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[Brooklyn Nets]

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[Brooklyn Nets]

Long Island Nets fall to Delaware Blue Coats, 133-127, as Kilian Hayes continues audition

Photo by Reuben Polansky-Shapiro/NBAE via Getty Images

Will Brooklyn Nets call up Killian Hayes? It’s becoming a legitimate question.

The Long Island Nets returned to the court on Saturday afternoon following two off-days Montreal, Canada but couldn’t come away with a win. Still, the big positive and big story for the Nets wasn’t the loss. It wasn’t the crowd of 6,096 at Place Bell in suburban Laval either. It was Killian Hayes continuing his audition for a return to the NBA, a year after the lottery pick was unceremoniously dumped by the Detroit Pistons.

After missing three games to the flu, the 6’5” 23-year-old put up 25 points, 11 assists and hit five threes, his fifth straight game of 20 or more points. And with the Brooklyn Nets opening up at least one roster spot, his timing was excellent.

Long Island went up against one of the worst teams in the G-League, and a team that had only won one of their last 10. In the end, Long Island would drop their sixth game in a row, losing to Delaware, 133-127, leaving the junior Nets at 6-10 for the regular season and 8-24 overall.

Long Island remained without their three two-way players — Tyrese Martin, Tosan Evbuomwan, and Reece Beekman -- as they continued with the big club. Long Island was also without the newly acquired Oshae Brissett who is still dealing with hamstring soreness.

In addition to Hayes, head coach Mfon Udofia had the services of 6’10” Drew Timme who had also missed time with the flue. Hayes made his return as a starter, whereas Timmemade his return off the bench. Despite coming in off the bench, Timme ended up playing most of the game anyways.

Hayes returned in a big way, scoring all 11 of Long Island’s first points within the four minutes of play. Hayes finished the game with a double-double, as he led the team in points with 25, and assists with 11. Hayes shot 10-of-17 overall and 5-of-9 from deep. He also managed to secure four rebounds and two steals.

Over his last five games, the French-American point guard has been playing at a high level, particularly in the shooting department, a big if not the biggest reason he was dumped by Detroit.

Killian Hayes continues his LI Nets audition. With 25/11/3 today, Hayes over last 5 is averaging 24.4 ppg, 10.2 apg, 4.2 rpg and 3.4 spg with shooting splits of 58/52/88.. One concern: went to line 8 times in 5 games. Still, he had games of 28 pts, 18 assts and 5 threes (twice). https://t.co/9vP3thzaBQ

— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) February 8, 2025​

Brooklyn, of course, has an opening after Ben Simmons was bought out. Tyrese Martin who’s been on a two-way all season but hasn’t played a minute for Long Island is seen as the most likely candidate to get a standard contract. There’s also speculation that the Nets will waive DeAnthony Melton and/or Bojan Bogdanovic. It’ll probably be a couple of days before the roster reshuffling is complete. (Hayes, with four years of NBA experience, is ineligible for a two-way.)

Timme also had a good game. He finished tied for third on the team in points with Trevon Scott, with 20. However, Timme didn’t return to form in rebounding the ball, as he was only able to grab in four. Timme’s rebounding ability is something that has helped Long Island a lot in the past, and is something they sorely missed. Timme also had three assists to his credit.

Mark Armstrong was second on the team in points, continuing his sold play, picking up 22 points. While, Tyson Etienne had 17 points, and Dariq Whitehead scored 10.

One of the glaring issues we saw today for Long Island came in the play of Kendall Brown. Brown has been one of the team’s “hidden gems” this season. This was just not his game. He finished with nine points, connecting on just four of his nine shots.

Jordan Minor, the 6’9” local tryout who started the game for Long Island finished the game with a giant goose egg in the points column. However, he was able to pick up four rebounds

Long Island shot the ball well for the most part, connecting on 46 out of their 83 shot attempts, including drilling 15 of 29 from deep. However, they had no answer for Delaware’s 6’3” Syracuse shooting guard Judah Mintz who finished with 45 points.

The first quarter opened fantastic for Long Island. They were firing on all cylinders as Hayes picked up the team’s first 11 points. Both teams headed into the second quarter with 37 points. Delaware was able to pull away a little bit from Long Island, taking a six-point lead into the half.

Long Island had its share of issues in the third. However, they were able to chip away at Delaware’s 10+ point lead to end the third just down by two. Delaware would build up their lead again as the Long Island Nets would try to battle back, to no avail, losing the game by just six points.

Next Up​

The Nets head back to New York after their fourth game in Quebec as part of the “Les Nets” promotion aimed at creating a Nets fan base in French-speaking Canada. With two more games in March, Long Island has averaged better than 6,600 fans per game. The promotion is a joint venture with the Groupe CH, the parent company of the Montreal Canadiens.

Long Island, is set to return to their true home court at Nassau Coliseum to face the Windy City Bulls on Tuesday. The game tips off at 11:00 AM for its special Education Day, and can be watched on ESPN+ and the Gotham Sports Net.

• Boxscore: Delaware Blue Coats 133, Long Island Nets 127 - G League

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/8/...ts-133-127-as-kilian-hayes-continues-audition

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

GALLERY: BSE Global debuts Brooklyn Wine Club at Barclays Center

As pro sports owners try to differentiate their offerings from highly produced TV and cater to the high end of the economic scale, their offerings will be unique.

A few days before the Brooklyn Nets retired Vince Carter’s jersey at center court of Barclays Center, the arena was the the scene of a more exclusive affair, one not featuring bottles rather than a ball or a jersey: the launch of BSE Global’s latest initiative, the Brooklyn Wine Club.

The Club is part of a broader effort to enhance the arena experience ... and cater to the higher end of fandom. It is also among the first steps in a BSE Global play to create a “destination’ around Barclays, one that the Nets parent company hopes will eventually lead to a hotel, conference center, marketplace plus connective tissue like a proprietary media network to draw audiences to the overall arts and cultural scene in Brooklyn. For now, though, it begins with wine.

Indeed, things like the wine club among the ways pro sports owners are looking at to differentiate their in-house product from highly produced televised and streamed sports. The game may be the game, but the experience is often what teams are selling. In the case of the Wine Club and other planned offerings, the experience will not only enhance game experience but provide a stand-alone experience not necessarily associated with the games, a revenue stream independent of what the Nets and Liberty are doing.

So, on January 25, about 100 people, members and non-members of the club, were invited to the BWC launch, a tasting that took place at one of Barclays Center’s two premium clubs, the 12,000 square foot Toki Row, itself a new addition and part of the “eco-system” Joe and Clara Wu Tsai and BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman are planning.

The two-hour event was more a social gathering than anything else. It does advertise itself as a “club,” after all! The evening featured a number of BSE Hospitality Group’s 20 in-house sommeliers — wine stewards — who circulated among the crowd offering a “curated selection” of Bordeaux wines as well as sake, each somm also offering a description of the vintage to be sampled.

The sommeliers also provided each person a personal wine tasking “score card” and as each wine was poured, a square on the card was stamped.

Meanwhile, those present were offered savories put together by Livio Velardo, Executive Chef at Barclays Center in collaboration with Margot, an up-and-coming Fort Greene restaurant.

Not a dining experience per se, but one instead centered on pairing food with the evening’s selection of wines. The tasting was typical of New York’s growing wine club culture, with more than 100 currently operating in the city. Members pay a fee — in this case. $1,500 a year — to enjoy, as the New York Times described it, “a fun and convenient way to discover wines you might not normally try on your own.” In some cases, an additional fee is charged. (At the club’s first tasting, members paid $125 for the experience, non-members $175.)

The club was full.

Although not present, the Tsais and Oliver Weisberg, the director of their family office, Blue Pool Capital, have been the driving force in the wine club. All of them are “oenophiles,” wine lovers with an interest in vintages across the globe. (In fact, the Tsais recently invested in some celebrated vineyards in Burgundy, France. No financial details were provided but wine experts told NetsDaily the purchase may have cost him tens of millions of dollars.)

“We have an ownership group that is passionate about wine and we have some remarkable spaces in the arena we could stand up rather quickly and create exceptional experiences and we really wanted to do something I’d say a bit more non-traditional in the world of wine and we wanted to do it first.” Shanon Ferguson, BSE Global’s Chief Hospitality Officer, recently told NetsDaily.

Ferguson also said the wine experience will ultimately be expanded beyond the high rollers.

“Our next project that we’re looking at is in the upper concourse,” he told ND. “There’s going to be an association to this as well. It’s going to be an experience at an elevated level that everyone is going to have access to and wine will be a nice complementary part of that.“

Do features like the wine club, the new premium clubs and the Crown Club, a high-end restaurant, change the traditional fan dynamic where everyone roots for the home team no matter what their economic status? Perhaps, but in pro sports, that equality of experience has long since been stratified by courtside seats and suites and now even more expensive amenities. BSE Global can also point to a planned $100 million renovation of Barclays Center that will improve everyone’s experience.

BSE Global says in the future wine club events will take place throughout Barclays Center, including The Toki Row, JetBlue at The Key, the other premium club across the arena, as well as the Crown Club – but also throughout the borough as more events are announced.

Upcoming wine club events include Sip, Savor, IWA Sake (February 13, 2025), Lingua Franca: A Vertical Exploration with Larry Stone (February 27, 2025), and Burgundy & Baskets Paulée-Style (March 28, 2025).

Photos provided by BSE Global and NetsDaily.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/9/24362414/gallery-bse-global-debuts-brooklyn-wine-club

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets overpower inept Charlotte Hornets squad, win 97-89

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

The eight-point margin really oversells the tension of this one, which marks Brooklyn’s fifth win in six games.

“We know coming in that they really ain’t got no paint presence. So we’re just trying to attack the basket.”

That was a characteristically blunt Day’Ron Sharpe, speaking with YES Network’s Meghan Triplett at halftime of Brooklyn Nets vs. Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.

Sharpe may have a been a bit too dismissive of third-year center Moussa Diabaté, who the Hornets just rewarded with a three-year contract. Diabaté, a skinny but very lively 6’10”, muscled his way to 21 and 10 with two blocks on the night, though his production dipped after lob-thrower extraordinaire LaMelo Ball exited with an ankle tweak.

But while Diabaté impressed, Sharpe’s larger point was correct. Diabaté wasn’t enough of a force to consistently dominate the paint — over the first three quarters, Brooklyn shot 60% inside the arc. (Plus, his largest teammate was 39-year-old Taj Gibson. Respectfully.)

So Sharpe dominated his minutes. While talking to Triplett, he had eight points on 4-4 shooting, including a couple put-backs. On the other end, he had affected multiple shots, including this fantastic block...

Day'Ron Sharpe with the rejection pic.twitter.com/yi8GXs4Ms7

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) February 11, 2025​

Sharpe would finish with 14/9/2/0/1, and was merely half of a fantastic center tandem.

Nic Claxton posted 16/4/1/1/2, and the malaise with which he started the season now seems like a distant memory. His play still isn’t quite where it was two seasons ago, but whether against formidable competition like the Houston Rockets or the very, very bad (and injured) Hornets, Clax is bringing the energy and focus. That’s a start.

Charlotte switched 1-through-5 frequently on Monday, and both Claxton and Sharpe did work inside. They sealed, called for the ball, and if they didn’t get it, they hit the glass hard, with Brooklyns winning the second-chance points battle 24-13. But if the bigs did get the ball, they made the right plays...

what we've been wanting to see from Nic this season

CHA switches, Nic seals and creates a corner three with a quick pass: pic.twitter.com/3C8Cq8zCZd

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 11, 2025​

With the paint taken care of, Charlotte had no chance, particularly after LaMelo Ball’s injury.

Just as Nic Claxton’s season has taken a turn in the last few weeks, so has Brooklyn’s as a team. Over their last six games, they are 5-1, and any tanking dreams of catching the true dregs of the league, like Charlotte, have died.

In that same stretch, Brooklyn has the best defense in the league, no qualifier necessary. The lowest defensive rating, whether filtering out garbage time or not. They’re blocking the second-most shots in the league, allowing the lowest field-goal percentage, and above all, illustrating the difference between bad and terrible.

The Charlotte Hornets, now those guys are terrible...

I have no more words for the Charlotte Hornets pic.twitter.com/ZaELFxvbLh

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 11, 2025​

After Ball went down, they did not feature a player nearly as good as Brooklyn’s center, nor Cam Johnson, Trendon Watford, D’Angelo Russell, and Ziaire Williams, all of whom scored in double-digits.

Brooklyn shot just 23.8% from deep, but at least flashed competent offense and ball-movement, including on these two of Cam Johnson’s 14 points...

WATCH OUT, CAM SLAM!!! pic.twitter.com/fJ9u5e6XX9

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 11, 2025​

(They were also weighed down by a 12-point fourth quarter in which the game had already been decided.)

The Hornets, meanwhile, shot an even worse 19.4% from three with none of the highlight plays. The Nets are not just playing some fantastic defense under Jordi Fernández, but they are stacked with plenty of real NBA players.

The Hornets are not, and window-dressed a 22-point deficit early in the fourth quarter with a few minutes of garbage time hustle. Pardon the deceivingly close score.

Final Score: Brooklyn Nets 97, Charlotte Hornets 89

Trendon Watford continues to ball​

The Brooklyn Nets are now 10-7 when Trendon Watford plays, 10-8 if you include a December game against the Memphis Grizzlies where he appeared for single inbounds play.

While some of that is good luck, there’s no doubt Watford has boosted the team in four appearances since returning from a hamstring injury for the second time.

Following his 12-point performance in a victory against the Miami Heat, Watford put up 13/2/4 with zero turnovers on Monday, including shooting 3-of-5 from deep. Brooklyn won his minutes by a whopping 26 points, which felt appropriate...

Trendon Watford lines it up from deep pic.twitter.com/jcVDHP8bFX

— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) February 11, 2025​

For the time being, the 6’8 24-year-old has seized the backup point guard position.

Says Fernández: “He was at the primary-ball-handler-slash-point-guard — however you want to call it — and he did a great job. Is he going to do it the whole time? I don’t know. But you know, the good thing is, the more things you can do, the more opportunities that you will have to play minutes.”

Watford played some point guard last season, but his minutes were often cut short by two issues: turnovers, and a lack of 3-point shooting. Can’t have both those problems from a lead ball-handler.

