trying to play their way into the Eastern Conference play-in tournament and they are running out of games to make up the ground between them and the Atlanta Hawks. As such, it seems that Brooklyn is willing to try anything to turn things around, including their rotation.

Heading into Thursday’s 115-108 loss at the Milwaukee Bucks, the Nets were going to be shorthanded once Dorian Finney-Smith was ruled out due to left ankle soreness. Things could have been much worse given that starting center Nic Claxton was listed as questionable due to an illness, but he was good to go by the time the game started.

What was surprising about Thursday’s game was the fact that backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, who played in every game that he was active for this season, did not step foot on the floor against the Bucks. From the looks of it, it seemed that Sharpe’s minutes went to an unlikely player: rookie first-round pick Noah Clowney. This was Sharpe’s first DNP of the season.

Clowney played 14 minutes and put up five points, four rebounds, and was a +10 during his time on the floor as he held up well against Milwaukee’s formidable frontline of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie spoke after the game about why he chose to go in that direction:

“It’s just about sacrifice and that was the conversation. I told him beforehand what I was going to do. Day’Ron’s probably not happy with it, I wouldn’t be happy with it, but I understand this is a team game and we have to be a team and I wanted to see Noah tonight and that’s what I went with.”

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Nets full injury report for Saturday matchup at Hornets

Here is the full injury report for the Brooklyn Nets heading into their matchup at the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

The Brooklyn Nets started their six-game road trip on the wrong foot as they dropped a winnable game at the Detroit Pistons on Thursday. As Brooklyn continues with the rest of its road trip, they will be trying to get back on the winning path knowing that they will likely get some important players back.

In the Nets’ initial injury report released on Friday, Brooklyn saw that they will be getting healthier at an important point of their season. The Nets announced that backup center Day’Ron Sharpe (right wrist contusion) and guard Cam Thomas (right ankle/midfoot sprain) are probable for Saturday’s matchup at the Charlotte Hornets.

What was clear in Thursday’s loss at the Pistons was that Brooklyn was missing Thomas’ ability to score and Sharpe’s ability to rebound and protect the rim off the bench. Thomas is likely to return after missing the past six games and Sharpe should come back to the lineup after being out for the past two games.

Assuming that Thomas and Sharpe are able to go, the Nets will be happy to have both of them back given how impactful both players are within Brooklyn’s rotation. Sharpshooting forward Cam Johnson remains out with his right ankle sprain, but there is a possibility that he returns to the lineup during this road trip.

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Nets’ Kevin Ollie gives injury update on key rotation players

Prior to Tuesday’s matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie gave injury updates on key players.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are at an important point of their season where they can no longer afford to drop any games that they should win. As Brooklyn moves forward with a fairly easy schedule over the next month or so, they have some injuries that they have to monitor in the meantime.

“Lonnie’s gonna work in his vitamins today and see if he can go tonight,” Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie said of reserve guard Lonnie Walker IV prior to Tuesday’s contest against the Philadelphia 76ers. As of this writing, Walker is listed as questionable due to a left ankle sprain that he suffered in Monday’s 106-102 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Essentially, Walker will be going through his pregame routine to see if he can play on that ankle.

“He got a scan earlier (on Tuesday), so we’re waiting for the results of that,” Ollie said of backup center Day’Ron Sharpe, who is out for Tuesday’s game due to a right wrist contusion also suffered Monday against the Grizzlies. Sharpe came out of the game after suffering his injury, but was able to re-enter the game towards the end of the fourth quarter to help with rebounding.

“I think he’s a full go. Our medical team didn’t come back and say anything about him,” Ollie said about guard Mikal Bridges, who appeared to suffer some discomfort in his right wrist during Monday’s contest against Memphis, but was not listed on the injury report.

“He’s just getting better. He’s ramping up his workouts and I keep leaning on our medical staff, and him also because he’s a big part of this, to let us know when he’s ready,” Ollie said of guard Cam Thomas, who has missed the past four games with his right ankle/midfoot sprain. With Thomas out of the lineup, Brooklyn is missing a guy who’s averaging 20.9 points per game.

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Nets’ Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension) available Tuesday vs. Celtics

The Brooklyn Nets announced on Monday that backup center Day’Ron Sharpe (knee) is available for Tuesday’s game against the Boston Celtics.

The Brooklyn Nets are trying to turn their season around while incorporating new members of the team that came to the team after the NBA trade deadline. The good thing for Brooklyn is that things are starting to look up for Brooklyn as they are getting healthier at the same time.

The Nets released their status report on Monday in advance of their home game on Tuesday against the Boston Celtics. A big part of the report was the news that backup center Day’Ron Sharpe will make his return to Brooklyn’s lineup after missing the past 15 games with a hyperextended left knee.

Sharpe suffered his knee injury on Jan. 7 against the Portland Trail Blazers after coming down awkwardly following a blocked shot. For the majority of his rehab, Sharpe was only able to do individual workouts until he progressed to activity around other coaches in recent weeks.

While Sharpe is returning for Brooklyn, forward Cam Johnson remains out with a left adductor strain. With the Nets playing a back-to-back against the Celtics, at home on Tuesday and in Boston on Wednesday, it’s possible that Johnson won’t return until after the All-Star break.

Johnson has been out of the lineup since he suffered his adductor strain on Feb. 5 against the Golden State Warriors. Johnson is averaging 13.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 45.8% from the field and 40.1% from three-point land.

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Nets’ Ben Simmons ruled out for Monday’s game against Warriors

The Brooklyn Nets announced on Sunday that Ben Simmons is out for Monday’s game against the Golden State Warriors due to injury maintenance.

The Brooklyn Nets are looking to build on an impressive road victory over the Philadelphia 76ers as they try to climb back in the Eastern Conference playoff race. As Brooklyn attempts to extend their winning streak in their matchup against the Golden State Warriors on Monday, they will be doing so while shorthanded again.

The Nets announced on Sunday that Ben Simmons would miss Monday’s contest against the Warriors due to injury maintenance on his lower left back. While this cautious approach with Simmons makes sense given that he missed 38 straight games from Nov. 8 to Jan. 27 with the nerve impingement in his back, it still leaves some doubt as to whether Simmons is fully healthy at this point.

Brooklyn head coach Jacque Vaughn said prior to Saturday’s 136-121 win at the 76ers that Simmons has fully recovered from the nerve impingement in his lower left back that caused him to miss so much time, but that he would also be available for games moving forward.

It seems that regardless of that statement, the Nets appear to still be cautious with Simmons and that makes sense because of how important he is to the team, even in limited minutes. In some good news for Brooklyn, guard Dennis Smith Jr. is probable for Monday after missing Saturday’s win due to right foot soreness.

In addition to Simmons, forward Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and center Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension) are out for Monday’s contest. Finney-Smith started running on his ankle at Friday’s practice so he could be returning soon while Sharpe is still slowly working his way back to doing workouts around other people.

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