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Showing posts with label Brooklyn Nets. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brooklyn Nets. Show all posts

Net reveals he doesn't have social media

 


Social media has become synonymous with everyday life, and in particular the sports world. 

So as we approach the start of 2025, it's surprising to hear that a sports professional doesn't have a social media platform. 

Now add to that equation someone that is in the largest media market in the country in New York.



Well, there is one member of the Brooklyn Nets who you won't be able find on any social media platforms. 

It's not any player on the roster, but head coach Jordi Fernandez. 

Perhaps staying out of the online media swarm is good for the first year coach, whether he's being praised or criticized. 

The Nets snapped a three-game skid with a convincing 99-90 win over Indiana and will have a few days off before taking on Milwaukee on Sunday. 

Nets run out of magic vs Orlando, three-game win streak snapped



Chalk one up for those rooting for the Nets to get a top draft pick. Brooklyn was outplayed during Friday night's 123-100 loss versus Orlando. 

Jordi Fernandez's crew was riding a three-game winning streak into the game, but Orlando had their number for the second time this season.

Franz Wagner proved to be unstoppable with 28 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. Shake Milton scored a career high 22 points, and Keon Johnson poured in 15. 

The short-handed Nets couldn't pull another rabbit out of their hat. Orlando cruised to a relatively easy victory, but Brooklyn will get another shot Barclays, ,on Sunday in a matinee contest.

Friday's loss to the Magic was the second worst point differential of the year, second only to the 25-point losses suffered against Boston on 11/13 and Philly on 11/22.

Orlando's physicality is a difficult matchup for the Nets, but expect Fernandez to have his crew ready for another battle in the friendly confines of Barclays to put up a better showing. 


 

Kevin Durant: 'I'm a Net for life'

 


Kevin Durant played 129 regular season games with the Brooklyn Nets. 

When the going got tough, the weak got going. Durant initially requested a trade during the summer of 2022 only to rescind that request and watch his compadre Kyrie Irving leave ahead of the 2023 trade deadline.


When Durant had an opportunity to follow Irving and James Harden before him out the door from Brooklyn, he didn't bat an eye. 

Durant's right-hand man, Rich Kleinman, was as instrumental as any party in revisiting an the earlier trade request and bringing the said trade to the finish line between Brooklyn and Phoenix. 

Durant, Irving, and Harden arrived with championship expectations, but left with a whimper. 

Now with Durant facing his former squad, it seems as though the surefire Hall of Famer is buttering up his former franchise. 

Should Durant come back and finish the championship quest he started in Brooklyn later on in his career, he can perhaps be considered a Net for life. 

Until then, Durant's words hold no water in Nets World. 

Ben Simmons does the unthinkable in nail biter versus Hornets



You'd have to go back to February 10, 2024, to find the last time Ben Simmons reached double figures in scoring. 

That rare feat was achieved during Tuesday night's NBA Cup  116-115 win over Charlotte. Simmons tallied 10 points and 8 rebounds. 




The moment that perhaps sparked Ben Simmons scoring outburst was a dust-up with Brandon Miller. This lit a competitive fire in Simmons that has been absent all season.

It's unlikely that Simmons' scoring prowess continues against his old club in Philadelphia Friday night, but at least he showed a small sign of life and vigor for one of the few times this season with the Brooklyn Nets. 


Nets leading scorer reportedly available via trade




 The Nets are in true rebuilding mode. With loads of veterans possibly on the move before the trade deadline including: Dennis Schröder, Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Bojan Bogdanovic, there's another name that will surprise Nets fans.

 



According to Sam Amick and The Athletic, Cam Thomas is available via trade. 

The Nets leading scorer is reportedly not untouchable.

Thomas and the Nets did not agree to a long-term extension. Thomas was underutilized by Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn during his young career. 

Moving Cam Thomas would be an extremely unpopular move in Nets World, but it might be something they'll have to deal with since it's open trade season in Brooklyn.

NBA pundit thinks 'Nets best option' for Bucks, Giannis



 Bill Simmons has made a career of predicting NBA basketball moves. 

He's had some hits and plenty of misses. 