Which makes his performance on Monday so encouraging, not only hitting three triples but the four assists to zero turnovers.

“[I’m] just growing game by game,” said Watford postgame. “Get more comfortable having the ball in my hands, get more comfortable watching film. I just think it was a part of growth from year three to year four ... just watching the film and getting better and seeing passes I should make and times I should be aggressive.”

Tyrese Martin, up against it​

Tyrese Martin has been active for 49 of Brooklyn’s 53 games this season, though he didn’t touch the floor in 14 of those games. Why does that matter? Well, his limit as a two-way player for active games in a season is 50. (Not games played, but games where Martin dressed.)

The Nets could simply stick him in the G League for the remainder of the season, but with Ben Simmons no longer on the roster, they do have an open spot for convert the 25-year-old guard to a standard contract.

League sources tell NetsDaily that Brooklyn’s front office is calmly exploring all possible options. Lucky for Sean Marks & Co., they’ll have the week-long All-Star break to figure out Martin’s situation.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 97, Charlotte Hornets 89 - NBA

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/10/24363180/nets-vs-hornets-dayron-sharpe-moussa-diabata-97-89

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

3 Takeaways from the Brooklyn Nets’ Latest Play-in Teasing Win over Hornets

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

When you’re twice as close to the play-in as you are to a top-3 pick, and you’ve won five of six, well, things have changed.

As the trade deadline debris began to dissipate Friday night, we were treated to the sight of another gritty, thrilling, and (maybe?) counterproductive Brooklyn Nets win. Monday evening, with the dust completely settled despite the Los Angeles Lakers and Charlotte Hornets kicking some more up over the weekend, we got to see the team get another one ... much easier.

While the scoreboard advertised a rather close contest, the Nets inflated a sizable lead early before coasting to a win vs the Hornets. It’s a style of victory that’s evaded the team for much of the year. While fans might not be used to it, the players were ready and eager, to deliver it. Here’s what we learned in the process.

Watford is a Real Difference-Maker off the Bench​

Swiss Army Knives rarely chip and shatter, even with some inconsistent usage. The one we have in Brooklyn is no different.

It took Trendon Watford some time to find his rhythm after returning from his second multi-game absence this year. But against the Miami Heat, when he served as an impromptu ball-handler while the team helped Ben Simmons pack his bags, the 24-year-old do-it-all forward danced his way to a 13/3/4 game including a steal and block.

Tonight, he kept the party going. Not only did he turn in another solid run from a box score perspective, finishing with 13/4/2 while shooting 4-of-8 from the field, but he also illustrated some development in his game that promises to deliver him more minutes going forward.

Watford’s first make of the night came on a triple he stepped into after trailing a fast break. Forcing the defense to respect his presence from deep and then leveraging it to support his teammates, Watford later pumped on a hard closeout before dishing the rock. It eventually found its way to an open Ziaire Williams beyond the arc. He splashed it in front of the Charlotte defense still a step behind.

“I’ve always had the ball in my hands a lot,” Watford said postgame. “When I was young, my pops wouldn’t let a coach put me in the post just because I was the biggest guy on the team. I’ve been having the ball in my hand a lot. Last year, I got a lot of reps at the one. It was my first time getting a lot of reps at the one in the league. I got comfortable with it. I enjoy being out there on the floor, period. Whether it’s at the one or the five or the three or whatever it is, I just enjoy being out there. Just trying to take advantage of it.”

Oh yeah, about two plays after that, Watford canned another one from the corner, putting the Nets up by what was their largest margin of the game at the time. He finished 3-of-5 from downtown tonight.

B2B TRIPLES!! @Ziaire x @trendonw pic.twitter.com/ba3aU4FRf5

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) February 11, 2025​

In a game where Brooklyn’s bench dominating Charlotte’s lifted the team to a win, Watford was the initial catalyst. After he checked in, the Nets went on a 17-10 run in the first which catapulted Brooklyn into a lead they never relinquished. He also finished as a team-best and career-high +26 for the game.

“It’s coming back,” Watford told Meghan Triplett postgame. “It feels good to get in rhythm and most importantly get a win in front of the home crowd.”

Between Cam Johnson’s nuclear year from three, impressive two-way player contributions, D’Angelo Russell’s return and fake ones from Simmons, it was probably easy to forget about the injured Watford, especially in a rebuilding year. Well, I’m here to say you shouldn’t have.

Team Basketball is In​

The Nets have had five or more guys reach double figures in all but four games since exactly a month ago on January 10th. Tonight, they had six, including two players off the bench in Watford and Day’Ron Sharpe.

The latter got some help from the other team at the end. Shoutout to now 15-year pro Taj Gibson, who made his league debut when Sharpe was just seven.

Day'Ron Sharpe finishes with the soft touch.pic.twitter.com/bngV5yAZOu

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) February 11, 2025​

Brooklyn’s offense operated freely, but it didn’t do so easily, as the Nets posted 40/29 splits for the night. Doing that and still winning paints a picture of a group of guys lifting each other through a tough shooting night rather than a collective brick fest. No matter how we as fans feel about the tank, we should all be able to get behind that: a team looking to rebuild its culture.

Offensive democracy is common amongst teams lacking a “go to guy.” Perhaps that changes when Cam Thomas comes back. Perhaps there’s a common ground the team can find between CT’s dynamic isolation scoring and their selflessness at both ends. We’ll have to wait and see, but for now, “team basketball” is very much in.

The Nets are Bad...Not Horrendous ​

The standings tell you the Brooklyn Nets are among the NBA’s worst teams. While that may be true, they’re not the worst, for better...or worse.

Brooklyn’s recent home loss to the Washington Wizards offers an immediate counterargument to this notion, but our evidence includes the fact that the Nets have now smoked Charlotte twice in two weeks. They swept Houston and snuck one out from under Miami’s nose too. Their defense has been the league’s best in almost every metric over that stretch as well.

No matter how you cut it up, things like that simply do not happen to someone who’s truly the runt of the litter.

After tonight, the Nets sit just one game away from cashing the “over” on the win total most sportsbooks projected for them to start the season — and everyone knows it.

“They doubted us,” Watford said. “Now, with one more game left before the break, we already passed what they had us at. So, shout out to the experts.”

Some of this collective punch back be attributed to Brooklyn pulling Cam Johnson off the shelves amid trade season. Jordi Fernández and the competitive nature he’s instilled deserves a nod as well. More recently, it’s been Nic Claxton looking more like his old self, anchoring that aforementioned defense better late than never.

Regardless, with about a third of the season — 29 games — left to go, I’ll go out on a limb and say they’ll get there.

Let me be clear, if you’re in the basement — you’re in the basement. It’s not a “flex” to be the one sitting closest to the staircase that’ll take you up. Regardless, the Nets being superior to the other teams in position to Capture the Flagg is a truth that’s been staring us in the face for too many days. We can’t keep looking away from it even as tank commanders try to obstruct our view like Yoren did to Arya Stark in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones season one. (I don’t care if that show ended years ago, you’ll get no spoilers from me.)

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/11...-nets-latest-play-in-teasing-win-over-hornets

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Long Island Nets defeat Windy City Bulls, 111-85, before 7,325 young fans at Coliseum

Photo by Evan Yu/NBAE via Getty Images

The Nets blew out the Windy City Bulls in a late morning game that saw a number of positives for Long Island and Killian Hayes admitted he’s had “talks” about a return to the NBA.

It was the annual “Education Day” game at Nassau Coliseum Tuesday and a record-setting 7,325 fans, plus a special guest, were on hand to watch the Long Island Nets school the Windy City Bulls, 111-85.

The G League Nets were returning to the Nassau Coliseum from their latest trek to Montreal as “Les Nets” and nursing the wounds of a six-game losing streak. They welcomed the Bulls affiliate to their an annual “Education Day,” a sea of youngsters from local school fans as well as Jordi Fernandez and members of the Brooklyn coaching staff.

In his remarks to ESPN+, Fernandez said he was on hand to support the Long Island, but with a roster opening on the big club, no doubt he and his staff did a bit of scouting as well...

.@BrooklynNets head-coach Jordi Fernandez is in the house to support the @LongIslandNets! pic.twitter.com/sLvxIFN0Gi

— NBA G League (@nbagleague) February 11, 2025​

Fernandez mentioned only one Long Island player, Dariq Whitehead, by name. complimenting him on his early aggressiveness which he said he hoped he’d continue for 48 minutes. But of course, there have been rumors of Brooklyn interest in Killian Hayes, the 6’5”, 23-year-old point guard who played three and a half years for the Pistons and is playing the best ball of his G League turn.

In fact, in Hayes’ post-game interview with NetsDaily, he was asked if there have been “talks” between him and the Nets or other NBA teams. Without getting into details, Hayes acknowledged, “There’s been talks for sure, but I guess we’ll see in the future what happens.” Moreover, two of his teammates took the occasion to praise Hayes.

Brooklyn currently has one opening, created by the buy out of Ben Simmons. Most pundits believe the Nets will use that opening to give Tyrese Martin, himself a two-way, a standard deal. But with two other players, DeAnthony Melton and Bojan Bogdanovic, unavailable for the entire season, there’s a possibility of other moves.

The game marked the largest attendance for any Long Island Nets home game in their eight-year tenure at Nassau Coliseum. The only two bigger crowds in team history came two weeks ago in the first two “home” games of the team’s “Les Nets” promotion in suburban Montreal. Those two games drew 7,750 and 7,518. Tuesday was the fifth time since January 25 that that the G League Nets have played in front of 5,000 fans or more. Last week in Quebec they had crowds of 5,563 and 6,096. Not bad considering back on January 7, they could only draw 625!

The biggest pieces in the Long Island win today’s game were Drew Timme and Dariq Whitehead, both of whom racked up better than 20 points and both of whom gave Hayes big shoutouts, in their post-game comments.

For Timme, the game was also a bit of personal history.

The 6’10” 24-year-old finished the game with a triple-double leading the team in just about every category, points with 23, rebounds with 15, and assists with 10. He even picked up a block.

The Gonzaga product gets a double-double — and flirts with a triple-double — just about every time he steps on the court but Tuesday was the first time he was able to achieve that elusive feat. He was very happy talking about it in the post-game interview...

Drew Timme was all smiles talking about his triple-double performance in Tuesday’s game, and his connection with Killian Hayes.@NetsDaily #StrongIsland pic.twitter.com/SFbuUm4Bii

— Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) February 11, 2025​

“It was great,” says Timme. “I’ve been chasing her for a minute. She’s been super elusive and that was the first one I ever got, so I’m pretty excited, I ain’t going to lie.”

One thing that continued to be on full display today was the connection between Timme and Hayes. The two have been like peas in a pod on the court as they regularly find each other for buckets .

“He makes the game so easy,” Timme told NetsDaily about working with Hayes. “He makes it simple. He just makes the right read. Whatever he does, I just know it’s the right play, so it’s awesome to get to play with the guy at such a high level.”

He added of Hayes, “I think we’re all surprised he’s still down here, to be honest, with the way he carries himself and has been playing.”

For Whitehead, the game was a bit of a relief after an illness and some tough outings. He too had kind words for his teammate.

Whitehead hasn’t played his best basketball lately, which only heightens how good Monday must’ve felt for him. The 6’6’ 20-year-old finished the game second in scoring with 20 points while also grabbing six rebounds to his name. It was all good spirits and big smiles after the game for him as well...

Dariq Whitehead on his impressive performance in Tuesday’s game in front of 7,325 people and Jordi Fernandez.@NetsDaily #StrongIsland pic.twitter.com/V5skmu6UaC

— Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) February 11, 2025​

“It was good,” Whitehead told ND about getting back on track. “I know it was a game that was needed. The only thing that was going through my mind was making sure our guys win going into the break.”

“Especially for a lot of us guys looking to be at the next level, specifically guys like Killian and I, this was a big opportunity for us to be able to show what we could do with him being there in person,” he said when asked playing in front of Fernandez.

When asked about what’s next for him for the remainder of the year, Whitehead kept it short and sweet: “Continue to stack days.” “I missed two years, and a couple of months with me playing in the G is not going to get me back to where I need to be. I just need to continue to stack days and eventually, I’ll get back on track on continuing to stack time under my belt.”

In fact, almost immediately after the game, Brooklyn announced he’d be returning to Barclays Center in time for Wednesday’s game vs the Philadelphia 76ers.

Hayes, usually one of the team’s top scorers decided to take a back seat Tuesday, finishing with only 11 points. He had averaged nearly 25 points and 10 assists a game in the previous five games on shooting splits of 58/52/88. Hayes connected on five of his 10 shots Tuesday, including making one of his three attempts from deep. He’s continued to show out as a playmaker, picking up eight assists. He spoke to ND about his improved shot-making...

Killian Hayes on developing his shot, his performance on Tuesday, and if there’s been any talk of him going back to the NBA.@NetsDaily #StrongIsland pic.twitter.com/TeseakWb0H

— Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) February 11, 2025​

One of the issues he had at the NBA level his first time with the Pistons around was his shot. In four years, he had shooting splits of 38/28/78. However, watching him play now, you wouldn’t know that. NetsDaily had the chance to speak with Killian after Tuesday’s game about how he’s continued to improve his shot.

“Putting in the work,” Hayes said about how his shot has been developing. “Just being confident at the end of the day. I like how my shot is feeling. I like my chances when I shoot the ball. That’s one of the reasons I started going in, just to have that intent whenever I shoot.”

Still, he knows that he’s going to be judged on his point guard skills.

“I’m trying to get as many assists as I can every game,” says Hayes. “That’s how I’m going. Just sharing the ball and keeping everyone happy. You can see that too (on the score sheet) six, or seven guys got over 10 points. That’s a good thing for us.”

His goal, like Whitehead’s, is simple: getting back to the L, noting, “there’ve been talks.”

“That’s my only goal is to get back to the NBA. There’s been talks for sure, but I guess we’ll see in the future what happens.”

Hayes also gave credit to the youngsters on hand.

“It was great to see the kids,” he told NetsDaily. “Maybe it was because of them we won by 30!”

Two other Nets had big games as well, starting with Hayes’ backcourt mate, Tyson Etienne, the 6’2” 25-year-old shooting guard, had 16 points and continued his torrid pace from beyond the arc, hitting 4-of-5 threes. Etienne is shooting 50.0% overall and 49.5% from deep. He was the source of some NBA speculation over the weekend...

