Tag: Dennis Smith Jr.

5 surprising NBA free agents (Markelle Fultz!) not currently signed before the season

How did NO ONE scoop Markelle Fultz?!

With the 2024-25 NBA season about to soon begin, there are several notable players who are shockingly unemployed.

It is not terribly surprising when notable veterans eventually age out of the market and do not settle on a home before the new season tips off. There are a few examples of that around the league right now (e.g. Robert Covington, Jae Crowder, JaVale McGee, Bismack Biyombo, and Justin Holiday) just like every other year.

Meanwhile, there are typically high draft picks who didn’t exactly reach their potential (e.g. Killian Hayes, James Bouknight, Kevin Knox, and James Bouknight) readily available as well.

But when slightly younger players who have shown promise do not have anywhere to play, it deserves a bit more of an eyebrow raise. Here are some of those names.

Markelle Fultz

Once the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft who never quite materialized, it was exciting to see Fultz reinvent himself over the past few seasons in Orlando. During the 2022-23 campaign, he started all 60 games he played for the Magic while averaging a career-high 14.0 points to go with 5.7 assists per game. But after some shooting regression last season, Fultz did not yet land a new NBA contract.

Dennis Smith Jr.

Perhaps the most puzzling player who is not currently signed to an NBA deal is Dennis Smith Jr., who likely won’t have to wait too long until a team seeks out his services. Last season, per dunksandthrees, Smith ranked in the 98th percentile among all players in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus. With his remarkable athleticism, he should have a spot in the league again soon.

Oshae Brissett

Celtics executive Brad Stevens said that Oshae Brissett was “terrific” for Boston during their championship season, but the wing did not return to the roster or find a new home. Brissett seems ready to get back in the league as soon as possible with the right situation.

Lonnie Walker IV

While he got a look from Boston this offseason and scoring as many as 20 points in a preseason appearance, Lonnie Walker IV did not make the roster this year. He is reportedly getting looks from teams overseas, but if he stays patient, an opportunity in the NBA could present itself again soon.

Nassir Little

Another interesting free agent who is currently available is Nassir Little. After beginning his career with the Portland Trail Blazers and spending last season with the Phoenix Suns, the 24-year-old forward played the preseason for the Heat. He did not make the roster but could become an underrated free agency signing for a different franchise.

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Report: Dennis Smith Jr. unlikely to return to Nets in free-agency

Collin Helwig of NetsDaily recently wrote that Dennis Smith Jr. is unlikely to come back to the Brooklyn Nets this offseason in free-agency.

The Brooklyn Nets are heading down the rebuilding path after they traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for three players and as many as five first-round picks. As it pertains to free-agency, Brooklyn has been methodical in free-agency and that may lead to one of their emotional leaders heading elsewhere.

“As for Smith Jr., NetsDaily sources says its very unlikely he’ll be back as well,” Collin Helwig of NetsDaily wrote recently about the chances of Dennis Smith Jr. coming back to Brooklyn. As of right now, Smith remains a free-agent and there hasn’t been much buzz surrounding Smith outside of Michael Scotto of HoopsHype’s report that the Dallas Mavericks may have interest in bringing in Smith.

“The Dallas Mavericks have considered bringing one of two former guards back to the team, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dennis Smith Jr., league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote earlier this month. With Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reporting on Monday that the Mavericks had signed former Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie to a one-year deal, it seems like Smith has one less option for his free-agency.

Even though the Nets are in the midst of a full rebuild right now, that doesn’t exclude Smith from being part of the team to be a veteran presence and the kind of backup point guard that can affect the game on both ends of the floor. With Dallas most likely out of the picture to sign Smith, he could be coming back to Brooklyn at some point this offseason.

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Report: Nets’ Dennis Smith Jr. under consideration by Mavericks

Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported that Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. is under free-agent consideration by the Dallas Mavericks.

The Brooklyn Nets have not made many moves during this offseason other than trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks and getting some of their draft picks back from the Houston Rockets. While re-signing center Nic Claxton was Brooklyn’s main task in free-agency, they could lose one of their guards to another team.

Per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, Nets guard Dennis Smith Jr. is one of the players that may be getting pursued by other teams in free-agency. However, if the Nets are going to make sure that there is enough depth on the team as it goes through its rebuild, Smith will be one of the guys that may not be in the plans moving forward.

“The Dallas Mavericks have considered bringing one of two former guards back to the team, Spencer Dinwiddie and Dennis Smith Jr., league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote. Dinwiddie is no longer on the team after being traded away by Brooklyn at the trade deadline in a deal that brought in Dennis Schroder from the Toronto Raptors, but Smith finished the season with the Nets as the backup point guard.