In his latest podcast on The Ringer, Simmons insists that Giannis Antetokounmpo to Brooklyn is a home run for both sides.




 The Nets plethora of draft picks, valuable veterans, and Ben Simmons' expiring deal might be enticing enough for Milwaukee to pull the plug on a disastrous 2-8 campaign. Giannis and Dame Lillard are clearly not working together.

Sean Marks would have to think long and hard as to whether Giannis fits Brooklyn's timeline and if his injury history and penchant for getting coaches fired is a great fit for the Nets franchise. 

Nets playoff odds alarmingly high for those rooting for a tank job



 The good news is, according to the latest playoff odds: the Brooklyn Nets are extremely likely to make the playoffs. 

The bad news for the Nets tankers based on the latest playoff odds: the Brooklyn Nets are extremely likely to make the playoffs.

 



According to basketball reference, the Nets have an 80% chance at making the 2025 NBA playoffs. 

This comes on the heels of back-to-back, competitive road losses to two of the premier teams in the Eastern Conference in the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers .

While the sample size is minuscule at just 10 games, the Nets have shown signs under Jordi Fernandez. They are a true superstar away from being competitive in the Eastern Conference field. 

After getting burned during a superstar chasing era, it appears that Sean Marks and the Nets brass is going to take a more patient approach and build through the draft and use existing valuable vets to create more cap space and increase the draft stock. 

So while the fan base is split 50-50 on whether the Nets should truly tank and go for a top NBA draft lottery pick, as presently constituted through ten games, it appears the Nets will not be lying down for any team in the league and be competitive throughout this season. 

Nets can't make the same mistake with Fernandez that they made with Atkinson



 The Brooklyn Nets have a great coach in Jordi Fernandez. They had a terrific coach from 2016 to 2019 in Kenny Atkinson. 

Due to a mass influx of superstars, including Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, they parted ways with their head coach back in 2019 to acquiesce to the stars' demands. 

Both of those stars, along with James Harden, left the Nets at the altar and it's clear five years after the Nets made a coaching change, that it was the wrong decision.

Jacque Vaughn took over for Atkinson at the end of 2019 and through the NBA bubble season during COVID-19.

Then, Sean Marks had the bright idea of hiring his former teammate with no head coaching experience whatsoever in Steve Nash. 

That, along with a bunch of internal dysfunction and lack of commitment from supposed leaders, led to a talented Nets roster failing to win a single Atlantic Division crown, Eastern Conference crown or NBA title. 

Now, the Nets are in an early similar position to where they were with Atkinson in 2016. Brooklyn is a gritty, never say die team that is making the most out of its talent with a competent and tough-nosed head coach.

Sound familiar?

Brooklyn's rebuild looks to be more of a retooling as Fernandez is fast tracking success at an overachieving 4-5 record. Many NBA pundits and even Nets fans were anticipating or even rooting for a tank season where the Nets would at worst land a top five NBA Draft Lottery pick.  

That scenario is very much on the table since Brooklyn started 13-10 last year with Jacque Vaughn in his second stint as head coach before being fired at the end of last year. 

The lesson learned here is when an organization hands over the keys to a star player, that player does not have the long-term interest of the team or the franchise at hand. 

The Nets bent over backwards to please Irving, Durant and Harden and have nothing to show for it. 

Now that another coach killer in Giannis Antetokounmpo is disenfranchised with the direction of the Bucks under Doc Rivers, the Nets need to tread lightly.

The Nets have been listed among the top landing spots for the Greek Freak, but the soon to be 30 year-old with an injury history, certainly presents some risks. 

Marks and company cannot derail what looks to be a promising retooling of the franchise just to please another superstar player. 

So while adding Antetokounmpo to the current mix in Brooklyn would be enticing, the front office and ownership brass needs to ensure that the plan is clear for Fernandez to have as much runway as possible to build a winner in the borough. 



Tank you very much, Nets lose OT battle in Boston



 Not many NBA fans or sports handicappers had Friday night's game between the Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics at TD Garden going into overtime.