As teams look for guard help post-deadline, keep an eye on Tyson Etienne for a two-way spot. He's been on fire from deep in the G League over the last several weeks. 49% in the G League regular season, over 40% for the full season. Drawing interest from NBA teams.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) February 8, 2025​

Etienne is on a standard G League deal with Long Island. Teams have until March 4 to sign two-way deals.

Kendall Brown, Long Island’s 6’7” 21-year-old wing, had a quietly good game, finishing with a double-double, 15 points and 10 rebounds. Brown also had three assists, two steals, and three blocks.

For Long Island, the game offered a number of positives beyond the crowd and the ability to audition for Fernandez. They were healthy for the first time in a while, a number of players having come down a bad case of the flu during their time in Canada.

Long Island set the tone for the game starting in the first quarter. Behind Dariq Whitehead’s 12 points, Long Island shot 56.5%, including 71.4% from beyond the arc. The Nets continued to dominate in the second, blowing out the Bulls, 27-8. Long Island entered the half, up by 31.

The Bulls fought back in the third quarter, as they outscored Long Island 28-25. However, thanks to the big lead, Long Island maintained a sizable advantage entering the fourth, winning by 26.

Bulls guard Eric Gaines posted 17 points, two rebounds, three assists, one steal and two blocks in 28 minutes. Windy City forward Emanuel Miller tallied 16 points, six rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block in 35 minutes. Two former Long Island Nets — Jordan Hall and David Muoka also scored in double figures: Muoka with 13 points and eight rebounds and Hall with 11 and 6.

Up Next​

Long Island plays the Maine Celtics Thursday in Portland at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Then, they like the rest of the NBA and G League will be off on All-Star Break, returning to Nassau a week from Friday vs. the Osceola Magic.

• Boxscore: Long Island Nets 111, Windy City Bulls 85 - G League

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/11...lls-111-85-before-7325-young-fans-at-coliseum

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

What to expect from Maxwell Lewis?

Photo by Jim Poorten/NBAE via Getty Images

After what looked like a season-ending injury on New Year’s Day, Maxwell Lewis is ready to play tonight vs. Philly.

Maxwell Lewis will be available tonight when the Brooklyn Nets face the Philadelphia 76ers, nearly a month and a half after he had his Nets debut back on New Year’s Day vs. the Toronto Raptors. It was hardly auspicious. Terrifying might be a better way to describe it.

oh my god, Maxwell Lewis checks into the game, hits a three, and then suffers a potentially serious knee injury after Jakob Poeltl steps on his foot... pic.twitter.com/Gp2YoTLEhJ

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 2, 2025​

It looked bad. As our Lucas Kaplan reported:

He was eventually carried off the floor by Brooklyn staffers, but not before spending minutes writhing in pain and grabbing the back of his left knee on the Scotiabank Arena floor. That is what season-ending and/or career-altering injuries look like, and not that there’s ever a good time for one of those, but it felt especially cruel for Lewis.

However, the worst case scenario was avoided. A series of tests revealed it wasn’t a knee injury, but a fracture of his left tibia. It wasn’t a season-ending injury either. He’s back tonight, a bit earlier than expected. Youth is always the best tonic.

Lewis was the final piece in the Lakers trade which went Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to Los Angeles for D’Angelo Russell, three second rounders and him. Rather than assigning the Pepperdine product to the Long Island Nets, which was certainly an option, Sean Marks & co. gave him a black-and-white uniform to see what he can do.

The 6’7” 22-year-old was picked at No. 40 in the second round of the 2023 Draft after being projected as a late first rounder. In fact, the Lakers wanted him badly enough that they paid the Pacers $4 million in cash considerations just to move up seven spots in the second round to take him. They then signed him to a four-year, $7 million deal, the first two years guaranteed, overall a “significant commitment” for a player taken in the middle of the second round, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN reported at the time...

The Lakers made a significant commitment to make sure they could get a chance at Maxwell Lewis, sending ~$4m to Indiana to move up from 47 to 40. The rangy 6-7 forward out of Pepperdine made a major impression in his predraft workout with the team.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) June 23, 2023​

Since then, Lewis has played minimally in the NBA — a total of 131 minutes in 41 games over two years — spending almost all of his time in the G League with the South Bay Lakers. At the time of the trade, he was averaging 18.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in eight G League appearances.

Here’s some highlights from his best game three months ago:

There were reports that Lewis was not so much a throw-in, but rather a player the Nets were willing to take a chance on, as Keith Smith of Spotrac noted in summarizing the overall trade:

Maxwell Lewis is the kind of flyer that has paid off for Marks in the past. Lewis came into the 2023 NBA Draft as a potential wing shooter, with some defensive upside. He’s barely played in the NBA over two seasons, but has logged a decent amount of G League time. Last season, Lewis showed some 3&D potential with the South Bay Lakers. This year, his shooting has dropped off, but Lewis has shown a bit more on-ball playmaking ability.

And of course, he was caught up in the Lakers logjam at the wing.

Brooklyn has little financial commitment to Lewis beyond this season when he’s being paid $1.9 million. He has a partial guarantee of $100,000 on next year’s $2.2 million salary and is non-guaranteed at $2.4 million in 2026-27 when he’ll be 24 years old. In other words, if he doesn’t work out or the Nets can’t fit him into their future plans, Lewis will cost them virtually nothing in NBA terms. If he does, they’ll have him at less than the cost of a vets minimum deal for the next two years.

That’s what teams do in rebuilds.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/12/24363890/what-to-expect-from-maxwell-lewis

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets soar into All-Star Break with another win, beat 76ers 100-96

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Brooklyn stacks yet another win before the break. That’s six in their last seven games. What do we do now?

The Brooklyn Nets don’t believe in taking off the day before a big trip, You know, Summer Fridays, or any sort of “just get to the end of the week” attitude that Millennials have made standard over the past decade (I’m in my mid 20s, so I’m allowed to say that.)

Heck, they’ve never even liked an Almost Friday post on Instagram.

“I think our guys are ready to play the game,” Jordi Fernández said pregame, reminded that the All-Star break sits a day away. “We’re not on break. We’re not on vacation. We have to earn the break.”

Earn it, they did.

At the front of Brooklyn’s assembly line tonight was D’Angelo Russell, who put in 14 of Brooklyn’s first 18 points and didn’t miss until taking a heat check shot with 5:21 to go in the quarter. That two-touchdown performance gave him his most points in a quarter all season, in L.A. or New York. He went on to finish with 22/4/5 while shooting 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-7 from three.

Although the pick-and-roll feel with Claxton looked a bit out of sync early, Russell’s skills as an isolation scorer outshined that blemish of the early offense.

D'Angelo Russell up to nine points on 4-of-4...handing out tough buckets pic.twitter.com/Ue0Q9rkd7R

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 13, 2025​

“I mean, they haven’t been falling,” Russell said of his jumpers postgame. “So that was just the cherry on the top for me, seeing some shots go through. But the same shots I take are the same shots I believe I could make. I truly lead by example with my energy and focus. I guess that’s why my shots aren’t falling. I gotta lock in a little more, more focus, and more energy. So, build on that.”

Russell’s hot, or to keep things Brooklyn-lore accurate, “icy” start to the game made his first breather something nobody wanted to see him take. But any sighs queued by his steps to the bench quickly faded, as the substitution reintroduced us to PG2 Trendon Watford.

That experiment, off to a notably solid start, brought Brooklyn consistent production again tonight, as Wat helped the Nets trot into the second period with a 29-27 lead. Day’Ron Sharpe, who’s also come on of late as an off-the-bench weapon, also stayed in to help keep the Nets afloat early in the second.

“I feel good,” Watford said of his aggressiveness. “I work on it a lot, so I’ve just been doing it and getting comfortable with it. Shout out to all the work I’ve been putting in. I’m glad I’m back healthy and able to showcase it.

Sharpe finished the game with eight points and nine rebounds in 15 minutes played. Watford added 18 points and two assists while shooting 7-of-8 from the field. We’re going to need a nickname for this odd pairing if they continue to wreak havoc as reserves...

Day'Ron Sharpe would probably be pretty good at Jackpot. Nice finish here. pic.twitter.com/SZINPheGoB

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) February 13, 2025​

But for as impactful as Watford and Sharpe have been this month, Brooklyn’s collective defense has been the engine in the backhoe pulling them away from a top-three lottery slot. It was revving in the second period, where the Nets held the 76ers below 40% from the field up until the period’s final 30 seconds.

Paul George, a member of Philly’s supposed “Big Three” was a zero, sitting with a goose egg at the break, where the Nets maintained a 53-49 advantage. George finished the game with only two points after going 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-5 from deep.

Nets doing a much better job of doubling and then recovering here in the second. pic.twitter.com/yG3lZcZAaM

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) February 13, 2025​

Brooklyn mining for second chance points also contributed significantly to their first half lead as the Nets led in that department by a 12-2 margin at halftime. The Sixers, however, dominated the other side of the hustle department, reeling in a +12 advantage in fast break points.

It became clear that if one team could start picking away at the other’s hustle points the rest of the way, they’d likely walk away as the victors. Nic Claxton understood the assignment, giving his team a jolt at both sides of the ball after each squad came out of the halftime gates looking rather sloppy.

Clax continued his “better late than never” run tonight, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 5-of-12 from the field. He also got skin on five Sixer shots, giving him his second most rejections in a game this year. However, postgame with Meghan Triplett, he claimed to have had six.

“I am,” said Claxton when asked if he’s getting his swagger back. “Just getting used to the defense. Explosiveness. Picking my spots. Just knowing when I need to help my teammates. And then also help me out by not fouling when dudes are driving in. I also give a lot of credit to Day Day. He’s doing a phenomenal job in the minutes he’s giving and the whole team, it’s just clicking right now.”

What a two-way sequence here from Nic Claxton. pic.twitter.com/aIiftB8gfW

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) February 13, 2025​

“We wanna get there. We wanna get to the playoffs,” Claxton also remarked. “There’s a lot of people in here that have never been to the playoffs, they’ve never felt that atmosphere and that energy. And of course, it’s one of the best things, it’s one of the best stages in sports...We could care less about draft picks. We don’t care.”

Brooklyn also put the brakes on Philly’s fast break in the third, limiting it to just two points while grabbing two of their own. At the same time, Brooklyn maintained its appetite for glass, grabbing six more offensive rebounds in the third leading to nine more second chance points. The Sixers only scavenged for two.

Philadelphia’s desperation eventually began to show through a sudden wave of traps in the half and full court early in the fourth, challenging Brooklyn’s poise and ability to make the right pass at the right time. Unlike a certain quarterback who let this Giants fan down big time on Sunday, the Nets handled Philly’s blitzes well, inflating a nine point lead with about three to go.

Nets doing a really nice job handling Philly's doubles here in the fourth. pic.twitter.com/8cKqrpizGO

— Collin Helwig (@collinhelwig) February 13, 2025​

Closing time involved both teams trading a handful of free throws. Keon Johnson got tagged with a flagrant 1 after a reckless closeout with 2:52 to go that should have made it a six-point game ... if not for Mr. Whammy, who stepped up and forced two misses.

Cam Johnson then took the ball as the second closer, getting a swipe and slam on George that put the Nets back up double digits and in position to drift to their third win in a row and again, sixth in their last seven. He shared a similar disgust for all things tank-related as his front court teammate, both with that game-sealing play and words after the fact.

“We do not care what they say about that,” said Johnson on fans being upset with their wins. “Listen, at the end of the day, the 15, 18 guys on his team have a job to do, and our job is to not try to get a draft pick. Our job is simply to win basketball games, the basketball games that are in front of us, and that’s what we’re going to put our full effort towards. We don’t care about all that other noise.”

“If that’s what they think, then they’re not really a fan, you know what I mean? They don’t want us to succeed,” the sharpshooter went on. “You’re going to ask our own players to lose? We’re not going to do that. We’re out there to compete, to win every game. And we’re out there right now to fight back.”

Coasting in for that win still wasn’t the smoothest ride — in fact, it was more like Jack Sparrow’s first arrival into Port Royal, as the Nets fumbled six points in the final 40 seconds, but it resulted in a win nonetheless.

Okay, now they can go on break.

Final: Brooklyn Nets 100, Philadelphia 76ers 96

Milestone Watch​

• Nic Claxton’s 13 and 11 were good for his 11th double-double of the season, a team-high.
• He also recorded multiple blocks (five) for the fifth straight game, a season-best streak
• D’Angelo Russell’s 14 first-quarter points were the most points he’d scored in any quarter this season.
• Keon Johnson’s sixth point of the game was the 1,000th of his NBA career, over half of which have come this season.

Injury Report​

For the first time since his Nets debut on New Year’s Day, Maxwell Lewis was active tonight for Brooklyn. He only logged a few seconds of play in the game’s final moments, but 22-year-old’s healthy status was worth celebrating alone.

“Yeah, very happy for him,” Fernández said pregame. “[The injury] was very unfortunate. He just got with us, and threw him into the game, he made a three, and it was one of the weirdest injuries I’ve ever seen. Good thing is that now he’s back. He’s done a great job rehabbing, working with our medical, performance, and now he’s ready to go. So, you know, I’m happy for him and we’ll see if he has a chance to contribute.”

“Good teammate, hard worker, all those things that really match what we’re trying to do here,” Fernández later added. “So, so far, I’m very happy with Max, and you know, building that relationship with him.”

Cam Johnson also tweaked his ankle tonight but returned to the game soon after. While we know that injury has already given him some trouble this year, he shook it off postgame saying he was “fine” and confirmed he’s still good to go for the Three-Point Contest.

As for forward-looking injury news, Cam Thomas is scheduled to receive an injury update over the All-Star break. He has missed Brooklyn’s last 20 games with a hamstring injury.

Next Up​

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Next up for these Nets is a trip away from Brooklyn, but not the one they’re used to. Tonight was Brooklyn’s final game before the All-Star break, which means a quick vacation for everyone besides Cam Johnson, who will participate in that Three-Point Contest on Saturday evening.

Fernández said postgame that there would not be any added perks for his players over the break, but would give them to tools to hit the ground running when they come back.

