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Nets look like a Mickey Mouse organization in Orlando
The Brooklyn Nets are not only a bad basketball team, they're just flat out gutless.
Trailing by 29 points after three quarters to Orlando is just inexcusable.
Kevin Ollie was supposed to tap into the inner hunter within each of his players. Ollie insisted that only those that had a hunting mentality would play.
Well the effort and flat out performance was just unacceptable.
On a night without Cam Thomas due to an ankle injury and Ben Simmons due to an inability to play back to backs, Mikal Bridges performance was absolutely atrocious.
Ollie is not pushing any of the right buttons and the floundering Nets wasted an opportunity to close ground in the play – in race.
The effort, the enthusiasm and pride are just lacking from this team. While Ollie is only in his third game as interim head coach, the Nets will likely be on a coaching hunt this summer with Mike Budenholzer as one of the top names on the market.
Dream scenario for Brooklyn Nets revealed
The Brooklyn Nets made a major move on Monday following the All-Star break, relieving head coach Jacque Vaughn of his duties.
The Nets( 21-33) were underachieving in the first half of the year and closed out the first 54 games with a 50-point drubbing at the hands of the Boston Celtics at TD Garden Arena.
That game was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sean Marks and Joe Tsai, in consultation with team leaders, including Mikal Bridges, decided to make a coaching change.
Vaughn unsuccessfully tried to carry over Steve Nash's freelance and free-flowing offense that worked so beautifully with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Now, without superstar talent, the offense was inexplicably built around Ben Simmons, who could never stay healthy.
The Nets should have been a top flight defensive team, but Vaughn decided to employ a drop defense that had catastrophic results.
Bridges and other players were looking for clearly defined roles as Vaughn constantly tinkered with starting rotations.
Now, as the Nets look to the remaining 28 games of the year, it appears as if assistant coach, Kevin Ollie, who joined Vaughn stuff this year, will be name the interim coach.
Brooklyn will likely cast a wide net this summer in an exhaustive coaching search. Expect Mike Budenholzer to be atop that list.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's former coach could be the biggest recruiting tool for prospective free agents or superstar trade targets. Things haven't been exactly sunny in paradise in Milwaukee, as Doc Rivers taking over for Adrian Griffin has seen some growing pains.
The dream scenario for Brooklyn Nets fans is for Antetokounmpo to return this time as a hero in the borough and not public enemy number one. Perhaps the Greek freak will see that life without Bud isn't exactly all it's cut out to be.
Mikal Bridges fails to defend Nets fans on Knicks podcast
Mikal Bridges is a good guy. Always smiling and with an upbeat attitude. He's low-key, but knocking on the door of All-Star status.
But when the Nets best player went on a podcast this week with former Villanova teammates and now New York Knicks, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson, it became difficult for Nets fans to watch.
While it appears the ribbing is good natured, Bridges doesn't exactly stand tall against the criticism of Nets fans and the lack thereof at Barclay Center when the Knicks came to Brooklyn earlier this year.
Full context: https://t.co/GBZk0dRCQ9
— Nets As Depicted By Spongebob (@NetsDepiction) February 16, 2024
Knicks fans have jokingly referred to Barclays Center as MSG South.
Just another dig at what they consider their little brother- even though the Nets have been the better franchise over the last quarter century.
It's clear the tide is turning in New York and the Knicks are coming together as a championship hopeful squad. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is sinking into an abyss and failing to find an identity.
With all this happening in this intercity rivalry, Bridges' inability to at least push back on that narrative has caused a lot of unrest and Nets World.
Short-handed Nets shellacked by Cavs in latest embarrassing loss
The Brooklyn Nets had only eight available players on Thursday after the trade deadline passed.
With Spencer Dinwiddie and Royce O'Neal no longer part of the equation, Brooklyn wasn't even able to keep a close against Donovan, Mitchell and company.
Mitchell had 27, while Mikal Bridges had 26 and Cam Thomas 17.
The Nets look like a team that is going to have a very rough second half of the schedule. The Cavaliers are the hottest team in the entire NBA, winners of 16 of their last 17 contests.
Sean Marks did unload a pair of expiring contracts and the only significant move was bringing in Dennis Schröder.
Brooklyn looks like a team that is stumbling into the All-Star break and will need a hard reset this summer.
While the fan base is clamoring for superstar talent back on the team, Jacque Vaughn will need to find a way to stack some wins and avoid an NBA lottery situation where the Nets don't even own their own pics.
