Tag: Keita Bates-Diop

Former Ohio State basketball star being traded to the New York Knicks

Onward and upward. #GoBucks

Playing professional sports can set you up financially for the rest of one’s life, but it is often a nomadic lifestyle while raking in the money.

We saw the latest example on Friday when former Ohio State forward, Keita Bates-Diop was again a part of a trade, this time from the Brooklyn Nets to the New York Knicks. At least this time, unlike his previous other five stops, it was just across town.

Bates-Diop was orginally selected by the Minnestoa Timberwolves in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft, and ever since then, he’s been trying to carve out a long-term niche with a team, all while doing a decent job of coming off the bench with a 6 points and 3 rebouds so far in his career.

His last year in an Ohio State uniform, Bates-Diop averaged 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game en route to earning Big Ten Player of the Year and second-team All-American honors.

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Keita Bates-Diop to exercise $2.65 million player option with Nets

Keita Bates-Diop will exercise his player option for the 2024-25 season with the Brooklyn Nets.

With free agency in the NBA right around the corner, the Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of getting everything together for the frenzied opening on June 30. One has to assume that the Nets will focus on bringing back Nic Claxton, but there are other issues to attend to.

Keita Bates-Diop, who played 14 games for the Nets after being acquired from the Phoenix Suns in the Royce O’Neale trade, will exercise his $2.65 million player option for the 2024-25 season.

Bates-Diop averaged 1.6 points, 0.6 rebounds, and 0.3 assists during his short time with the Nets in 2023-24. He averaged 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds with the Suns before being sent to Brooklyn.

With the Nets continuing to try and build around Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, one has to assume that a guy like Bates-Diop will not get much playing time, but he can be a solid defender when given the chance. New coach Jordi Fernandez will have to find roles for everybody in his first season in Brooklyn.

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What can the Nets expect from Keita Bates-Diop next season?

Here’s what the Brooklyn Nets can expect from Keita Bates-Diop next season, assuming that he exercises his $2.6 million player option.

The Brooklyn Nets are still early in their offseason, but they have taken care off one of their most important matters by hiring Jordi Fernandez as the head coach. One of the main issues that Brooklyn has to address this offseason is which players will be on the team next season.

In a recent episode of the HoopsHype podcast, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Brian Lewis of the New York Post discussed plenty of topics related to the Nets’ offseason. One of those topics was about who will be on the roster going into next season, including forward Keita Bates-Diop.

Bates-Diop, 28, is one of the players that came to Brooklyn in the trade deadline trade this past season that sent forward Royce O’Neale to the Phoenix Suns. Bates-Diop was part of a package that including him, guard Jordan Goodwin (who was later waived), and second-round picks in 2026, 2028, and 2029.

As things stand right now, Bates-Diop is virtually guaranteed to be on the team next season given that he has a player option worth $2.654 million as part of a two-year, $5 million deal that he signed with the Suns last summer. While there is a possibility that Bates-Diop could decline his player option if he wants to go to another team or get more money, Scotto and Lewis agreed that they could see Bates-Diop exercising his option.

After coming to Brooklyn, Bates-Diop played in just 14 of 30 games as he was only seeing playing time when the Nets were missing enough players to have to dig deep into the rotation. Bates-Diop did not have much of a role for Brooklyn as he averaged just 1.6 points and 0.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50.0% from the field and 20.0% from three-point range in 4.8 minutes per contest.

Bates-Diop, the 48th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has only averaged 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for his career, but his time with the San Antonio Spurs could give a glimpse into what he can do on the floor. During the 2022-23 season with the Spurs, Bates-Diop averaged 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 39.4% from three-point land in 67 games played (42 starts).

Depending on what the Nets do in free-agency this offseason, Bates-Diop could find himself in a position for more minutes and more opportunity to bring his three-point shooting and rebounding to the floor. He has a very low cap hit and could be more productive next season than he was this past season, assuming that there is a role for him.

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Nets’ Keita Bates-Diop ruled out for rest of season with right leg injury

The Brooklyn Nets announced Wednesday that they have ruled out forward Keita Bates-Diop for the rest of this season with a right leg injury.