“We have to come back and work and get better,” he said. “I think that the days off are already good. They have to do their job. They have a plan, because physically, you cannot go without doing anything. So everybody’s got a program to follow, and that’s going to be very important, and that’s how we want to build it moving forward.”

Once returning, the Nets will host the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time this season. It’ll be the first of many “reunion” games they’ve had with Cleveland that doesn’t feature Caris LeVert, who the Cavs recently traded away. Kenny Atkinson, Jarrett Allen, DeMarre Carroll, Jordan Ott and Trevor Hendry will all be in the building, however.

• Boxscore: Brooklyn Nets 100, Philadelphia 76ers 96 - NBA
• Game Highlights: Brooklyn Nets 100, Philadelphia 76ers 96 (Video) - NBA
• Nic Claxton on closing out the Sixers at home (Video) - Meghan Triplett - YES Network
• Chris and Frank react to the Nets win over 76ers (Video) - Chris Shearn & Frank Isola - YES Network
• Jordi Fernández on the Nets win vs. Philadelphia (Video) - YES Network
• Russell scores 22 points as Nets beat 76ers 100-96 - Pat Pickens - AP
• Suddenly surging Nets clip 76ers and move closer to play-in spot - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Nets’ Maxwell Lewis makes improbable return six weeks after breaking leg - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• D’Angelo Russell leads surging Nets into All-Star break with win over undermanned 76ers - Peter Sblendorio - New York Daily News
• Nets Notebook: Maxwell Lewis returns 6 weeks after scary leg injury - Peter Sblendorio - New York Daily News

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/12/24364549/nets-vs-76ers-dangelo-russell-paul-george-100-96

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Long Island Nets fall to Maine Celtics, 107-106, as Killian Hayes scores career-high 30

The G League is on All-Star Break just like the NBA and Long Island went on vacation but not happily

It’s more good news, bad news for the Long Island Nets. Once again, Killian Hayes and Drew Timme played solid games — Hayes with his first 30-point game, but once again, they lost.

Long Island Nets traveled to Maine Thursday night to take on the Maine Celtics who had won their last six games and played well in the first half but fell apart defensively in the second and fell to the Celtics, 107-106. The G League Nets are now 7-11 and four games out of the post-season with 16 to play.

On the bright side, Killian Hayes continued his NBA “audition” with another fantastic game. After landing 10 of the team’s first 12 points, Hayes finished with 30 points, which was a career-high for him ... in both the G-League and NBA, besting previous highs of 28 in each league. Hayes shot the ball well, connecting on 13 of his 23 attempts, including hitting three of his six from deep.

Hayes also had five assists and six rebounds. If that’s not impressive enough, Hayes also finished with three steals. Hayes’ only downfall came in the turnover department where he turned the ball over four times.

The one question on everyone’s mind is could this have been his final game with Long Island, as the Nets, amongst the rest of the G-League enter their All-Star break? With Hayes playing his best ball of late, it’s easy to see why NBA teams would like a player like him on their team and indeed, he told NetsDaily two days ago that there have been “talks” about a return.

Timme finished the game with yet another double-double. He managed to pick up 18 points, and 14 rebounds, which led the team. Timme also picked up two assists and one block. This comes after his impressive triple-double performance on Tuesday.

Kendall Brown had another decent shooting performance, connecting on six of his 12 attempts, but just made one of his four attempts from deep. Brown finished with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, and one steal to his credit.

The downside for Long Island came in the three-point department, as they were only able to connect on eight of their 32 attempts from deep. Trevon Scott missed the most threes on the Nets, only able to find the hoop twice on his eight attempts. This was certainly a performance he wants back.

Tyson Etienne, one of Long Island’s top scorers as of late, had a game he’d like to forget, as well. Etienne connected on just two of his five attempts, including missing both of his attempts from deep. Etienne finished with just four points, one rebound, and four assists, as one of Long Island’s starters. According to Keith Smith, Etienne too has had NBA interest.

Mark Armstong, the 6’2” 20-year-old Long Island point guard, finished with 17, but shot only 7-of-17, including 2-of-7 from beyond the arc.

The Long Island Nets battled with Maine in the opening quarter. After picking up 10 of the team’s first 12 points, Hayes went rather silent while the rest of the team stepped up. Long Island entered the second trailing by just one. Long Island had a fantastic showing in the second, entering the half up by 11, while outscoring Maine, 34-22.

Maine battled back in the third, this time outscoring Long Island, 39-23, entering the fourth up by five. Despite getting it close on a couple of occasions, Long Island was not able to put the dagger in Maine, as they would go on to fall to the Celtics by one point.

Next Up​

The Long Island Nets (7-11) now enter their All-Star break, as they get to reset and regroup till next Friday night. It remains to be seen how the team will look when we get back from the break. Long Island will take on their former big Patrick Gardner and the Osceola Magic.

The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and can be watched on the YES App, as well as the NBA G-League and Long Island Nets’ respective websites.

• Boxscore: Maine Celtics 107, Long Island Nets 106 - G League

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/13...07-106-as-killian-hayes-scores-career-high-30

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

How Brooklyn Nets’ defense turned them into one of the NBA’s hottest teams

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

The Brooklyn Nets are riding a 6-1 stretch into the All-Star break, almost entirely thanks to one end of the court.

We’ll save the long-term ramifications of this hot streak for another time, but for now, the Brooklyn Nets are hot! Heading into the All-Star break, they’ve won six-of-seven, and are now just 1.5 games back of the Play-In Tournament.

At the 2024 All-Star break, they were 2.5 games back of the Play-In Tournament.

This locker room, which was never as downtrodden as a 14-33 record might have suggested, is tremendously joyful at 20-34. Take Nic Claxton, who is not just recapturing some excellence over the past two weeks, but is smiling again. Three different Nets, a record in my time on the beat, were willing to speak to reporters in the locker room after Wednesday night’s victory.

It’s a happy ball-club.

Says Keon Johnson: “Everyone wants to see each other do well. I feel like that’s a big component into just having that type of energy around in the locker room, just knowing that your brothers gonna fight hard night in and night out for you, whereas I’ve been on other teams where it’s not like that.”

The other Johnson, Cam, credits the coaching staff for these vibes: “I think it’s just from a coaching staff perspective, they put a lot of care into it. They put a lot of care into it, and when you have a coaching staff that explains, puts care into it, puts their time, their effort, and everything like that — our job as players is to give our best effort. You don’t want to let them down.”

So, as Brooklyn tanks their tank (last mention, I promise), perhaps that provides solace. This staff, led by rookie Head Coach Jordi Fernández, is getting rave reviews both around the league and from within the locker room, and all of it seems genuine.

How could it not? The team is hot thanks to what typically falls under the purview of coaches. You know, effort, connectedness, defensive game-planning. After all, these Nets aren’t just getting hot on jumpers. Well actually, they’re not hot at all, in that sense...

The Brooklyn Nets are 6-1 in their last 7 games.

It is the 185th instance this season of a team going 6-1 over 7 games, including overlaps.

Brooklyn has scored the fewest points of any of those 185 stretches, per Stathead.

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 13, 2025​

The average score of their last seven games is 102-95. Take out the Washington-Wizards-sized bump in the road, and Brooklyn’s last six wins have an average score of 102-91.5.

It can get pretty gross, but it damn sure is effective.

How are they doing it?​

A perfect tornado is swirling inside Barclays Center right now. The Nets are playing their best defense in over two years, and are also benefiting from their best opponent shooting luck in a while. But as the saying goes: The more you sweat, the luckier you get.

Really, this defensive uptick started when the Nets came home from their second West Coast road trip, 11 games ago. Since then, they have the best defense in the league, per any tracking site. (Funny enough, Cleaning the Glass, which filters out garbage time, has the Nets as the league’s best defense and worst offense over that span.)

It also helps that they’ve played some stinky offenses since the end of the January, and it helps even more that these poor shooting teams are shooting worse than ever right before the All-Star break. Tired legs abound.

Still, Jordi Fernández and his Brooklyn Nets deserve all the credit available. The biggest change they’ve been able to enforce lies within their defensive shot profile.

Over the last 11 games, they are in the top-10 in limiting attempts at the rim, and in the top-5 in opponent shooting percentage at the rim. It’s a reversal from the first three months of the season, when Brooklyn was successfully limiting 3-point attempts, but getting gashed inside.

There are two main principles the Nets are executing well right now, and of course, playing hard is the secret sauce...

Pick and Roll (PnR) coverage​

Let’s start with Brooklyn’s PnR defense, which is among the most aggressive in the league. There has been almost no drop coverage this season, with either Day’Ron Sharpe or Nic Claxton, and now, they’re reaping the benefits.

Thanks to Claxton’s re-engagement and Sharpe being as mobile as ever, ball-handlers are not turning the corner against these two. Whether switching, trapping, or even hedging-and-recovering, the Nets are winning at the point of attack.

Sometimes, it looks as simple as this...

Other times, teams will hit their big man slipping to the basket. But that’s where the Brooklyn’s team-wide synergy comes into focus.

On the play below, Sharpe attacks Paul George on the wing. There’s no way George has enough space or time to fire a 40-foot pass to the opposite corner, so Jalen Wilson can be early on the help...

Part of BKN's hedging being so effective is that their back-line guys have been early as well: pic.twitter.com/hBsjRIjNvS

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 13, 2025​

Then, after initially stopping Drummond (who travels) Wilson is pushed out to the perimeter by the bigger Trendon Watford, and then everybody comes back to rebound.

This type of PnR defense is pretty fluid for Brooklyn. In the second clip, George gets rid of the ball quickly, so it turns into a switch, but it the first clip, Terry Rosier turns his dribble around and Clax has time to recover to Bam Adebayo. Switches, traps, hedges, it all sort of blends together for Brooklyn.

Some things don’t change, though. To prevent teams from scoring at the rim, you need rim protection no matter the coverage, and few defenders can offer that like Nic Claxton.

During this 6-1 stretch, Clax has recorded 22 blocks, over three per game. The most valuable of these blocks has shown what makes him such an exciting defender, an ability to cover the whole court. In the three minutes of the game that started this streak, Claxton blocked three shots, and they all came as he recovered from the perimeter to the paint...

“It’s been different because I never did it at all,” says Claxton. “We never really trapped. We always just guarded one on one. So it’s been different, but I can be really good at it because I can kind of do both a little bit. So I’ve just embraced it. I’ve been doing better.”

That’s a bit of an understatement. As much responsibility lies with the other four defenders to fly around behind Brooklyn’s bigs, they can’t replicate Claxton at his best, nor a better-than-ever Day’Ron Sharpe.

Says Jordi Fernández: “It goes back to being the anchor of the defense. Obviously, they play on both ends, both of them. But, start with their communication, their presence, their physicality, and they both have done a great job ... I’m very happy to see that they’re owning that part.”

Funneling toward the sideline​

Just as Brooklyn’s aggressive pick-and-roll coverage keeps the ball out of the paint, so does the rest of their defense. When the ball is on one side of the court, they keep it there.

In these clips, every closeout or 1-on-1 assignment is angled toward the sideline, and whatever help is waiting around the block area is right on time, meeting drivers outside the paint...

You can see how this strategy, when executed, creates more 3-point attempts for the opponent, even if the Nets do well here to close out and force misses. Luck can be earned, after all.

Here’s an example of what Brooklyn wants to avoid, as Ziaire Williams gets beat to the middle with a nasty tween from Tyler Herro...

That forces the back-line help to step up early, and D’Angelo Russell is then left in a pretty helpless position; he can only watch Kel’el Ware throw down a dunk.

There was another play from early in the Miami Heat game when Tosan Evbuomwan closed out to the wing but forced the shooter to drive middle, and the Heat got a wide open corner three with an easy drive-and-kick.

See, Brooklyn hasn’t just taken advantage of great shooting luck, but also the fact that they’ve played some poor passing teams. A true test of their defense comes in the first game after the break against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland can fire this pass...

...with head-spinning speed and accuracy.

Unfortunately, my favorite defensive possession the Nets have put on tape in the past two weeks resulted in a bucket from Tyler Herro, but I’ll show it anyway.

It puts together all the principles Fernández is striving for. There’s an effective hedge, and then a ton of back-line communication, as Claxton is forced to scramble to a new assignment, and then switches again off the ball to get down by the block...

Eventually, the ball makes its way back to Herro, and he’s forced to attack the right side of the floor, rather than the middle. For 15 seconds, the ball never gets to the second side of the floor, and he makes a 12-foot bank shot with Nic Claxton waiting in the paint.

---

There’s not much to talk about offensively for the Brooklyn Nets. Even over this 6-1 stretch, they’re not quite the worst offense in the league, but bottom-5 isn’t much better. They’re not shooting well, they’re turning it over often, and they’re not getting to the free-throw line.

However, they’re dominating the offensive glass, grabbing about one-third of their misses. That says it all about the current spirit of this team, particularly well as the play of their big men. That’s why they’re 6-1 in their last seven games, and somehow grappling for a Play-In spot, an unthinkable sentence just two weeks ago.

“We wanna get there,” says Nic Claxton. “We wanna get to the playoffs. There’s a lot of people in here that have never been to the playoffs, they’ve never felt that atmosphere and that energy. And of course, it’s one of the best things, it’s one of the best stages in sports. We wanna get there.”

Cam Johnson took it a step further, saying the team is “very, very, very” cognizant of the standings.

“The excitement of competing, getting back into that play-in picture, you know, you make it that far, you give yourself a chance. And I think we were written off early, I think our projected win total was lower than what we have now going into the break. It doesn’t mean we accomplished anything, but it means we’re trending in the right direction.

“This group, which has a good energy about them — coaching staff, same — and we’re looking forward to having a big second segment of the season and really making something happen.”

Not that these last two weeks weren’t enough, but wouldn’t that be something?

• Nic Claxton anchoring Nets’ revitalized defense during recent hot stretch - Andrew Crane - New York Post

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/13...m-into-one-of-the-nbas-hottest-teams-analysis

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

ESSAY: What do we make of a Brooklyn Nets season that, above all, doesn’t make any sense?

Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

Whether you’re enjoying the makings of a failed tank or not, we can all agree this has not been the Brooklyn Nets season we expected.

Personally, I enjoy the wins.

As you probably know, Sarah Kustok and I host The Backcourt, a Brooklyn Nets podcast that is a lot more fun to record when there are wins to talk about.

