Tag: Trendon Watford

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 re-sign Trendon Watford to qualifying offer; will be UFA in 2025

The Brooklyn Nets announced on Tuesday that they have re-signed Trendon Watford to his qualifying offer of $2.7 million.

The Brooklyn Nets have pretty much made their splashes this summer by trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks and re-signing center Nic Claxton to a huge payday. Bringing Claxton back was the main task for Brooklyn and now, the Nets have figured out a way to bring back another player with some potential.

The Nets announced on Tuesday that they have re-signed forward Trendon Watford. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on X that Watford signed his qualifying offer, meaning that he will be coming back to Brooklyn on a one-year deal and is set to become an unrestricted free-agent in the summer of 2025.

On June 29, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported that the Nets had extended a qualifying offer to Watford, which according to Spotrac and confirmed by ESPN’s Bobby Marks is worth $2.7 million. The deadline for Brooklyn to extend a qualifying offer to Watford was June 29 and a little over a week later, Watford has accepted those terms to come back for one more season.

With Watford being a restricted free-agent once Brooklyn extended the qualifying offer to him, other teams could have presented an offer sheet to him which the Nets then would have the option to match the offer sheet or lose him to that team. Based off Watford accepting the qualifying offer, it seems that there may not have been any offers out there now with free-agency slowing down.

Watford, 23, is coming off a 2023-24 season in which he didn’t have a secure role in the rotation in the beginning, but made quite the impression towards the end of the season. Watford averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range, but also averaged 12.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per contest on 48.4/38.5/64.3 shooting splits in April.

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Nets to extend qualifying offer to Trendon Watford, will be restricted free-agent

Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Brooklyn Nets are expected to extend a qualifying offer to forward Trendon Watford.

The Brooklyn Nets are heading into a full-scale rebuild after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks and re-signing center Nic Claxton to a four-year, $100 million contract. Now that Brooklyn has decided to move on from the Mikal Bridges era, they are looking to evaluate young talent and could bring back another talented player.

Per Brian Lewis of the New York Post on Saturday, the Nets will be extending a qualifying offer to forward Trendon Watford by Saturday’s deadline to do so. According to Spotrac, the deadline for Brooklyn to extend the qualifying offer ($2.7 million) was June 29th and once the Nets do that, Watford will be a restricted free-agent.

Per NBA.com, a restricted free-agent “can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player’s original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer. The original team is said to have the “right of first refusal.” Essentially, if the Nets want to keep Watford, they will have to match whatever offer sheet he gets from another team or that team gets the rights to him.

Given where Brooklyn is going right now combined with how Watford played towards the end of the season, it makes sense that the Nets are extending the qualifying offer to him. Watford, 23, played in 63 games (2 starts) in 2023-24 and averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range.

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How much should the Nets prioritize Trendon Watford in free-agency?

With Trendon Watford being a restricted free-agent this summer, how much should the Brooklyn Nets prioritize him in free-agency this summer?

The Brooklyn Nets are entering the offseason phase of their rebuild and are looking to improve the team enough this summer to make it back to the playoffs next season. One of the ways that Brooklyn could improve this offseason is making the right moves in free-agency and one of their younger free-agents could be pivotal.

Towards the end of the 2023-24 season, Nets forward Trendon Watford showed off the entirety of his skill set when he received playing time due to some unfortunate injuries. Watford is an restricted free-agent this summer and could be brought back to Brooklyn at a reasonable number given everything that happened this past season.

Watford, 23, averaged 6.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 39.7% from three-point land. However, through Mar. 23, he averaged just 11.1 minutes per game as his minutes were inconsistent throughout most of the season given the logjam that the Nets had in the frontcourt.

Towards the end of the year, Brooklyn was dealing with some injuries to players like Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, leading to some minutes within the frontcourt that had to be filled if the Nets were going to remain in the play-in tournament race.

Starting on Mar. 25, Watford averaged 25.4 minutes per game and during that time span, his numbers were pretty impressive. In the final 11 games of the season, Watford put up 12.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 54.1% from the floor 44.0% from behind the three-point line.