Scotto reported earlier in the summer that Smith wouldn’t be opposed to coming back to Brooklyn, but he is looking for a multi-year deal in free-agency. Whether the Nets are willing to give that to him this summer remains to be seen, but if they are not, Smith could be playing for a Mavericks team that made it all the way to the NBA Finals.

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Should the Nets bring back Dennis Smith Jr.?

Dennis Smith Jr. is one key free-agent for the Brooklyn Nets this summer. Should the Nets bring back Smith? Nets Wire looks into this.

The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of an offseason in which they have plenty of matters to address before the 2024-25 season comes around. When it comes to free-agency, outside of Brooklyn trying to bring back free-agent center Nic Claxton on a reasonable contract, there is one free-agent who could be back in Brooklyn.

Backup point guard Dennis Smith Jr. is one of five free-agents (excluding the Two-Way players) that the Nets have this summer and it’s worth wondering if he will be brought back for next season. Smith came to the team last summer on a one-year, $2.5 million minimum contract after playing for the Charlotte Hornets during the 2022-23 campaign.

Smith, 26, played in 56 games this past season (two starts) and averaged 6.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 43.5% from the field and 29.4% from three-point land. For what Smith was brought in to do, play defense and run the offense, he did his job and also had some highlight moments as well.

Smith made it clear that if he were to come back to Brooklyn, it would take a multi-year deal since that’s what he’s looking for. That makes sense for Smith given that he’s been playing on one-year deals since the 2021-22 season when he played for the Portland Trail Blazers.

It’s possible that Smith feels that he has proven himself as he has reinvented himself from a scorer to a defensive-minded point guard that has a nose for the basketball. Part of what comes with his physical style is the tendency for him to get hurt as the 56 games that he played in the 2023-24 season were the most that he’s played in a season since he played in 69 games during his rookie year in 2017-18.

With the Nets possibly looking towards 2025 free-agency to have a big spending spree, the team may not want to sign too many long-term deal so that they can remain flexible. Either way, if Smith’s monetary demands are in line with Brooklyn’s thinking, he could be a backup point guard for the Nets for awhile.

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Nets full injury report for Wednesday’s tilt against Raptors

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors.

The Brooklyn Nets have three games remaining on their 2023-24 season before everyone within the organization heads back home to begin their offseason following a disappointing season. As this season comes to a close for Brooklyn, they will be dealing with a longer-than-normal injury report due to the wear-and-tear of a long season.

In the Nets’ injury report ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn has one of the lengthier lists that they’ve had this season, starting with who is out. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith (left knee effusion), Two-Way forward Jaylen Martin (left ankle sprain), and backup guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) will all miss Wednesday’s contest vs. the Raptors.

Finney-Smith missed Sunday’s 107-77 loss to the Sacramento Kings with his knee issue while Smith has missed seven of the past eight games with the inflammation in his right hip. Martin has been relegated to the Nets’ G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, ever since he signed his Two-Way contract with Brooklyn in February.

Moving on, center Nic Claxton (left ankle sprain), forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain), and Two-Way guard Jacob Gilyard (left hip contusion) are listed as probable for Wednesday’s tilt against Toronto. Claxton missed Sunday’s loss to the Kings after twisting his ankle in Saturday’s 113-103 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Johnson has been dealing with his toe ailment for awhile now and as such, he has missed six of the past eight games as the team is being cautious with him given the amount of injuries he has suffered this season.

Gilyard, similar to Martin, has spent most of his time in Long Island since coming to Brooklyn in March, but he has played in two games for Brooklyn when the team had been missing too many ball-handlers due to injuries.

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Nets full injury report for Saturday’s matchup vs. Pistons

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full injury report heading into Saturday’s matchup against the Detroit Pistons.

The Brooklyn Nets have officially been eliminated from the Eastern Conference play-in tournament so for all intents and purposes, their season is effectively over. However, there are still games left on Brooklyn’s schedule so as they continue the season by facing the Detroit Pistons, they will likely be missing two key members of their rotation.

The Nets released their injury report on Friday ahead of their matchup on Saturday against the Pistons and two players are listed on the report that have been dealing with some injuries lately. Forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain) and Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) are both listed as doubtful with their respective injuries.

Johnson has been in-and-out of the Nets’ lineup ever since he suffered his toe injury in a 105-93 loss at the New York Knicks on Mar. 23. Since then, he has missed four of the past six games and will miss his fifth game for Brooklyn with this toe issue.