Jordi Fernandez and crew pushed Joe Mazzulla, Jayson Tatum and company to the brink of defeat. 

In fact, Brooklyn led from the open tip until 4:24 left in the 4th quarter of play. 

Tatum led the way for Boston with 33 and Cam Thomas paced the Nets with 31. 

The defending champions took all they could handle and body blow after body blow before letting their talent and superstars take over late. 

Dorian Finney- Smith played terrific defense on the final play of regulation as Tatum's desperation three sailed wide of the rim to send the game to the extra session. 

In overtime, Brooklyn fell 108-104. The Nets  should not hang their heads. 

This was supposed to be a year where the Nets would be in the hunt for top picks in the NBA Draft Lottery, but it appears that Fernandez will not allow this team to give up, no matter what players are on the floor. 

The Nets finding their leader of the future along the sidelines is a major development for this franchise and an attractive selling point for prospective free agents and for trade targets down the road. 

So while some will be disappointed by a hard-fought loss in Boston, the Nets aspirations to get into the NBA Draft Lottery may not be entirely dead. 


Nets get freaky with Milwaukee in this proposed trade

 


The Brooklyn Nets are not good soldiers. This was supposed to be a tank year, but now Brooklyn looks like it could be a factor in the Eastern Conference playoff race. 

In a historically good rookie draft class, the Nets may be headed in the right direction as far as winds are concerned, but the wrong direction in regards to NBA Draft Lottery ping pong balls. 

The Nets own Milwaukee's top four protected first round pick in 2025. Sending the Bucks their pick back along with a few additional draft picks may allow a deal like this to go through. 

Will the Nets try to short-circuit a rebuild and bring in the Greek Freak?




Right now, Brooklyn is not nearly as futile as many experts expected them to be, and in fact they may be in contention for the play-in or a playoff spot. 

Adding Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kris Middleton would be a major shot in the arm. 

Middleton certainly has injury concerns as does Giannis who has been injured through several of Milwaukee's playoff runs. 

Nonetheless, with the Bucks headed nowhere fast at 1-6, Giannis' days there could be numbered and the Nets are atop his short wish list along with Miami.

The Knicks essentially took themselves out of a potential Giannis move by trading for Karl Anthony Towns and sending six draft picks to Brooklyn for Mikal Bridges.  

Things will certainly heat up come the trade deadline if Milwaukee continues heading South and the Nets keep piling up wins. 

Brooklyn owns NY's best record with gritty win over Grizzlies



 A New York basketball team was aiming to be top three in the Eastern Conference. Through eight games of the NBA season, that has been the case. 

The team that sits behind the 8-0 Cleveland Cavaliers and 7-1 Boston Celtics is a New York-based basketball team, but not the one that immediately comes to mind.  

The 3-3 Knicks, that have championship aspirations this year, are sitting behind the 4-4 third place Brooklyn Nets.

In Monday's 106-104 nailbiter over Memphis at Barclays Center, Cam Johnson and Dennis Schröder led the way with 20 points apiece, while Dorian Finney- Smith chipped in 17. 

Ja Morant and rookie Zach Edey paced the Grizzlies with 25 each. 

The Nets were playing without Ben Simmons who was resting in the second half of the back to back. 

Jordi Fernandez has the Nets playing with grit and tenacity. 

While the NBA season is young and less than ten percent complete, the emergence of the Brooklyn Nets as a quality basketball team is one of the surprising storylines so far this year. 

Nets ignore memo to tank; knock off Bulls for third win



Much to the chagrin of their fan base, the Brooklyn Nets look like a quality basketball team.

Winners of three of their last four games, the Nets are not just failing to tank, but they're ascending up the Eastern Conference standings. 

Cam Thomas hit a logo 3-pointer to ice the game and Ben Simmons doled out 11 assists in 26 minutes, falling two rebounds and two points shy of a triple-double. 

Brooklyn will take on Detroit on Saturday afternoon with tipoff set for 3:30 pm E T.  

With rumors that Giannis Antetokounmpo listing Brooklyn and Miami as preferred destinations if he asks out of Milwaukee who is falling apart under the direction of Doc Rivers. 