Watford is coming off a season in which he played on a one-year, $2.02 million contract as he was trying to rebuild his value with the Nets after being waived by the Portland Trail Blazers in June of 2023. After the way that he performed towards the end of this season, Watford could have made himself more money and could be someone for Brooklyn to invest in long-term.

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Will Trendon Watford be back with the Nets next season?

Brooklyn Nets restricted free-agent Trendon Watford should have some suitors this offseason, but the Nets may need him back in Brooklyn.

The Brooklyn Nets are early into their offseason plans as they have hired Jordi Fernandez to be the head coach of the team as it moves into the next era. One of the main matters that Brooklyn has to address is what players will be coming back next season, including an versatile, young forward.

In a recent episode of the HoopsHype podcast, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Brian Lewis of the New York Post spoke on various topics involving the Nets’ offseason. One of those topics was the impending restricted free-agency of forward Trendon Watford as Brooklyn has some important decisions to make this summer.

“I liked what I saw out of Trendon, but something tells me under 50 percent he’ll be back,” Lewis said of Watford in terms of how likely it is that he’ll come back to Brooklyn for next season. Watford, 23, came to the Nets last season on a one-year, $2 million deal after being waived by the Portland Trail Blazers earlier in the offseason.

While Watford had some interest from the fanbase due to the versatility that he brings to a team’s frontcourt, he was mostly out of the rotation when the Nets were mostly healthy. Towards the end of the season, Watford saw a more prominent role in the offense due to some unfortunate injuries to a few members of the normal rotation.

In the month of April, Watford averaged 12.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 38.5% from three-point land. The last month of the season showed how much Watford can impact the team when he saw the playing time, but it’s fair to wonder if Watford would be able to do it over an extended period of time.

Whether Watford comes back to Brooklyn or not, similar to many of the Nets’ free-agents, will depend on what kind of offer he gets from another team and if Brooklyn is willing to match an initial offer sheet. Time will tell how the rest of the NBA views Watford, but the Nets should be willing to bring him back to provide frontcourt depth.

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Nets’ Trendon Watford discusses getting better with more minutes

After Sunday’s 107-77 loss to the Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford discussed his goal over the remaining games.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets are nearing the end of the 2023-24 season and along the way, some players are getting more time to play and grow on the floor. One of the players that have benefitted from the extra playing time is forward Trendon Watford and he is learning by the game.

“I think we can get better every game,” Watford said after Sunday’s 107-77 loss to the Sacramento Kings. He was the second-leading scorer for Brooklyn with 16 points off the bench and he added seven rebounds and two assists. Watford is also learning as the season nears its end as he also racked up four turnovers and four fouls.

“We got three games left so it’s just about getting better every game individually and as a team,” Watford said. “So, I think we’re just trying to get as many wins as we can and try to get better collectively and individually. So, I think that’s one of the biggest things we need to take away from these next three games.”

Watford referenced how Wednesday’s 115-111 win over the Indiana Pacers was a “big” win for the team given how well they played to get that win against a Pacers team that they had struggled against prior to their last meeting. With Brooklyn out of contention for the Eastern Conference play-in tournament, players like Watford will get some extended minutes to see how much they can improve heading into the offseason.

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Nets’ Trendon Watford discusses bringing spark off the bench

After Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford discussed bringing his spark off the bench.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets have had a rough go of it this season and one of the reasons why is not having enough consistent production off the bench. One of the players that has brought that production and energy off the bench has been taking his game to the next level.

“Just trying to take advantage of the opportunity,” Nets forward Trendon Watford said after Sunday’s 116-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Watford put up 15 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s win as he was one of the few players on the Nets to score at an efficient clip.

“Just bring that spark,” Watford said. “I got in and I think we was down 15-0, 18-0, so I was trying to be aggressive. I strive to be who I am no matter who is out there. So, just trying to be who I am, no matter who’s out there.”

Due to injuries to Ben Simmons, Keita Bates-Diop, and Cam Johnson, Watford has found himself in an expanded role as he has played at least 19 minutes in the past four games. Over that span, he is averaging 14.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 64.7% from the field and 50.0% from three-point range.