By season’s end, I’ll have attended 45 games of the 2024-25 Brooklyn Nets, talking to Jordi Fernández and some of the players after each one. This is a particularly nice, engaging group of guys, even more so after wins. On Friday, we looked at how Brooklyn’s defense has powered them to their best stretch of the season entering the All-Star break, but I also mentioned the general spirit of the team as being key.

That’s no empty cliché. The Nets have often had more fight than their opponents, more togetherness, and in the dog days of the NBA calendar, that matters. That energy, even the tiny parcels of it that fall on bystanders like me, is fun to be around.

The 20-34 Brooklyn Nets aren’t world-beaters or anything, but they’re just one loss back of the Play-In Tournament at the break. Exactly one season ago, coming off a coach-firing 50-point blowout defeat to the Boston Celtics, the Nets were two losses out of the Play-In.

Personally, I enjoy the wins. Olive: branched.

---

But this doesn’t make sense. It just doesn’t make sense.

Las Vegas did not set this Brooklyn team’s over/under win total at 18.5, a decision the Nets addressed after notching their 19th win of the season on Monday evening.

“We all seen they had us projected to win 19 games,” said Day’Ron Sharpe. “We all felt the same way that Jordi felt, you know? Ourselves as a collective, we came together like, ‘we all feel that way.’”

No, they set an imagined Brooklyn team’s win total at 18.5. A Brooklyn team that would not feature Dennis Schröder, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, perhaps not Nic Claxton and/or Day’Ron Sharpe, and definitely not D’Angelo Russell.

The Nets, who have indeed found their head coach of the future, did not tank their tank with this recent 6-1 stretch, though it certainly slammed the door shut on top-3 draft lottery odds.

Rather, their chance at top lotto odds — which was inarguably their organizational priority to everybody in the NBA on June 25, 2024 — died many deaths this season.

Dennis Schröder and Cam Johnson shared the court in 22 games this season, of which the Nets won nine. Brooklyn actually won the minutes those two shared together. Dorian Finney-Smith had a net rating of +3.6 in his 580 minutes for Brooklyn this season.

The 2-15 stretch that Brooklyn went on in January wasn’t going to last the whole season. Tanking or not, you can only rest so many players that are truly healthy. Cam Thomas is scheduled to return after the All-Star break, and on this team so desperate for an offensive punch, he’ll only help them win.

The path is surprising, but Brooklyn winning 20 of its first 54 games is not. You know, given the path.

This was apparent from the day the Nets traded Mikal Bridges last June, not just to close observers, but the whole league!

GMs have to say this stuff but I love media day ... anytime you overpay to reacquire your own first-round pick it's definitely because you're not tanking. https://t.co/mmxlIHrHC9

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) September 26, 2024​

Alas, Brooklyn is too competent on the floor to land top odds this season. They start too many real NBA players, and now have 48 minutes of solid big man play every game.

The fifth-best odds are still in play, but anywhere from 6-8 is now looking more likely. Obviously, the front office cannot hand-pick which games the team wins and loses, but generally speaking is this smart? Of course not! There is only one way the difference between the 11-seed and the 14-seed is remotely worth it, and that’s if Cam Johnson is scoring 20 points in a playoff game on his current contract.

But if that’s the plan, why did Sean Marks reacquire his own picks for the next two drafts, featuring true blue-chip prospects in Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper this season, and AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer next season? Why? Can Brooklyn draft a stud at seven? Of course. But why not play the probabilities?! If the players Brooklyn held onto (or, in the case of D’Angelo Russell, acquired) this season were so much better than expected, the team wouldn’t be 20-34.

Agh. I can’t go over this yet again.

Whether you think this season has been enjoyable, painstaking, or a mix of both, one thing is clear: It hasn’t made any sense.

---

In the front office, that is. The players have mostly been a joy to watch, and Cam Johnson’s breakout will have me and many Nets fans rooting for him in the NBA’s Three-Point Contest this Saturday.

Following Wednesday’s victory, Johnson made it clear he and the team do not care about the supposed tank...

Cam Johnson on fans wanting the Nets to tank this season:

“We don’t care... Our job is not to try to get a draft pick. Our job is simply to win basketball games, and that’s what we’re gonna put our full effort towards... If that’s what they think, then they’re not really a fan." pic.twitter.com/aYtfk5fSzQ

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 13, 2025​

“We don’t care. We do not care what they say about that. Listen, at the end of the day, the 15, 18 guys on his team have a job to do, and our job is to not try to get a draft pick. Our job is simply to win basketball games, the basketball games that are in front of us, and that’s what we’re going to put our full effort towards. We don’t care about all that other noise.”

Then, he dropped the hammer: “We don’t care about — if that’s what they think, then they’re not really a fan, you know what I mean? They don’t want us to succeed. You’re going to ask our own players to lose? We’re not going to do that. We’re out there to compete, to win every game. And we’re out there right now to fight back. We’ve been in a little hole, we fought back ... it’s the excitement that this team gets along well and is out there fighting for each other.”

Nic Claxton was slightly more reserved in his comments. First, he said “we could care less about draft picks. We don’t care,” which, duh.

Then, he said understands where these tank-focused fans are coming from...

Nic Claxton on fans wanting the Nets to tank this season:

“It’s a part of the business. We’re not naïve to it... We're gonna go out and try to win every game... But I understand where the fans are coming from. I feel why they would want us to lose this year... But we wanna win.” pic.twitter.com/g7ADdRRoZK

— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 13, 2025​

This is a minimal burden for the players to deal with, insofar as it can be called a burden. I can report that court-side fans are not shouting at the team to miss shots and turn the ball over, whatever tweets the players may catch here and there.

Jordi Fernández and his coaching staff, who also deserve credit for the better-than-expected record, are receiving rave reviews from the team, putting the guys in positions to succeed. Though a 20-34 record is nothing to write home about on its face, it’s hard to argue any Brooklyn Net has cost themselves money this season.

So what now?

Well, this franchise has never drafted a true homegrown star. Kenny Anderson, Derrick Coleman, Brook Lopez, and Kenyon Martin each made one All-Star game with the Nets, the team that drafted them. Not to take anything away from those players, but Brooklyn’s two chances to rewrite history over the next two seasons (yes, with plenty of cap space and trade ammo to boot) seem to be fading.

Sliding toward the middle of the lottery in 2025 is one thing, but if Sean Marks is truly insistent on hoarding cap space this summer rather than prioritizing draft position, what does it say about Brooklyn’s potential pick in 2026?

To answer all these questions, and the title of the article: I’m tired. I can’t make heads or tails of the season. The only thing that makes sense about the Nets at the 2025 All-Star break is that they are confounding, right in line with the rest of Nets history.

After all, it is nothing if not odd to hear YES Network’s Richard Jefferson openly vouch for Brooklyn to focus on draft position, which he did during the team’s February 7 win over the Miami Heat.

All we can do is enjoy this. Both the general absurdity of this season and the wins themselves, which I again admit is easier for me to do.

Rooting for losses at this stage just seems painful, given that you’re dealing with a competent, talented-enough team with a promising head coach. Life would all be better if we were like this Nets fan, iceteawithlemon, who just made this site’s first Fanpost in over a year, confused about why the team is winning so many games in a supposed tank year.

Here’s a screenshot...

Oh, iceteawithlemon, how right you are.

12 hours after this Fanpost, the Philadelphia 76ers benched Tyrese Maxey at the last minute (though sources did say he was truly hurt), and the Nets defeated the Sixers, tying them in the standings and inching oh-so-close to the Play-In Tournament.

Though I personally enjoyed the win for all the reasons listed above, it was another tiny stab at the corpse of Brooklyn’s tank. Now, with a week off and 28 games of this unsolvable puzzle still to come, I wish I was more like iceteawithlemon, who made it all the way to the All-Star break before stumbling into this burning building.

Welcome to the club.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/15...s-season-that-above-all-doesnt-make-any-sense

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Live Discussion: Cam Johnson represents Brooklyn at the 3-point contest

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

Can he pull off the unthinkable like Joe Harris once did?

Nets fans might not have anything to root for during the All-Star Game this year, but at least there’s Cam Johnson in the 3-point contest. Johnson is shooting 41.3% from deep this season, the second-best of his career (20 games minimum). During a season filled with losses and some confusion, this would be be a genuine bright spot for Nets fans. After all, this might be the first and last time all Nets fans are rooting for a win.

We’re no strangers to long shot Nets players pulling off the unthinkable in a three-point contest. Shoutout Joe Harris, 2019.

***

TIME: 8:00 p.m. ET (3-point starts is sandwiched between the skills challenge and Slam dunk contest. )

WHO: Cam Johnson (Nets)

PLAYING FIELD: Damian Lillard (Bucks), Tyler Herro (Heat), Jalen Brunson (NYK), Buddy Hield (Warriors), Darius Garland (Cavaliers), Norman Powell (Clippers), Cade Cunningham (Pistons)

Have at it and have fun!

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/15...on-represents-brooklyn-at-the-3-point-contest

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Killian Hayes: One more step towards redemption

Photo by Christian Bonin/NBAE via Getty Images

His play of late has made both fans and teammates wonder why he’s still down in the G League but for Killian Hayes it’s part of a return to the promise that made him the No. 7 pick

This season hasn’t been so much about wins and losses for the Long Island Nets but rather about redemption. This has been abundantly clear with various players on the team trying to advance their careers or get back to the NBA. None more so than Killian Hayes.

The 6’5” 23-year-old point wants that more than anything and he’s not shy about saying so.

“That’s my only goal is to get back to the NBA,” he told NetsDaily Tuesday. “There’s been talks for sure, but I guess we’ll see in the future what happens.”

If and when he does, it will mark a turnaround that has taken him through disappointment after disappointment, then a break here, a break there leading to hope for the player once viewed as France’s next big star.

Hayes started his professional career as 16-year-old in France where he would quickly become one of the most promising men’s players in the country. The son of an American father and French mother, he was born in Lakeland, Florida, but grew up in his France. His father, former Penn State hooper DeRon Hayes, played most of his professional career with French powerhouses Cholet and Nancy.

Killian’s career didn’t take long to take off. He won the gold medal and earned most valuable player (MVP) honors with France at the 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship. He led his team to a silver medal at the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup.

That same year, he was invited to play in “Basketball Without Borders” during the NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles. Hayes was the second-youngest player to be invited. He was only 17. It was his first time in the NBA spotlight and he impressed fans and scouts alike but he was still two years away from being eligible for the NBA Draft!

Hayes finally got his first at the NBA with the Detroit Pistons when he was drafted seventh overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. In some mock drafts, he had been tagged as high as No. 1. Shortly after he signed his rookie scale contract with the Pistons, Hayes suffered a hip injury which was diagnosed as a labral tear two days later. He played only 26 games in his rookie season.

His career never matched his promise in Detroit and although injuries were an issue, it was his shooting that hurt him most. After three and a half years, Hayes was unceremoniously dumped last February by the Pistons, then a historically bad NBA team with a 7-43 record.

Throughout his career, Hayes simply couldn’t master putting the ball in the hoop. His career shooting splits were 38.2% overall and an even worse 27.7% from deep. How bad was that? He was the worst in the NBA in effective field goal percentage each of his first three seasons, never getting above 42.6%, well below the league average of 54.8%. Last season, he had a slight improvement before he was cut, but was still the league’s third worst in EFG.

“It didn’t work because of his shooting. He never got his shooting,” said then Pistons’ GM Troy Weaver. “The guy can really defend, we’ve seen his playmaking ability, but if you’re a guard in the NBA you have to make shots.”

At 22, he was out of the league. No team picked him up. Then things got worse. In June he was cut again, this time from the French national team which went on to win the silver at the Paris Olympics. As one Detroit basketball writer put it, “2024 has not been a kind year to Killian Hayes.”

Slowly, things began to turn. A little more than two weeks after being cut by Team France, he worked out in front of a number of teams in Las Vegas and the Nets signed him to an Exhibit 10 contract, essentially a make-good deal, He had been working with former Brooklyn assistant coach Adam Harrington who he credited with helping his shooting mechanics.

Finally, one more setback. A hip issue. He wound up missing all four of the Nets pre-season games as he continued to rehab his hip. That didn’t deter him or more importantly Jordi Fernandez.

“The injury came at a horrible time, but it is what it is. That’s another reason why I stayed with the Nets,” Hayes told NetsDaily at Long Island’s Media Day. “With my injury, that’s who I’ve been working with to rehab it. So, it just makes sense to come back stronger and better. It’s going well and getting better every day.”

“I’ve seen him play live in practice and you guys haven’t,” Fernández said of Hayes in preseason. “I’ve seen him and I’m very happy with him.”

“Killian’s got a good feel for the game,” the ever-encouraging Fernández added. “He’s worked really hard the whole time we’ve had him here. He’s been really good at camp.”

Brooklyn couldn’t sign him to a two-way deal however. Two-ways are limited to players with four years or less NBA experience and Hayes at only 23 is in his fifth year. So, he was cut by Brooklyn and assigned to Long Island. Hayes’ decision to choose Long Island — to accept playing in the G League — gave him the best shot to get back to the league.

Things started out slowly at least in the shooting department — “up and down,” as he told Hoopshype in December. Then a month ago, Hayes exploded. In the past seven games, he seemingly has put aside his reputation as a solid playmaker and defender who can’t shoot.

Seven games — interrupted by a bad case of flu — may seem like a small sample to some but it’s promise for Hayes. In that stretch, he’s averaged 23.3 points, 9.1 assists, 4.4 assists and 3.1 steals with shooting splits of 57/50/89. Twice he hit five three’s in a game. His effective field goal percentage in that stretch? 65.3%.

“Putting in the work,” Hayes told ND about how his shot has been developing. “Just being confident at the end of the day. I like how my shot is feeling. I like my chances when I shoot the ball. That’s one of the reasons I started going in, just to have that intent whenever I shoot.”

While Hayes’ shooting has improved a great deal, he also continues to remain a natural playmaker getting his teammates involved.

“I’m trying to get as many assists as I can every game,” says Hayes. “That’s how I’m going. Just sharing the ball and keeping everyone happy. You can see that too (on the score sheet) six, or seven guys got over 10 points. That’s a good thing for us.”

Indeed. three weeks ago, he had 26 points and 18 assists in a win over Raptors905 in Montreal where his French heritage and language skills were a big hit.

