NetsDaily Off-Season Report – No. 15

Another week and no resolution to the Kevin Durant saga. The Nets haven’t lowered the price, and KD doesn’t appear to be backing out of its request for a trade. (Surprised?) Kyrie Irving does, but he doesn’t seem to want a part in “Run It Back.”

But we can dream, right? Sure, but there is some risk to our fragile minds.

we are not alone. Others feel the same way as the game draws nearer and the team gets stronger.In Thursday’s ‘Hoops His Collective’, Brian Windhorst is the most powerful shooter ever in his lineup. I thought about what one, Brooklyn, would be like. In doing so, Windhorst has added his voice to those with and without KD that Be Simmons thinks he will play a lot in 5…

“The concept was that Ben Simmons could be the center of this team this year. It’s going to be one of the strongest shooting lineups you’ve ever seen,” Windhorst told Mark J. Spears.

“And you can have Simmons defend the center position and potentially be a creator, or work with someone of them on a pick-and-roll and spread the floor. I mean, it’s horrible.

It’s certainly scary, but it’s still unclear if that will happen. We learned this week that Durant faces financial risks. Markstein reported that he has already received the first quarter of his $44 million salary and is expected to pick up the next quarter on October 1. It’s past October 1st, I get paid, and then I sit down.

Ramona Shelburne pointed out that Durant laid out his grievances in more detail at a meeting in London a week ago, but while the Nets see the meeting as “part of the process,” Durant has Stick to the ultimatum: either fire Sean Marks and Steve Nash or deal with me. In a tweet, Tsai expressed support for the front office and coaching staff, reiterating that the organization prioritized “the best interests of the players”. brooklyn nets”

So unless you give up on KD’s specter altogether, things aren’t going your way.In that case, if the rumor spreads, you can say it’s getting a little better Sixers It’s true that I’m interested in KD now. The more teams are interested and wave trade offers in front of you, the more likely the Nets are to come close to the asking price. Will the trade be in “the best interests of the Brooklyn Nets”?

Rumors have some plausibility, at least on the surface. Durant and James Harden got each other’s goodness back. Together they have been on a European tour, traveling from Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera to London for a Travis Scott concert, before moving to five-star hotels in Barcelona and the beach. And if Tobias Harris is on board, the salaries will match. Tyrese Maxey is a potential All-Star and Matisse Thybulle is already a solid defender. With fellow Australians Ben Simmons and Patty Mills on the bench and a performance team teaming up with the ‘Melbourne Mafia’, he could succeed. However, the Sixers are limiting their draft funding to meet the Nets’ pick needs. Again, trading Harden under duress and then trading Durant for Philly under duress would be difficult to swallow, especially for fans.

As far as we know, that’s our position…we’re focused on ‘as far as we know’.

Rick Butcher pushes Nets rumors hard despite denials

There was a time when Ric Bucher was ESPN’s go-to reporter. He broke the news of the Deron Williams trade on television in 2011. When DWill was asked who told him he was heading to New Jersey, he replied, “ESPN’s Ric Bucher.” Now he’s at FOX Sports, where he’s more of an NBA commentator, but this week Ben Simmons and Kylie were providing news about Irving.

In the first example, Butcher reported Sources say Simmons dropped out of Nets group chat during Nets sweep celtics Butcher also told Colin Cowherd that the incident angered Kevin Durant.

Not long afterward, Shams Charania and Christian Winfield both said nothing had happened and said the story was untrue, with Butcher repeating his claims and suggesting that it was Charania who was wrong. did not mention Winfield.

Simmons also seemed to be making fun of Butcher’s report, tweeting this…

…and retweeted Charania telling Pat McAfee, “This never happened.. Amazing story, but it never happened.”

In a second example, Butcher says of Irving’s contract negotiations: , he apparently called it inhumane.