Smith also may have picked up his hip issue in that loss at the Knicks as he is dealing with inflammation on that hip that has caused him to miss five of the past six games. From the way it looks, both players will probably miss Saturday’s game and that should open up playing time for guys like Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson.

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Nets full injury report for Wednesday’s tilt against the Pacers

Here is the full injury report for the Brooklyn Nets heading into their matchup on Wednesday against the Indiana Pacers.

The Brooklyn Nets are trying to finish this season strong with the hopes that they will be rewarded with a trip to the Eastern Conference play-in tournament. With a matchup coming against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, one that could extend their play-in hopes if they win, Brooklyn could be getting back some reinforcements.

In the Nets’ injury report for Wednesday’s matchup against the Pacers, two players who are key pieces of Brooklyn’s rotation have varying levels of odds to come back to the lineup. Forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain) is listed as probable while guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) is listed as questionable.

Johnson and Smith missed Monday’s 133-111 loss at Indiana with their respective injuries, but it should be noted that the reason for Johnson’s absence was due to injury maintenance. It seems that Johnson is able to play through his injury, but that the toe is still bothering him to the point where he may need to miss a game occasionally.

Smith has been dealing with some soreness in his right hip and that was the reason that he wasn’t able to play on Monday. Given his questionable designation, Smith could be more unlikely than not to play on Wednesday, but that would depend on how he feels when Wednesday comes around.

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Nets full injury report for Monday’s matchup at the Pacers

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full injury report for Monday’s matchup at the Indiana Pacers.

The Brooklyn Nets are coming off a tough loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in which Brooklyn had one of its worst starts to a game this season. However, while the Nets were able to come back from a 26-point deficit, they came away from the game with some key injuries.

In the Nets’ injury report for Monday’s game at the Indiana Pacers, there were two players who ended up on the report after recently coming back from injuries. Forward Cam Johnson is out for the matchup due to injury maintenance of his left big toe sprain that cost him three games before returning for Sunday’s loss against the Lakers.

Dennis Smith Jr. has also been ruled out for Monday’s contest as he is dealing with soreness in his right hip. Smith had missed the three games prior to Sunday’s matchup against Los Angeles due to right hip synovitis so it looks like he’s still trying to play through that injury.

With Johnson and Smith being ruled out, that should mean expanded roles for players like Trendon Watford and Noah Clowney as those two help the Nets with the loss of size. Watford has been playing especially well lately as he is averaging 14.3 points per game over his last four outings and has played at least 19 minutes in each of those contests.

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Nets full injury report for Sunday’s matchup against the Lakers

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ injury report heading into Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Brooklyn Nets are looking at a situation where they could be eliminated from the postseason at any point over the next few days. However, until that happens, Brooklyn will be looking to finish the season strong. As they take on the Los Angeles Lakers, they could get back two key rotation players.

In the Nets’ injury report ahead of their matchup against the Lakers on Sunday, guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) is listed as probable. While this sounds like good news, it should be noted that Smith was listed as probable going into Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls before ultimately being ruled out.

Forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain) is listed as questionable which is an upgrade for him given that he has been ruled out for the past three games. Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie said prior to Friday’s game against the Bulls that both Smith and Johnson were progressing with their respective injuries.

Assuming that Smith and Johnson are able to play, Brooklyn will be welcoming back two players who have a significant role for the team coming off the bench. Granted, there is a possibility that Johnson could start if he returns given that he remained in the starting lineup when Dorian Finney-Smith came back from injury.

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Nets’ Kevin Ollie gives updates on Cam Johnson and Dennis Smith Jr.

Prior to Friday’s game against the Bulls, Brooklyn Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie gave updates on Cam Johnson and Dennis Smith Jr.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are still in the race for the 10th and final seed in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, but the amount of time they have is dwindling. As Brooklyn attempts to continue its winning ways, it seeks to do so without two key rotation players, but they are progressing towards a return.

“They’re progressing well,” Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie said of forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain) and guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) prior to Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Both players have been ruled out for Friday’s tilt against the Bulls and that marks their third consecutive game that they have missed with their respective injuries.

“I know CJ (Johnson) sees our docs tonights or tomorrow and we’ll get an update on him,” Ollie said. “June (Smith) is still kind of working through through that injection and (we) look forward to seeing him come back on the court. Hopefully soon.”

Brooklyn’s injury report is getting lengthy these days as Johnson and Smith are out in addition to season-ending injuries to Ben Simmons, Dariq Whitehead, and Keita Bates-Diop. As the Nets try to finish this season strong in the hopes of making the postseason, they will be hoping for a quick return of Johnson and Smith.

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