Beyond the numbers, Hayes has established a great connection with his fellow teammates like Drew Timme and Dariq Whitehead.

“He makes the game so easy,” Timme told NetsDaily Tuesday about working with Hayes. “He makes it simple. He just makes the right read. Whatever he does, I just know it’s the right play, so it’s awesome to get to play with the guy at such a high level.”

He added, “I think we’re all surprised he’s still down here, to be honest, with the way he carries himself and has been playing.”

“Playing together can make Killian better and can make me better,” Whitehead told ND in echoing Timme’s comments. “Just being able to play off of him. He’s a really good player. The way he thinks and knows the game, and just the way he plays in general. It’s best for the team and gets everyone going.”

“It’s part of his development,” said Long Island head coach Mfon Udofia of Hayes’ shooting improvement. “Of course when you come to the G-League you have things you’d like to work on, and you want to be selfish about. It’s what we’re here for.

“Our coaching staff has been doing a really good job with Killian, he’s been putting the work in each and every day, and you can see it paying off. To see him have success has been great because he puts so much work in and he’s been working really hard.”

Brooklyn’s head coach Jordi Fernandez and his coaching staff were on hand Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum to watch Long Island destroy the Windy City Bulls. Hayes took a back seat in that game, letting Timme and Whitehead carry the load but still played well. Fernandez told G League TV he was there to “support” Long Island, but he also had a courtside view of Hayes. There had to be some scouting involved as well. After all, he and staff had arrived in Uniondale late morning after a big win in Brooklyn the night before.

It remains to be seen what happens next, but a lot of Brooklyn fans are already calling on their team to give Hayes that standard contract and bring him back up. There’s a number of moving pieces that have land in just the right way for the Nets to give Hayes that final shot at redemption. It should also be noted when Hayes told ND that he and his agent have been having “talks” he didn’t say with which NBA teams. The Nets only hold his G League rights. Any of the other 29 teams that have a roster opening can sign him.

But with Ben Simmons gone and the Nets pressing Trendon Watford to fill in at back-up point guard, there is a need for another playmaker. And giving players like Hayes — a fallen angel in NBA parlance — a second chances is what rebuilding teams do. One thing we know for sure is Hayes has been one of the best point guards in the G-League of late and it’s possible that we could have seen the last of him on Long Island as teams could be calling his name before the end of the All-Star break.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/15/24365780/killian-hayes-one-more-step-towards-redemption

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

DRAFT WATCH #7 - Brooklyn Nets likely to pick best players available. So who’s that?

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

With five picks, including four in the first, the Nets will have more picks in the 2025 NBA Draft than anyone. So what’s the issue.

So this is what the fuss is all about: the 2025 NBA Draft. The Brooklyn Nets and their fans are have been debating this draft ever since June 24 of last year when they worked two deals with the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets that got them, as of now, the 6th, 19th, 24th, 26th and 36th picks ... instead of the 12th and 24th.

With all the draft capital, particularly that lottery pick, the Nets were expected to tank but Jordi Ferndandez has changed that script and with a third of the season left, they’re a game and a half out of the play-in tournament. (In case you’re wondering: if the Nets finish 10th and continue playing beyond April 13, they’ll stay in the May 12 lottery if they lose their first game, but if they win that game, welp, their pick drops to No. 15.)

Put aside all the lottery and debate for now and take a look at the latest mock drafts, all of which base their selections on where things stand at the time of the mock, including the lottery pick.

There’s little commonality in any of the mocks, with Kon Knueppel the leader with three selections but in draft slots ranging from #6 to No. 24. Kasparas Jakucionis, Thomas Sorber, Will Riley and Darrion Williams all made than one mock.

A survey of Twitter shows that the Nets scouts have seen most of the prospects named in the mocks, with Sean Marks having personally scouted the Rutgers duo of Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey at least four times.

Here ya go. All six mocks are the most recent by the draftniks.

————————————————-

First ESPN, drawn up by draft gurus Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, which has the Nets interested in a Duke forward. No not that one. Givony has said he believes the draft is the best he’s ever seen and he’s been doing it for two decades.

#6 - Kon Knueppel, wing, 6’7”, Duke

#20 - Will Riley, wing, 6’8”, Illinois

#23 - Carter Bryant, wing, 6’8”, Arizona

#24 - Thomas Sorber, center, 6’10”, Georgetown

#36 - Alex Toohey, small forward, 6’8”, Sydney (Australia)

Givony and Woo have Knueppel higher than most. Here’s their argument for him:

Knueppel has played a significant role in Duke’s 20-3 season, shouldering shot-creation duties while hitting 40% of his 3-pointers and holding his own defensively. He’s an underrated passer, ranked as the third-best pick-and-roll player in this draft by Synergy Sports. He brings a unique combination of competitiveness, feel for the game and versatility that would make him a seamless fit on any NBA roster. Struggling against long-armed athletes at times in nonconference play, Knueppel’s ability to maintain his efficiency in Duke’s biggest games in March will play a role in where he gets drafted.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic/New York Times is a lone voice in the wilderness in assessing this Draft’s talent. Givony pooh-poohs the belief that this is the best draft in a generation, thinking instead that it’s kinda average. His is the oldest mock, from about a month back.

#7 - Egon Demin, PG, 6’9”, Brigham Young

#18 - Noah Penda, PF, 6’10”, France

#25 - Khamen Malauch, C, 7’2”, Duke

#27 - Bogoljub Markovic, PF, 6’11”, Serbia

#37 - Darrion Williams, wing, 6’6”, Texas Tech

Vecenie likes Demin who has fell a bit in recent weeks as his speed has been questioned, but The Athletic writer thinks his advantages as a point guard are big.

The passing is so good with Demin that I can’t get him outside of the top 10. He’s a serious talent and immensely gifted with the ball in his hands. There’s not a better passer in all of college basketball, and he’s legitimately massive. And yet, there’s still a lot to prove here as he continues to get back from his injury and starts to play more consistently difficult competition in the Big 12, as he learned last weekend against Houston.

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report thinks that while the top of the draft appears set with Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey and V.J. Edgecombe it gets a little trickier after that with both “tricky upside bets” and “safer skill sets” available.

#6 - Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, 6’6”, Illinois

#19 - Hugo Gonzalez, wing, 6’7”, Real Madrid

#24 - Boogie Fland, PG, 6’2”, Arkansas

#26 - Will Riley, wing, 6’8”, Illinois

#36 - Dink Pate, PG, 6’8”, Mexico City (G League)

Like Demin, there are questions about Jakucionis athleticism, Wasserman writes:

After a strong start showing scouts creativity, clever movement, flashy shotmaking, playmaking IQ and crafty finishing, the concerns with Kasparas Jakucionis’ quickness, explosion and ball security were exposed over the past few weeks. He struggled trying to get uncontested shots for himself against Rutgers and Nebraska, he fouled out in nine minutes against Michigan State and now averages 3.7 turnovers per game.

Tankathon’s anonymous draftniks update their mock daily but without much comment on the overall strength of the draft. However, they do note that the Nets lead the NBA Draft power rankings based on current draft position. It will change on May 12.

#7 - Kon Knueppel, wing, 6’7”, Duke

#19 - Thomas Sorber, center, 6’10”, Georgetown

#24 - Sergio de Larrea, PG, 6’6”, Valencia (Spain)

#26 - Adou Thiero, PF, 6’8”, Arkansas

#37 - Darrion Williams, wing, 6’6”, Texas Tech

Like ESPN, Tankathon likes Knueppel. Enough said.

Aron Smith, who’s run NBADraft.net, has always been an outlier and 2025 continues the tradition. He likes a number of players who others relegated to the second round ... and vice versa.

#6 - Boogie Fland, PG, 6’2”, Arkansas

#22 - Derik Queen, PF, 6’10”, Maryland

#24 - Kon Knueppel, wing, 6’7”, Duke

#29 - Nique Clifford SG, 6’6” Colorado State

NBADraft.net didn’t extend his mock beyond the first round. While other mocks have Fland in late first or second, Smith puts him in the high lottery. He also notes that Fland is a New Yorker, from the Bronx.

Fland is a flashy and scrappy lead guard from the Bronx. He’s next in line in the Coach Cal point guard production line. He’s still mastering the art of playing the position and balancing creating offense for himself and others. The lack of physicality is one slight concern and an intriguing debate has emerged between Fland and fellow freshman point guard Jeremiah Fears. We still believe Fland is the better long term prospect, due to his high school body of work and overall skill set and potential. But the fact that Fears has been so good defensively and surprised on offense has closed the gap. Fland has good length in his own right, and just needs to add more strength to improve upon his ability to play physical.

NBA Draft Room also is anonymous. It’s top pick is not a stretch based on the consensus on Jakucionis. After that, its choices are unconventional, but as this compilation shows, that’s common.

#6 - Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, 6’6”, Illinois

#20 - Rasheer Fleming, PF, 6’9”, St. Joseph’s

#25 - Johni Broome, PF, 6’10”, Auburn

#26 - Colin Murray-Boyles, PF, 6’7”, South Carolina

NBA Draft Room also didn’t extend till through the second round. It has fewer doubts about Jakucionis as others.

A floor general with size, great passing ability and a nice outside shot, Kasparas has been on a tear early in his freshman season, although has cooled off a bit lately. He does it all, impacts both ends and is a fearless leader on the court. His ceiling is probably top 5 and his draft range is ~5-12 at this point.

At the moment, we hear the Nets plan to keep all their picks, but that can change. Picks can be combined, traded in big trades and small. And never eliminate the possibility that Sean Marks & co. could add picks.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/16...yn-nets-likely-to-pick-best-players-available

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Buck Williams named Hall of Fame finalist

Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images

The greatest rebounder in Nets history is one step away from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Buck Williams, one of the game’s great rebounders and a New Jersey Net for eight years, has been named a finalist for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, part of class that also includes Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard as well as Sue Bird, the 2008 Redeem Team ... and Adrian Wojnarowski.

The announcement was made Friday evening in a tweet...

At forward, from Maryland, a Class of 2025 Finalist, Buck Williams. #25HoopClass pic.twitter.com/pcKuIl3Slz

— Basketball HOF (@Hoophall) February 14, 2025​

The HoopHall later released a statement on Williams accomplishments:

BUCK WILLIAMS [Player] – A three-time NBA All-Star (1982-83, ‘86), Williams ranks third in NBA history in offensive rebounds (4,526) and 16th in total rebounds (13,017). He earned four NBA All-Defensive Team honors and was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 1982. The third overall pick in the 1981 NBA Draft following his All-American career at Maryland, Williams led the NBA in offensive rebounds in 1983-84 (355) and played in all 82 games in a season four times. Williams spent the first eight seasons of his 17-year career with the New Jersey Nets (1981-89) before being traded to Portland, where he helped lead the Trail Blazers to NBA Finals appearances in 1990 and ‘92. The Nets retired his #52 in 1999.

While with the Nets, Williams was Rookie of the Year in 1982, a three-time NBA All-Star and was selected both All-NBA and All-Defense.

He was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers in 1989 (for Sam Bowie and a draft pick.) After he left New Jersey, the Nets didn’t get beyond the second round of the playoffs again until 2002 when Jason Kidd led them to the NBA Finals.

Williams attended the Vince Carter jersey retirement last month, meeting with fans, taking selfies and signing autographs.

The group of finalists now moves to the final round of the nomination process. A panel of 24 anonymous voters will consider the candidates. A candidate has to receive votes from at least 18 of those 24 panelists to gain election to the Hall of Fame.

The 2025 class will be announced April 5 in San Antonio during the NCAA Men’s Final Four. Enshrinement weekend is September 5-6.

The full list is here. In addition to the finalists named, the Hall announced that Woj would be awarded the 2025 Curt Gowdy Media Award along with Pistons play-by-play announcer George Blaha, CBS analyst Clark Kellogg, veteran women’s basketball writer Michelle Smith. Those awards will be presented at the All-Star Weekend.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/14/24365953/buck-williams-named-hall-of-fame-finalist

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

ANALYSIS: How do the young Brooklyn Nets stack up? How’s development going?

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

In his day job, ProfessorB is an award-winning social scientist and Presidential Laureate. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, and other major media outlets. But he also dabbles in NetsWorld.

The Brooklyn Nets are stranded between battling for a play-off spot (1.5 games out of the 10th spot in the East!) and battling for lottery balls (3.5 games better than the fifth worst record in the league!). Sean Marks says they’re “competing,” but also that “some of the decisions we make … may not always be in line with winning the next game or putting the most talent out there.”

One way to parse that apparent contradiction is to suppose that one of the team’s main goals for the season is to develop and assess the stable of young players on the current roster. Playing these guys may not always contribute directly to winning, but could contribute to the “long-term sustainable success” the team is aiming for, regardless of where the ping pong balls land in May.

How does the Nets’ contingent of young talent stack up against the rest of the NBA? The picture is mixed ... at best.

So far this season, 147 guys under the age of 25 have played 300 NBA minutes—enough to get at least a rough handle on their performance. The youngest is Hornets rookie Tidjane Salaün, who turned 19 last August. Among the oldest is Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, who will turn 25 at the end of this month. The Nets have more than their share of those young players—Jalen Wilson, Keon Johnson, Ziaire Williams, Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Tosan Evbuomwan, and Trendon Watford. (Nic Claxton and Tyrese Martin are almost 26, and the other young players on the Nets roster have played less than 300 minutes.)

Perhaps the best single measure of overall NBA performance is EPM rating, which combines a plus-minus rating adjusted for the quality of teammates and opponents on each possession with a weighted combination of box score stats. The EPM ratings of the 147 players considered here range from +5.4 (for the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, 3rd in the league behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokić) to −6.5 (for Jazz rookie Cody Williams, currently dead last in the NBA).

Thomas is the highest-rated young Net by this measure, ranking 19th among the league’s under-25 players and 71st overall. Two more Nets, Sharpe and Watford, have EPM ratings ranking them among the top one-third of young NBA talent, while Williams and Evbuomwan rank in the middle third and Clowney, Johnson, and Wilson in the bottom third.

Of course, it is not uncommon for young players to improve with age and experience. Even among players under the age of 25, those who are older and have played more tend to have significantly higher EPM ratings. (Interestingly, differences in ratings are much more strongly related to NBA experience than to age. An additional 1,000 minutes on the court is associated with a 0.4 increase in expected EPM rating—more than a three-year age difference.) Thus, an assessment of performance aimed at long-term potential should statistically adjust for these differences.