Irving responded immediately A tweet showing a GIF of a baseball player wearing a hat, indicating that Butcher is “wearing a hat” or “lying.” He went further and called out to the media in general. His agent and stepmother, Sheteria Riley Irving, has denied reports in the Post that Irving “hates” Sean Marks and Steve Nash…

We got 11,000 likes.

Is Bucher eyeing the Nets? Could be a smart strategy. The Nets have dominated the offseason on television and social media.it’s not a coincidence NBA today ESPN had its all-time highest viewership in July. NBA news Where will Durant and Irving end up? I think we can comfort ourselves with that.

And at least one city in America is obsessed with Simmons, which is really nice. At this week’s Kendrick Lamar concert in Philadelphia, chants of “F*ck Ben Simmons” broke out between sets. Whoosh.

super star watch

As we noted, Kevin Durant was all buddy buddy in Europe last week. Here they are working out in Barcelona on Tuesday night…

And if you haven’t gotten your head around that pairing, Kyrie Irving and Russell Westbrook working out in Los Angeles..

Ben Simmons is also in LA with his trainer Chris Johnson…

Johnson was asked if Simmons was working on the three-point shot.

Meanwhile, on Saturday night, Friends of Nic will be celebrating his new two-year deal worth between $17 million and $20 million depending on bonuses.

Enjoy the big man!

Letter of thanks

The Nets have lost two of the hardest-working members of their staff in recent weeks. Jordan Ott, who served as an assistant coach for more than six seasons, and Matt Ricciardi, who went from intern to director of scouting operations and GM of the Long Island Nets for double his tenure, have better jobs elsewhere in the NBA. I am planning to go to . Ott is heading lakersfrom Riccardi to Mavericks.

Both were very popular with generations of Nets players. They will miss them, but I hope they are as successful in their new jobs as they were in Brooklyn (and in Riccardi’s case, New Jersey).

Diversity update

The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDESport.org) NBA annual report, its “Race and Gender Report Card”. This is a long rundown of where the league stands, especially in the roles that people of color and women play throughout the league, including staff at NBA headquarters and teams in his office. I read a lot.

Among the teams, the Nets are ranked 10th out of 30. It’s not just basketball operations, it’s everything from finance to human resources to marketing.of Knicksto their credit, top the list.

There have been some cursory reports that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving want more diversity in their coaching staff, but neither has said anything publicly about the matter. Three of them are African American and one is Hispanic. Down one from last season. The Nets don’t seem to be replacing Amare Stoudemire, who held the singular position of assistant player development. He was listed on the coaching staff but not an assistant coach, and Stoudemire described his resignation as a “mutual decision”.

The report also noted that there are four teams that include people of color as key governors, including Joe Tsai, and three women. As is often the case, it is not an official title. She is a “co-governor” of Liberty along with her husband.

Roster update

No updates this week. There are still vacancies in the Nets while other teams begin filling up training his camp roster. Again, they have 12 players on guaranteed standard NBA contracts, one player on partial guarantee and one on two-way. David Duke Jr. remains a restricted free agent. The Nets have some flexibility if they have to take an additional contract in the Kevin Durant trade, so let’s assume nothing happened. They are one of the few NBA teams not to fill the 15+2 roster. By one estimate, only 17 of the 30 teams still have open standard-contract vacancies, two of which are in Brooklyn.

Stay tuned for news this week. Also, expect the NBA schedule to be released. We don’t know if or where KD will move, but the key date to watch is Ben Simmons’ return to Philadelphia. , Royce O’Neal returning to Utah, TJ Warren returning to Indiana.

final note

The home team route, route, route, that’s the New York Liberty. A win at the Barclays Center on Sunday afternoon would see them advance to the postseason for the second year in a row after four straight eliminations.

The scenario is: WNBAMore play off. If Libs wins, they can participate. Even if you don’t win, you still have a chance.

h/t @drmataya.

In fact, instead of cheering from home, head to Brooklyn. We have a seat for you.

Brian Fleurantin will be previewing the game on Sunday morning. Get the crown!