The Brooklyn Nets have 10 games left in their season as they look to win as many games as possible so that they can make the play-in tournament. As Brooklyn moves forward with their mission to play in the postseason, they will be doing so without one of the players that they acquired at the trade deadline.

The Nets announced on Wednesday that forward Keita Bates-Diop, who was acquired during the February trade deadline in the trade that sent Royce O’Neale to the Phoenix Suns, underwent a procedure to address a stress fracture in his right tibia.

The Nets also said that Bates-Diop “will miss the remainder of the season and is expected to return to on-court activity in approximately one month” after having the procedure. Bates-Diop had recently appeared on the injury report due to a right shin stress reaction.

Bates-Diop, 28, appeared in 14 games for the Nets this season and averaged 1.6 points and 0.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50.0% from the field in 4.9 minutes per game. Bates-Diop has not been a regular member of Brooklyn’s rotation due to the logjam within the frontcourt, but when injuries have happened to players like Cam Johnson or Dorian Finney-Smith, Bates-diop saw more minutes on the floor in those situations.

Bates-Diop has one season left on his two-year, $5 million deal that he signed last summer to be a member of the Suns. Next season, Bates-Diop will be on the books for $2.6 million.

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Nets full injury report for Wednesday’s matchup at Wizards

Here is the Brooklyn Nets’ full injury report heading into their matchup on Wednesday at the Washington Wizards.

The Brooklyn Nets‘ season is close to ending and at the moment, they find themselves in danger of missing the Eastern Conference play-in tournament with plenty of separation between them and the Atlanta Hawks. With that being said, Brooklyn will be moving forward with their postseason quest with some significant injuries in their rotation.

In the Nets’ injury report ahead of their matchup at the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, guard Cam Thomas is listed as questionable for the contest due to lower back tightness. Thomas was supposed to play in Monday’s 96-88 win at the Toronto Raptors, but was ruled out shortly before tip-off due to experiencing the back tightness during warmups.

After Monday’s win, Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie said that Thomas did not play due to back spasms so it’s possible that the back spasms and the back tightness are to mean the same thing. Either way, Ollie said that he wasn’t sure if Thomas would be able to play at the Wizards and that is supported by Thomas’ questionable designation.

Elsewhere on the report, forward Keita Bates-Diop (right shin stress reaction), forward Cam Johnson (left big toe sprain), and guard Dennis Smith Jr. (right hip synovitis) are all out for the contest at Washington. Ollie said prior to Monday’s win that Johnson would not make the road trip so it’s not surprising that he was ruled out for Wednesday’s game as well.

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Nets full injury report for Monday’s matchup at Raptors

Here is the full injury report for the Brooklyn Nets heading in their matchup on Monday at the Toronto Raptors.

The Brooklyn Nets (26-45, 11th in the Eastern Conference) have just 11 games left to win as many games as they can if they want to pass the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th and final seed in the play-in tournament. As Brooklyn moves forward, they have some key injuries to their normal rotation.

In the Nets’ injury report released prior to Monday’s game at the Toronto Raptors, there were a few new additions to the report after a tough loss at the New York Knicks on Saturday. Forward Cam Johnson is out for the matchup due to a left big toe sprain, an injury that he picked up during Saturday’s loss at New York.

After the game, Johnson told Brian Lewis of the New York Post that he would be “good to go” for Monday’s game at the Raptors, so it’s possible that the injury became worse since that conversation. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith should see himself inserted into the starting lineup in Johnson’s place.

Guard Dennis Smith Jr. is also out for the game due to right hip synovitis, something that could be more of a wear-and-tear injury as opposed to something that he picked up during Saturday’s game at the Knicks.

Synovitis, described as Transient Synovitis by the National Library of Medicine, is “an acute, non-specific, inflammatory process affecting the joint synovium. TS is a common cause of hip pain in the pediatric patient population” so it seems like something that Smith may need to let rest.

Lastly, forward Keita Bates-Diop, acquired in the trade deadline deal that sent Royce O’Neale to the Phoenix Suns, is out due to a right shin stress reaction. This is no indication of how severe the stress reaction is so that will be something to monitor as time goes on.