The Nets are one of the league’s older young teams, with only Clowney under the age of 22. After adjusting the EPM ratings for experience and age, Thomas remains the highest-rated Net but slips slightly (to 24th) in the league ranking. On the other hand, Sharpe, who has played only half as many NBA minutes, rises slightly (to 36th). Both remain among the top one-third of players under the age of 25. The least experienced players on the team, Evbuomwan and Clowney, rank in the middle third along with Watford and Williams.

The league’s highest adjusted EPM rating, by far, belongs to Wembanyama. The rest of the top ten are Dereck Lively, Ausar Thompson, Chet Holmgren, Amen Thompson, Evan Mobley, Franz Wagner, Zach Edey, Jalen Williams, and Cade Cunningham. Some of the older and more experienced players with top-ten EPM ratings in the under-25 group—Tyrese Maxey, Zion Williamson, LaMelo Ball, and Anthony Edwards—drop down the rankings once the ratings are adjusted for experience and age.

Simply totaling each team’s positive adjusted EPM ratings provides some sense of where to look for the NBA’s future powerhouse teams: the Spurs (7.1, mostly thanks to Wemby), Grizzlies (5.9), Thunder (5.6), Rockets (5.3), and Pistons (5.1). The Nets, at 1.1 (Thomas and Sharpe), are far down the list — not an encouraging spot for a rebuilding team.

The Nets’ cupboard of young talent looks even more bare if we turn to an alternative measure of overall performance based entirely on box score stats, BPM, Box Plus/Minus. After adjusting for experience and age, only Sharpe (32nd) and Thomas (43rd) rank among the top half of the league’s young players in BPM ratings, while Watford, Williams, Evbuomwan, Johnson, and Wilson all rank in the bottom quarter.

With four first-round draft picks and a lot of cap space, the Nets’ roster is likely to change significantly next summer. Thomas, Sharpe, and Williams will be restricted free agents, and Watford an unrestricted free agent. How much does the team want to invest in them?

Clowney will continue on his rookie contract and Evbuomwan on his two-way deal (unless he is promoted to a standard roster spot). Johnson and Wilson seem to be most clearly on the bubble, both in terms of performance (ranking in the bottom third of young NBA players by every measure considered here) and in terms of contract status (both have team options for next season and little or no guaranteed salary).

Whatever else happens on the court in the next couple of months, all these young Nets will be scrambling to prove that they can contribute to winning basketball, whether that turns out to be in Brooklyn or elsewhere. And fans will be hoping that the summer brings a major infusion of additional talent, whether through the draft, free agency, or trades.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/17...brooklyn-nets-stack-up-hows-development-going

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn’s Next Nets: Tosan Evbuomwan

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

The first article of a mini-series, examining if the Brooklyn Nets have uncovered any diamonds in the rough this season.

I recently wrote that the Brooklyn Nets’ 2024-2025 campaign, to this point, hasn’t made much sense. It wasn’t a defense or condemnation of the not-really-a-tank route they seem to be taking, but somewhat of a white flag. (Not a White Flagg.)

Brooklyn’s long-term plans seemed clear and obvious after last summer’s trades that just screamed short-term-tank, but nearly a year later, and Sean Marks is much tougher to read. As he’ll remind us, he does have a ton of roster flexibility moving forward, with both cap space and tradable draft assets in tow. Even as the league’s best players have stopped entering free agency in the 2020s — thus limiting the importance of cap space — that’s always a positive. But what shape the Nets are planning to contort themselves into with this newfound flexibility? That’s an unknown. Brooklyn’s current plan will only be judged by its the results.

Which brings us to the one real lesson the 2024-25 Brooklyn Nets have taught us: It’s never been harder to become a good NBA player.

Statistically, this is indisputable. A fully globalized NBA led to 125 international players on Opening Night rosters. This league isn’t just the best of the best, it’s the best of the best of the best.

This manifests as a game that is both better and harder to play than ever. Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Hart, and others would do well to acquaint themselves with this recent Thinking Basketball video before decrying the (incredible) state of the game today...

There is no such thing as a stretch-4 anymore. Your 4-man (AKA the second-biggest guy on the court) has to shoot it from outside now. Evan Mobley, who excels if not dominates at everything else a power forward could ever be asked to do, has seen an outside shooting leap take him to new heights in 2025.

The pure 3-and-D archetype is evaporating too. The late 2010’s Houston Rockets, and therefore P.J. Tucker, will always have a special place in my heart, but it’s damn-near impossible to imagine a wing with such little ability to attack a closeout playing 40 minutes a night for a 65-win team ever again. I almost pity a guy like Jaden McDaniels, who has far more off-the-dribble talent than P.J. Tucker ever did and is still fighting to be offensively viable in a playoff context.

Thus, the following is a tough question for General Manager Sean Marks.

“For me, myself, from the front office side, we’re looking at it from, ‘Who are the Next Nets?’ Who do we look at and say, OK, this person can be part of this rebuild and this person is on the team for the next two, three years?”

He asked that at September’s Media Day, and five months later, we’re starting to try and answer it for him. Our ProfessorB just analyzed the eight current Nets age-25 or younger, and the quantitative results showed pretty much what you’d expect.

Thomas is the highest-rated young Net by [EPM], ranking 19th among the league’s under-25 players and 71st overall. Two more Nets, Sharpe and Watford, have EPM ratings ranking them among the top one-third of young NBA talent, while Williams and Evbuomwan rank in the middle third and Clowney, Johnson, and Wilson in the bottom third.

Among this group, Thomas and Sharpe are fairly known quantities, and both will hit restricted free agency this summer. They each have clear strengths and weaknesses, but for a couple of late-20s picks in 2021, this is a major credit to them ... and the team that selected them. Sharpe in particular has recently made fantastic strides on defense, cementing his floor as a rock-solid NBA contributor, which did not seem promised after his first couple seasons.

Will Sharpe and Thomas be capable of starting on championship teams? Do we know what their optimized play-styles look like? Will we see them in Brooklyn beyond this season? The answer to all of these questions remains a mystery, but these fourth-year pros are far less mysterious than the rest of Brooklyn’s young players, many of whom are recent additions to the roster.

So we’ll take a look at the rest of them one by one, figuring out if Sean Marks has stumbled upon any of the Next Nets in this wonky season, starting with ... Tosan Evbuomwan.

---

Evbuomwan, currently on a two-year two-way deal, is one funky, funky player. It’s not often you find a 24-year-old with only a little G League or NBA experience who can walk onto an NBA team and isolate into a bucket...

Tosan just going to work: pic.twitter.com/1QI1XUuoRV

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 18, 2025​

...but that’s Evbuomwan.

Aside from the obvious talent and intriguing background, a Brit who helped start the basketball team at his high school, Evbuomwan is refreshing for many Nets fans because he is a strong guy at 6’7”.

Ever since MarShon Brooks, really, so many of Brooklyn’s young players and draft picks have been physically weak as prospects. Small, skinny, even if otherwise athletic. Evbuomwan is not that, both strong and long, and every time he posts up a guard or outmuscles a similarly-sized player for a rebound is a sight for sore eyes.

He is already 24 years old, so these physical attributes are nearly set in stone, but he just feels like an NBA player out there. After his first couple games in Brooklyn, it felt miraculous the team was able to pick him up off the scrap heap.

It’s become more clear since; despite his talent, an optimized role for the ex-Princeton Tiger in the NBA is tough to make out.

At Princeton, Evbuomwan was an awesome back-to-the-basket and dribble-handoff hub. Think Domantas Sabonis, in terms of where he got his offense from. Princeton would run cross-screens down low for him so he could attack 1-on-1 in small spaces...

Tosan was an incredibly cool college star: pic.twitter.com/4oBTyivSt6

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 18, 2025​

His passing game was similar to Sabonis too. He excelled at hitting backdoor cutters or reading split-action. While this read isn’t too impressive, he hit it enough to become the record-holder for assists in a season at Princeton...

biggest question for Tosan's NBA prospects is if this sort of vision (admittedly easy read) translates to off-the-dribble playmaking pic.twitter.com/4HS87ALLEu

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) February 18, 2025​

The Brooklyn Nets or any other NBA team are not going to let Evbuomwan post up and handle the ball this much. He runs some fake dribble-handoffs occasionally and gets to the rim, but largely, he’s a wing at the NBA level.

He’s certainly a wing, rather than a big, on defense. For all his strength and length, he’s not a particularly explosive vertical athlete, limiting his ability to protect the rim. He’s much more effective on the perimeter, getting into passing lanes or meeting ball-handlers on switches or closeouts...

Nets close the 3Q on a 12-0 run, due in large part to the play of Tosan Evbuomwan. Throws an top, then a fantastic closeout and block here: https://t.co/ncWdFNoZw6 pic.twitter.com/5YRr5EDsom

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 7, 2025​

So, as a wing at the NBA level, he’s going to have to shoot some threes (career 27-of-83, 32.5%, from deep), and attack from the arc rather than the post.

The good news is that he’s flashed some real playmaking ability here, particularly setting up teammates around the basket. There was that above lob to Day’Ron Sharpe, as well as this beauty to Nic Claxton...

this is a great pass by Tosan Evbuomwan off the drive

the finish from Clax.... pic.twitter.com/GiisgYxExB

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 22, 2025​

...and some clear poise in the short-roll as well...

See some Naji Marshall when I watch Tosan. Ideally a shorter but strong/athletic 4 with some ball-handling/scoring prowess against mismatches and passing on DHOs/short-roll situations.

helps that he seems to process the floor quickly when an advantage appears: pic.twitter.com/C7z0Yd35dU

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 21, 2025​

The problem is that Evbuomwan hasn’t shown much prowess in driving and kicking out to shooters. You can really see his past life as a big-time post-up threat, because his drives often turn into back-downs and fadeaways.

It’s not that Evbuomwan’s touch as a mid-range shooter is the problem, but per Cleaning the Glass, a whopping 42% of his shots this season have come from the midrange. That’s not a shot profile NBA teams are going to tolerate unless you’re a ball-dominant offensive star.

The bar to be an NBA contributor is just so high. It’s not enough that Evbuomwan is big and long - 7’1” wingspan - with excellent footwork near the basket and solid touch, he also needs to make the most of his passing ability and hit threes, given that he's not a forceful rim protector on the other end. That’s a lot of stuff.

So, has Sean Marks found a guy?

Maybe. Though Evbuomwan is already (just) 24 years old, he still isn't close to 1000 career minutes in the NBA. Beyond the passing flashes he’s shown, Evbuomwan generally seems to have a high feel for the game. Thus, I’d bet that some of his off-the-dribble decision-making improves with more reps, in addition to his off-ball defense. Remember, much of his college career (and some of his G League career) was spent defending the painted area, not making perimeter rotations.

Tosan Evbuomwan’s game deserves to be nit-picked, but only because he seems quite close to being an NBA contributor. For a player the Brooklyn Nets plucked out of thin air in the middle of the season, that’s a fantastic start. Unlike some of the other young-ish players on the 2024-25 Nets, I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing what Evbuomwan can do in the second half of this season.

“I think, honestly, the way he’s playing, it can’t go unnoticed. I’ve mentioned it to my coaches, my friends, how good he is.” — D’Angelo Russell

• In Brooklyn, Tosan Evbuomwan ’23 nets a new path

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/18/24368194/brooklyns-next-nets-tosan-evbuomwan-sean-marks

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn’s Next Nets: Keon Johnson

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

The 22-year-old guard is going through his first season of consistent NBA minutes with the Brooklyn Nets. Is it too early to write him off?

To help get Brooklyn Nets fans through the near-competed All-Star Break, our own ProfessorB ran the numbers on Brooklyn’s young core, to the extent that it exists. It’s not very young, and well, judging by the analytics as well as Brooklyn’s 52-84 record over the last year-and-a-half, probably not a core either.

Still, what we got is what we have.

So before Brooklyn resumes play on Thursday evening against the Cleveland Cavaliers, I’m analyzing what the young Nets have put on tape in the first half of 2024-25, seeing how General Manager Sean Marks’ stated preseason goal of finding “the next Nets” is going.

Here is the first installment of this mini-series, featuring Tosan Evbuomwan, as well as more general reflections on the Nets and just how difficult it is to become a positive NBA player in 2025.

Spoiler, for those who don’t go back and read: It’s incredibly difficult. That’s why Keon Johnson, despite plenty of positive moments and even highlights with the Nets this season, grades out as one of the worst under-25 players in the NBA by all-in-one metrics.

Now, Johnson has probably been a little better than that. Defensively, he hasn’t been perfect with the ball-pressure Jordi Fernández has asked him to apply, but he’s frequently created problems for opposing guards. That carries over off the ball, where thanks to his twitchy athleticism, Keon can make a lot of plays...

Keon Johnson with a couple nice defensive plays, including a block you'll want to see Trendon Watford's reaction to: pic.twitter.com/w7eVlPwnOD

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) December 5, 2024​

His combined block+steal rate of 2.5%, per Cleaning the Glass, is well above-average for players his size, as is his nearly elite rebounding numbers. All that bounce in his legs does not go to waste.

However, with Keon, there’s always a drawback. Among players with 1000 minutes this season, he has the second-highest foul rate. The 22-year-old has extremely limited core/glute strength, so once a stronger player initiates contact, it’s over.

Dennis Smith Jr., if you’ll recall, actually had a similar foul rate with the Nets, but his hands were so elite that taller players were reluctant to attack him for fear of getting their cookies taken. Keon Johnson tries his damn hardest, but isn’t quite at that level.

In sum, Johnson is a fine guard defender, but no vaunted specialist. And that’s a shame, because the offense just isn’t seem advanced enough in his 4th year as a pro.

Brooklyn rewarded Keon Johnson with a standard contract following his excellent fortnight at Las Vegas Summer League in 2024, where he averaged 16/5/6 as a primary ball-handler, and showed necessary improvements to his game. He was patient in the lane and consistently kicked the ball to teammates once he drew multiple sets of eyes, eschewing good shots for great shots.

Noah Clowney said it best: “I think in Long Island, [Keon] had stretches where he was in the mindset of ‘I’m trying to get mine,’ and I think that’s where he’s progressed the most, is trying to make the right play more than just score.”