Watford has been showing that he can be an important part of the Nets’ rotation to finish the season and could also be auditioning to come back to Brooklyn for a similar role next season. As long as Watford continues to bring his spark, he should be a Net beyond this season.

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Nets’ Trendon Watford reacts to team’s fourth-quarter execution

After Monday’s 96-88 win at the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford reacted to how the team played in the fourth quarter.

The Brooklyn Nets have struggled to perform in the fourth quarter of plenty of games that they have either lost the lead in the end or where a small deficit became a blowout in the blink of an eye. As Brooklyn finishes this season as strong as possible, it looks like they figured out a way to overcome their fourth-quarter demons.

The Nets beat the Toronto Raptors on Monday 96-88 and while the game was not pretty from a scoring standpoint. Brooklyn stayed within striking distance for the majority of the contest. Granted, the Raptors were missing plenty of their better players for a variety of reasons, but the Nets were in the same boat as well.

After going into halftime down 69-68, the Nets managed to have their best scoring quarter of the game along with holding Toronto to their lowest-scoring quarter of the game as they built their lead to 13 points within the period. In contrast to Brooklyn’s fourth-quarter meltdown in Saturday’s 105-93 loss at the New York Knicks, the Nets took care of business against an undermanned Raptors team.

One of the reasons for that was the play of Trendon Watford, who scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds in one of his best games as a Net this season. After the game, he gave his reaction to how the team got its act together in the fourth quarter:

“It was big. Like I said, KO (Nets interim head coach Kevin Ollie) called some good sets and got the guy involved in the action that we wanted to get and I think we made some good plays out of that. That’s when we were able to take off late in the fourth.”

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Nets have guaranteed contracts for Trendon Watford and Harry Giles III

On Sunday, Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn announced that the Nets have guaranteed the deals of Trendon Watford and Harry Giles III.

NEW YORK — Trendon Watford and Harry Giles III have had vastly different roles throughout this season for the Brooklyn Nets as Watford has been in and out of the rotation while Giles has mostly been riding the bench. However, both players had something to celebrate on Sunday.

“I’m going to give y’all something today,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said on Sunday before officially ending his pregame press conference prior to facing the Portland Trail Blazers. “Trendon (Watford) and Harry Giles, their guaranteed date is today,” Vaughn explained.

What made Sunday (Jan. 7) important for Watford and Giles is that, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, “Teams must waive players on partial/non-guaranteed deals by January 7 in order for them to clear waivers before January 10.” Now that both players are on the roster past that date, they will move forward with the rest of this season knowing that their contracts for this season will be paid to them.

Vaughn announced the news with a smile on his face given how much that both players have been through in their respective careers. Vaughn didn’t lose sight of the fact that both players have more money to spend now as he playfully said “dinner is on those two.”

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Nets’ Trendon Watford on big game against Clippers: ‘just who I am’

It wasn’t immediately known if Trendon Watford was going to be available for Wednesday’s win over the Clippers, but he was ready either way.

NEW YORK — Trendon Watford already had a busy Wednesday ahead of him as he was scheduled to practice with the Long Island Nets, the G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. That practice would have been enough for him to just relax for the rest of the day, but once Ben Simmons was ruled out for the game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Watford’s day also became longer.

“Just who I am, honestly,” Watford said after putting up nine points, five rebounds, two assists, and three steals in Wednesday’s 100-93 win over the Clippers. There was some confusion earlier in the day as to Watford’s availability against the Clippers as the Nets initially said that Watford was sent to Long Island to practice.

It turns out that Watford’s availability potentially hinges on whether Ben Simmons, who was ruled out with left hip soreness a few hours before tip off, is available to play in a given game. Watford is similar to Simmons in that both players are considered point forwards with the way that they can handle the basketball and set up teammates.

“I heard Ben was out right when I got on the court,” Watford said. Despite going through a high-intensity practice earlier in the day, Watford still had more in the tank and Brooklyn needed everything that he was able to give. “I just had to shift my mind into alright, now I’m about to play. I didn’t know it was gonna be 20 minutes but, yeah man, I feel good. I feel like I could do it all over again.”

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