The Nets may be out of Cooper Flagg, Ace Bailey, Dylan Harper top three NBA Draft Lottery territory already, but owning Milwaukee's pick may bring a more impactful player than once thought. 

Two Nets land on NBA's Top 20 scoring list

 


One name will surprise you and one won't when you peruse up and down the list of the NBA's leading scorers to find two Nets in the top 20.

Cam Thomas is a walking bucket and at 27.4 PPG it's less than shocking he's among the best to fill up the cup.

 Thomas has actually had two straight down games by his scoring standards against Denver on Tuesday night and Memphis on Wednesday night.





The biggest surprise perhaps of the young NBA season is that Dennis Schröder at 24.6 PPG through five games is just six spots behind his back court mate at No. 19 in the league in scoring. 

Schröder is enjoying a Renaissance year under first year head coach Jordi Fernandez. 

But the question remains, will he be on this Nets rebuilding team past the trade deadline or does he become valuable trade asset for a contending team. 



Major health update on Ben Simmons revealed ahead of Tuesday's game

 


Ben Simmons, just three games into the 2024-25 NBA season, will miss Tuesday night's contest against the Denver Nuggets due to lower back management. 

Simmons underwent back surgery in the off-season, the second such procedure in two years. 



Everyone from Simmons' agent, to unrealistic Nets fans, were expecting the former three-time All-Star to return to form. 



Well , the seventh year vet couldn't even make it to the third game of the season before landing on the injury management list. 

The NBA has been cracking down on load management, so unless there is a medical reason for Simmons to miss Tuesday night's game, the league may look investigate this further to determine whether this measure conflicts with load management rules. 


This season, Simmons is averaging more fouls than shot attempts, so it's no big loss for the Nets. 


Video: Ben Simmons has ugly verbal exchange with fan in Orlando

 


Sports fans can do and say outrageous things. Most professional athletes handle this type of jeering or obnoxious behavior by either ignoring them or raising their game to silence critics and haters.

In the case of Ben Simmons, he decided to reply to an obnoxious, but non-personal fan insult by escalating the situation 




Simmons' this is crazy 😭 pic.twitter.com/TqukmlB70G

— Nick (@LL2123w) October 26, 2024


 Simmons' comeback can be heard clearly after a fan was tweaking his performance on the court. 

No one can condone actions on either side, but it's the job of security to root out any unruly or confrontational fans, while players engaging in trash talking with them is a slippery slope. 

Nets may break their own record for worst start in NBA history

Wiki Commons



 The handful of New Jersey Nets fans that endured the 0-18 start to the 2009-10 NBA deserve a badge of honor. 

It was a brutal season that saw the team break a league record for the worst start to a season and flirted with the worst record in NBA history before stumbling to a 12-70 mark.

That club, in its final season playing at the Meadowlands, before a two-year interim stay in Newark on the way to Brooklyn, has lived in infamy.

Now, 15 years later, this 2024-25 Nets squad has a chance to either match or surpass that mark for futility.

The Nets have already suffered double digit road losses to Atlanta and Orlando to start the season. Yes, they are still 17 games away from breaking their own record for the worst start of the season, but you'd be hard-pressed to find wins in a brutal opening schedule for the next 17 games outlined below. 


Here is a rundown of the possible games the Nets could win and the ones they'll likely lose. 

Sun, 10/27 vs MIL. L

Tue, 10/29 vs DEN L

Wed, 10/30 MEM L

Fri, 11/1 CHI L?

Sun, 11/3 vs DET W??

Mon, 11/4  vs MEM L

Fri, 11/8 @BOS L

Sat, 11/9 @CLE L

Mon, 11/11 @NO L

Wed, 11/13 vs BOS L

Fri, 11/15 @NY L

Sun, 11/17 @NY L

Tue, 11/19 vs CHA L

Fri, 11/22 @PHI L

Sun, 11/24 @SAC L

Mon, 11/25 @GS L

Wed, 11/27@PHX L

Over the next 17 games, the Brooklyn Nets will have three legitimate chances for wins. Games with Chicago, Detroit and Charlotte pose a potential chance for the Nets not to start the season winless after 19 games. 