Encouragingly, we’ve seen that in the regular season. Johnson has far more pace and poise to his drives than he did as a rookie in Portland or even as a two-way contract with the Long Island Nets last season...

first successful drive and/or lob against Wemby belongs to Keon Johnson. He's thrown a bunch of these this season: pic.twitter.com/78OWy1nZxR

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) December 28, 2024​

As such, he’s turning the ball over less often than ever, including his freshman season at the University of Tennessee. That’s helped drag his all-in-ones from below the house to the basement in year four.

Keon Johnson is improving, and that may be enough for many Nets fans. It reflects well on the player-development-focused coaching staff, and perhaps on Sean Marks’ ability to pluck decent 11th men out of thin air.

But for Keon Johnson to become a positive NBA player, he still has a long, long way to go. He is shooting just a tad worse than the likes of Fred VanVleet, Davion Mitchell, Jose Alvarado, and Cameron Payne at the rim this season, evidence that his high-flying athleticism we often see on the fast-break is rarely maximized. Johnson even has an inch or two of height and wingspan on those diminutive guards, but not only is he not the playmaker most of them are, he’s not the finisher either.

Again, he’s improving. Johnson has basically doubled his career-minutes this season, and is shooting far better from 2-point land than he ever has. (Low bar, but still.)

When he gets to two feet, he looks like a real NBA driver. There’s twitchy athleticism and more importantly, control. He can pivot, pump-fake, make passes, and jumper over/around people...

said it a bunch, but Keon Johnson getting to two feet more consistently makes him a legitimate driving threat pic.twitter.com/SWFKLAKdaS

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) January 18, 2025​

Keon eats up so much space on his drives, nice kick here and a bucket from Shake: pic.twitter.com/vP8C4XAuFn

— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) December 1, 2024​

However, the majority of Johnson’s drives do not end so smoothly. Here’s some hand-tracked data:

• Rim attempts off one foot: 45/109 (41.3%, would rank among the five worst finishers in the NBA)
• Rim attempts off two feet: 50/84 (59.5%, would rank slightly below league-average among guards)

Despite his dunk-contest-worthy hops in the open court, Keon doesn’t have many avenues to scoring at the rim. His handles aren’t devastating, and he doesn’t have the frame to bounce off much contact or explode off one foot. Whether you view him as a ball-dominant guard or ancillary wing or something in between, this is bad news.

Particularly because Johnson can’t shoot from the outside.

It’s great that Jordi Fernández has bestowed the greenest of lights upon Johnson. But he’s at 29.3% from deep on the season, and he’s taking 10.7 3PA/100 possessions, about the volume Patty Mills averages for his career.

This was Keon’s unlikely chance at becoming a positive offensive player, but at 6’4-ish, he’s now right in line with his career average of 31.6% from three, also comparable to his college and G League numbers.

And also the eye test. Keon is an extremely rigid shooter, and his form produces some bad misses that discourage defenders from closing out...

Keon Johnson is still just 22 years old, and this is the only season in his four-year NBA career that he’s gotten consistent run. Keon has even improved throughout the season, inching toward a functional driving game and sharpening his perimeter defense. He’s good for a highlight dunk every game or two, and will dive on the floor more often than that.

This is a pretty low-stakes situation for the Brooklyn Nets. Armed with a team option, Sean Marks can bring the former Tennessee Volunteer back next season at the minimum; no matter what direction the Nets go this offseason, Keon could be a decent back-of-bench player. Even then, though, you want to see some improvement from Johnson in key areas over this final stretch of the season, specifically some better 3-point shooting.

I like Keon Johnson a good deal, and his teammates seem to as well. Why wouldn’t they? He plays hard, is extremely coachable, and always seems to be in a good mood. Everybody who covers the Portland Trail Blazers said the same things about him.

However, they also said that Keon was unlikely to become an NBA difference-maker.

At just 22 years old, Keon Johnson’s story is not over, but their assessment seems to be correct.

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/19...ext-nets-keon-johnson-sean-marks-lucas-kaplan

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Sports continues to be big for Joe and Clara Wu Tsai as latest valuations jump again

Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

The latest estimate of the value of the Brooklyn Nets is out. CNBC has the team at $5.6 billion, sixth in the NBA.

CNBC is out with the latest estimate of the Brooklyn Nets value and like Sportico and Forbes before it, the outlet puts the Nets in the first rank of the NBA’s franchises with an estimated valuation of $5.6 billion. That figure ranks them sixth behind the Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets. Other than the Big Three of Golden State, New York and the Lakers, the rest of the group are all within $200 million of each other.

CNBC is new to the valuation game, but Mike Ozanian, who built the rankings database previously worked on Forbes rankings.

The valuations are, of course, estimates and with the rising tide of pro sports transactions they’re often overtaken by events. Sportico for example had suggested in December 2023 that the Nets was the slowest growing franchise in the NBA ... only to see members of the Koch family, led by Julia Koch, the world’s third richest woman, lay down nearly $700 million for a 15% stake months later, vaulting the real value by nearly $2 billion.

Although Ozanian and CNBC didn’t specifically discuss the basis for the Nets valuation in their report, there were some interesting numbers in the table at the center of the story. No team in the top six had as low a revenue stream as the Nets, at $389 million nor as low an EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $78 million as the Nets. And no team in the league, they claimed, carries as high a debt load as a percentage of valuation as the Nets at 16%.

There’s also a bit of apples and oranges in the valuations. In the Nets case, for example, the the team and the Barclays Center operating company (the arena is actually owned by the state) are included in the CNBC estimate, but not the New York Liberty, owned the same entity, BSE Global. That’s one reason why its valuation is a bit more than the Celtics which doesn’t own TD Bank Arena in Boston. As Ozanian writes:

[Valuations] do not include the value of equity stakes in non-NBA businesses, such as regional sports networks and Women’s National Basketball Association teams. For example, we include the $57 million rights fee NBC Sports Boston paid the Celtics last season but exclude the $13 million equity income the RSN paid the Celtics.

The CNBC valuation does take into account winning ... and stars ... with Ozanian writing of the Warriors:

It may not be surprising that the value of the Warriors has increased at a 24% compound annual growth rate since Joe Lacob and Peter Guber paid $450 million for the team in 2010. After all, the Warriors have won four NBA titles over the past decade, moved into their state-of-the-art arena in 2019 and have been led by two-time league MVP Stephen Curry.

The Nets, of course, haven’t done a lot of winning of late and lost the Big Three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden (something more than a fans blame on Joe Tsai.)

While Nets parent company, BSE Global, has historically been shy about responding to estimates, Norman Oder, the critic and chronicler of Atlantic Yards, the area surrounding Barclays Center, offered some insight Wednesday into several aspects of the CNBC valuations, in particular the debt load.

In writing about the June 2024 purchase by the Koch family, Sportico noted that $492 million of the $688 million the Kochs paid the Tsais will be used to pay down debt, Oder writes that money was likely used to pay down team debt while the Barclays Center debt remains.

If the Nets and arena are valued at $5.6 billion and debt is 16% of value—the highest in the league—that suggests a remaining debt of $896 million.

That’s in the ballpark for the remaining arena debt ... (Some of the Koch investment was said to have helped pay off debt, likely with the Nets rather the arena.)

Again, not every franchise owns its own arena or arena operating company. More apples and oranges.

Bottom line for Joe and Clara Wu Tsai is that they have been very successful in their sports investments. Between buying 49% of the Nets from Mikhail Prokhorov in April 2018, then adding the New York Liberty in January 2019, completing the purchase of the team and adding Barclays Center in October 2019, the Tsais have laid out around $3.2 billion for everything including about $10 to $14 million (with an “m”) for the Libs. That’s about a 75% jump in their investment over less than seven years.

Their best investment is probably the Liberty which may not be included in Ozanian’s estimate, but was valued at $200 million for the purposes of the Koch deal back in June. That was before the WNBA championship and before the recent expansion of the W which is requiring prospective owners to lay out a $250 million entry fee. So that $200 million is probably outdated.

Indeed, the Tsai “family office,” aka investment vehicle, Blue Pool Capital, has been upping its sports and entertainment portfolio, having recently purchased a three percent interest in the Miami Dolphins of the NFL, an undisclosed minority interest in the Brooklyn Paramount theatre, a 12% piece of Golden Goose, an Italian footwear company known for its $600 a pair sneakers, etc. More spending is likely as BSE Global plans to make Barclays Center a “destination” with things like a a hotel, conference center, clubs, artists spaces, etc.

Oliver Weisberg, who runs Blue Pool, has called sports a separate and valuable asset class.

“When I think about about my marginal dollar today,” Asian Investor quoted Weisberg, who’s also an alternate governor of the Nets, last August, “Sports is at the top of the list. Sports has become an actual asset class now.”

How does this affect the Nets? Joe Tsai has a record of spending, having laid out $323 million in luxury taxes since buying into the team and after the sale of the minority stake announced a five-year, $100 million plan to “enhance fan experience at the Brooklyn arena.”

Now if he can like Clara has with the Liberty, both they and the fans will benefit.

• CNBC’s Official NBA Team Valuations 2025: Here’s how the 30 franchises stack up - Mike Ozanian - CNBC
• CNBC: Brooklyn Nets (and arena company) worth $5.6 billion, sixth in NBA. Increase in media rights offers rising tide for all. Koch investment key. - Norman Oder - Atlantic Yards/Pacific Report

and $196 million for working capital including more than $100 m

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/19...clara-wu-tsai-as-latest-valuations-jump-again

 

[Brooklyn Nets]

Brooklyn Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers preview: homestand ends, home stretch begins

Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images

Everyone is back from their time off in places that are warmer and sunnier than Brooklyn has been. Now, they must face the 44-10 Cleveland Cavaliers

Ladies and gentlemen…. We are officially in the second half of the NBA season. Okay the final third. You know what we mean.

As we get back into the flow of things after the All Star break, the Brooklyn Nets have changed up things (not so much, but kind of), featuring the addition of Long Island guard Killian Hayes and the relinquishing of all hope for forward Bojan Bogdonovic, officially out for the season. We also still have our shooter in Tyrese Martin, who signed a standard contract Thursday that will permit him to play at night. His two-way ran out.

Tonight, the Nets will be taking on the first seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who have not shown any signs of slowing down since the start of the season. At 44-10, they are tied for the best mark in the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder, five and a half games ahead of the defending national champion Boston Celtics. Who knew?

Cleveland has won four straight, but Brooklyn has been doing their own thing as of late as well. They come into the matchup with three straight wins under their belt and six of the last seven. Tank’s End. Can the Nets continue their streak and pull off an upset of the NBA elite? It doesn’t hurt to keep a positive attitude.

Where to Watch​

Catch the action at 7:30 PM on the YES Network and NBA League Pass.

Injury Report​

No Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney, or DeAnthony Melton. Dariq Whitehead, Reece Beekman, and Tosan Evbuomwan will be in Long Island. Will Killian Hayes be available? We’ll find out. Big news on this front: CamT will go 5-on-5 today for the first time since he went down on January 2 with hamstring woes. Thomas has only played two games since November 27, 19 on the season.

Dean Wade (knee injury) will be out for the Cavs while Isaac Okoro (shoulder) and Ty Jerome (calf) are listed as questionable. Javonte Green, the veteran Pelicans wing, may be join the Cavs Thursday. He reached a buyout agreement with New Orleans Wednesday and is headed to Cleveland, per Shams Charania.

The Game​

Against Eastern Conference opponents, the Cavs are 29-7. The record makes a lot of sense when you realize their three All-Stars make up most of their starting five. With one of the best backcourts in the league, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland, they will want to hit the ground running.

They will rely heavily on Evan Mobley who will have to battle with Nic Claxton, who had a monster 13 point 11 rebound double double against the 76ers. Former Net Jarrett Allen will be making a return to Barclays. Allen, who is averaging a double double for the season, will probably have a nice ovation from the crowd as he is loved by Nets fans.

While you watch the game, make sure to not sleep on Brooklyn’s backcourt as they have been balling, but quietly. D’Angelo Russell has continued to be the floor general and lead guard while Cam Thomas sits out with injury. Keon Johnson has been contributing a bunch in the last 10 games, averaging 15 points in his efforts. Yes, the Cavs definitely will overmatch a Nets team without most of its roster. But at this point, you can never underestimate a Jordi Fernandez-led team.

Then, of course, there’s Kenny Atkinson who has left no doubt about his feelings towards his former employer. Although the official press release announcing his departure back in March 2020 said the decision was mutual, Atkinson has made it clear he was fired, using that word repeatedly in discussing his time in Brooklyn. Last week in talking with Barbara Barker of Newsday, he spoke about how word was he couldn’t handle superstars. (At that point, the Nets had only one active.)

Player to Watch: Donovan Mitchell​

Mitchell, an New York native — Elmsford in Westchester County to be specific, is averaging close to 24 points on 45% shooting from the field and 39% from beyond the arc. Mitchell is having a great season on an even better team, which has helped solidify himself as a bonafide top shooting guard in the league if he wasn’t already one. With elite athleticism combined with a soft shooting touch, Mitchell is on a quest to make his mark in the playoffs, something he could not do when matched with the mighty Celtics. But we still have some months from that, so let’s just enjoy what he can do now in his home city.

From the Vault​

The other day, I found myself watching a brilliant interview Cam Johnson did with JJ Redick a year back. One of the segments featured a highly detailed conversation about the art of shooting, something in which both Johnson and Redick know something about. They have the 66th and 18th best 3-point shooting percentages all-time after all. During the discussion, Johnson and Redick mention Donovan Mitchell for his shooting prowess and strong base. Enjoy!

More reading: Fear the Sword and SBNation NBA.

• Brooklyn Nets Game Notes - Brooklyn Nets
• Cleveland Cavaliers Game Notes - Cleveland Cavaliers
• Cavaliers ride latest win streak into meeting with Nets - NBA
• Nets face the Cavaliers on 3-game win streak - AP
• Nets to get boost on shooting front with Cam Thomas’ imminent return - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• Here’s what to look at for as season of change looms for Nets in second half - Brian Lewis - New York Post
• 3 things to watch for Nets in second half of season - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News

Source: https://www.netsdaily.com/2025/2/20...rs-preview-homestand-ends-home-stretch-begins