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Former Ohio State star Keita Bates-Diop wins NBA Cares Community Assist Award

Way to go KBD! #GoBucks

When [autotag]Keita Bates-Diop[/autotag] won the Big Ten Player of the Year in 2018, it was not surprising that he left Ohio State for the NBA shortly after.

It took Bates-Diop a few years to get his feet wet, but once he did, he turned himself into a very solid player with the [autotag]San Antonio Spurs[/autotag].

Now in his third year with the Spurs, the former Buckeye is primarily a starter and averaging a career-high 8.8 points per game while shooting 50.3% from the field. It’s not just about the impact that Bates-Diop is having on the court, it’s off as well.

The NBA recognized Bates-Diop as the February recipient of the NBA Cares Community Assist Award for “his ongoing efforts to bring awareness to the importance of CPR training and AED accessibility in schools and the community.”

You can add Buckeye Nation to that list of being proud of Bates-Diop and he makes an impact on and off the court.

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Assessing low-cost big and wing trade targets for the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are reportedly on the hunt for some frontcourt depth help on the trade market ahead of the 2023 NBA trade deadline.

The Boston Celtics are reportedly on the hunt for some frontcourt depth help on the trade market ahead of the 2023 NBA trade deadline, and there is no shortage of analysts ready with proposals of who the Celtics should consider going after to such an end.

Boston is reportedly looking for low-cost help as a stipulation, with the team ill-disposed to moving most heavy-minutes players in their rotation. With the best record in the NBA at present, that certainly seems a prudent path, but it can also be said that this team’s depth still needs a bit of an upgrade if the Celtics want to give themselves a real shot at an NBA title. The Athletic’s Jared Weiss and Jay King put together a trade deadline primer in particular with some interesting targets proposed by the duo that could be what Boston might be after.

Let’s dive into the various options they mention we haven’t addressed much elsewhere and their potential fit with the Celtics squad.

Former Ohio State basketball star Keita Bates-Diop has perfect NBA night

Former Ohio State basketball star Keita Bates-Diop pours in a career-high on a perfect shooting night for the San Antonio Spurs Thursday night.

Since being drafted in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft, Keita Bates-Diop has struggled to find his footing in the NBA. Now playing in his fourth season and a third different team, the former Ohio State Buckeye did something pretty rare… a perfect shooting night.

Bates-Diop has played in 24 games this season with the San Antonio Spurs, averaging 14 minutes and just under five points per game. But something clicked on a Thursday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers as he couldn’t miss.

The former Big Ten Player of the Year poured in a career-high 30 points on 11-for-11 shooting to help the Spurs beat the Lakers. All that while having to guard LeBron James from time to time. Head coach, Gregg Popovich raved about his play after the game saying “Keita was ridiculous.”

It’s always good to see former Ohio State stars performing well in the league. But to be perfect from the field isn’t something that happens all too often. It was certainly a special night and one Bates-Diop will remember for a long time to come.

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Ohio State Basketball welcomes back former Buckeyes for Hoops Pro Week

Many former Ohio State players are in Columbus for the Hoops Pro Week helping teach the basketball team what it means to be a Buckeye.

The Ohio State basketball team welcomed back some former players for their Hoops Pro Week. It’s a time when hoopers from hardwood past ascend on Columbus to reconnect and help the current team understand what it means to be a Buckeye.

In attendance are former star players Evan Turner, John Diebler, D’Angelo Russell, Jae’sean Tate, Keita Bates-Diop, Aaron Craft, and more. While in town,  the veterans are helping the young guys with skills, pick up games, and what it takes to be a winner.

Aaron Craft is pleased with what he’s seeing from the current group.

“Just being here for two days, we’ve seen that their expectations, they’re willing to work for. So, I love the group they’ve put together, the work ethic they have. I love the coaching staff, so hopefully we can keep building and find a way to put another banner up.” Craft said

While there, many of the former players decided to try on some of the new threads and suited up for a photoshoot. Those scarlet script Buckeyes and powder grays from the 90s sure do look sharp. Take a look below at how some of your past favorites would look in today’s uniforms.

William Buford, Jon Diebler, and Sam Thompson.

Aaron Craft.

Evan Turner looking jacked!

D’Angelo Russell

Jae’sean Tate, D’Angelo Russell, Keita Bates-Diop

 

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