If  they are unable to pull off a win in any of those contests, it's a distinct possibility that the Nets may set a new mark for poor play.

However, with an exceptionally strong draft class, losing games may actually be beneficial to the long-term future of this franchise. Keep the NBA draft lottery ping pong balls coming!

Nets should be wary of veteran All-Star putting Brooklyn atop 2025 FA wish list

 


According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, Jimmy Butler has Brooklyn near the top of his wish list during free agency next off-season. 

The veteran shooting guard will turn 35 before next summer and with the Nets fielding a team of players all under 25 outside of Ben Simmons, he doesn't seem to fit the organizational timeline. 

Butler was instrumental in the Heat clinching a finals berth during the 2019-2020 COVID Bubble season as well as the 2022-23 NBA season. Miami lost both trips to the Lakers and Nuggets, respectively.

Sean Marks is going to take a measured approach to free agency, the draft and trade market and bringing Butler into the fold wins disrupt that plan.

Butler's talent is undeniable. He has an ability to lead a team and grind through tough playoff runs. He has worn out his welcome in places where winning didn't pan out like his quick stop in Minnesota. 

Bringing Butler to Brooklyn would be a disaster for all parties involved and should be avoided at all costs. 

Bogdanovic, Croatian National team to play game honoring Petrovic


Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric and Ivan Suban will be among the Croatian-born NBA players to play a game honoring the late-great Dražen Petrovic's 60th birthday. 

The former Net passed away tragically in a car crash on the rain soaked Autobahn on June 3, 1993 , in the middle of his brilliant NBA career.

The game with feature the trio of NBA players born in Croatia, along with members of the Croatian National team taking on a selection of European players on September 5 at Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia. 

Former Croatian NBA players are expected to be in attendance and it will be a touching tribute honoring one of the game's great European-born stars that was gone too soon. 

Tsai's minority ownership sale to Koch's start of something bigger



 All big things start small. When the New Jersey Nets were owned by YankeesNets LLC in the early 2000's, there was a New York City real estate mogul that threw his hat in the ownership ring.

His name: Bruce Ratner. He's the main impetus for the Nets moving to Brooklyn and he used the deep pockets of then minority owner Mikhail Prokhorov in 2010 to help make it happen two years later.  

Prokhorov made big championship promises and mortgaged the future to chase said dreams. Once that endeavor failed, Prokhorov accomplished his mission of moving his Russian financial assets over to the United States and sold a majority stake in the team to current owner Joe Tsai in 2017. 

Two years later, Tsai took full ownership control and now five years after that has sold a 15 percent stake in the team to Julia Koch of the notorious Koch family for a whooping $6 billion valuation.

Are we sensing a pattern here? 

Anytime the Nets have had a minority owner the last few decades, that said party ends up taking full control of the team.

Expect that with the vast family fortune that the Koch family has amassed that's it's only a matter of time before Tsai sells.

Tsai has multiple business ventures outside of the Nets that command his time and attention. There have been multiple superstars that bailed on the franchise with him at the helm.

I don't think Nets fans would be sad to see him go. Both the Tsai's and Koch's have skeletons in their closets, but the former has had a brutal ownership tenure.

The question is not if, but when there is another ownership change in Brooklyn. 



Nets PG makes pro debut in another sport



Dennis Schröder is a man of many talents. From the German National basketball team to the Brooklyn Nets and now the German Sixth division of FIBA.

Schröder clearly has the fitness level and footwork required to play at a competitive international level of soccer.

Former Nets coach and two-time MVP, Steve Nash, tried his luck on the pitch, but not in this kind of professional sense. 

It goes to show that the cardiovascular training and endurance that basketball and soccer players show his second to none. 

As of right now, Schröder is slated as the Nets starting point guard with what is anticipated to be a busy off season ahead. 

It's unclear whether the possibility of either Donovan Mitchell or Trae Young stepping into that starting role this summer via trade. 

Schröder will have a very busy off-season between this venture into soccer as well as the 2024 Olympics in Paris with the German squad. 

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