It's time for Marks to trade a Net fan favorite
The clock is striking midnight on Nic Claxton. Set to to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, it's expected the center will earn $20-$25 million per year, whether he resigns with the Nets or not.
It's pretty clear that it is Claxton's preference to remain in Brooklyn. But as the Nets look big picture and possibly try to get into the big star hunting mode, Claxton would tie up a lot of the salary cap space and preclude them from taking on major superstars.
As much as Claxton has been a homegrown Net and has grown up before Nets fans' eyes, the lack of flexibility of the team will have with extending him long-term, coupled with the fact that is offensive game has plateaued, it makes it attractive for Sean Marks to consider moving him.
It's not a popular opinion, and one that I'm sure Net fans will push back on significantly. But if Brooklyn wants to maximize this window with Mikal Bridges under a team friendly contract as well as rising star Cam Thomas, adding a legitimate third star player won't happen easily with Claxton still on the roster.
The trade deadline is this Thursday and things are sure to change by the minute if not the second, but don't be surprised if Claxton is a name that is coveted by several teams and Marks at least takes phone calls on him.
Ben Simmons scoreless in return to Philly, Nets steamroll Sixers
The Nets built a 16-point first quarter lead and never looked back. Ben Simmons, who was scoreless and didn't attempt a shot in the game, made his impact felt in other areas with nine rebounds and five assists in 14 minutes.
Brooklyn's offense was humming with Simmons pushing the pace and finding open shooters. Cam Thomas went for 40, Mikal Bridges 23 and Lonnie Walker IV 20.
The splashed through 20 threes and dished out 35 assists. It's clear that a healthy Simmons has the Nets playing at a different level, but given his injury history it's hard for the team to put any faith in the point forward staying healthy.
Brooklyn plays again on Monday in a nationally televised game against Golden State.
Ben Simmons makes a big statement in return from injury
Playing in his first game since November 6th against Milwaukee, Ben Simmons looked even better than Nets fans could have imagined.
In 18 minutes of play, Simmons registered 10 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, while going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Brooklyn steamrolled Utah 147-114 behind Mikal Bridges' 33, while Cam Thomas added 25.
It will be fascinating to see how Brooklyn handles Simmons' minutes with a game Wednesday against Kevin Durant and Phoenix.
Simmons' nerve impingement has been characterized as a potentially chronic issue that could reoccur anytime.
It's unclear whether extra rest days and a lighter workload will minimize the risk of reaggravating the condition or have no impact.
That part of the equation will have to be a wait and see experiment. It's something to monitor, but Nets fans at least can be somewhat encouraged by Simmons impact on the floor in his limited playing time on Monday.
Nets nearly blow 28-point lead to Houston, escape with narrow victory
Another Nets nightmare almost played out again in Saturday night. After jumping out to a 28 point first half lead, Brooklyn gave nearly all of it back.
It was the latest in a slew of games where the Nets jumped out early and shrunk in big moments.
Jacque Vaughn's crew was lackluster, committing careless turnovers and showing Houston to chip away at the lead.
Cam Thomas popped off for 37, Mikal Bridges and Dorian Finney-Smith added 19 apiece.
Brooklyn welcomes Houston to Barclays Friday looking for two in a row.
No Sleep in Brooklyn: Nets are becoming the butt of every joke
Nets are a rudderless ship with no captain in sight
Who is the leader of the 2023-24 Brooklyn Nets?
It isn't Spencer Dinwiddie, whose minutes have been shrinking, and body language is showing signs of frustration with limited playing time.
The same can be said for Cam Thomas, whose answers with the media are becoming shorter by the day as he gets frustrated with losses piling up and his minutes shrinking.
Jacque Vaughn is alienating veteran players and young guys alike as the locker room has been tuning out the coach that is already under siege.
Sean Marks has not made public comments since before the season started and while owner Joe Tsai has been present a handful of times this season, he's given no clear direction for the franchise.
All signs point to this being selling season ahead of February's trade deadline for the Nets, but with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson as centerpieces, a complete rebuild isn't exactly in the cards.
So, will Marks be able to pick up the pieces from this season, add draft capital, while adding impact rotation players at the same time?
It's proposition and Nets fans have shown they're not exactly the most patient type. Serious doubt has been cast on Vaughn's coaching future with the club, adding to the uncertainty to where exactly this team is headed not only this year but in the seasons to follow.
Marks was in a difficult position when he took over as general manager in 2016 and successfully built an enviable culture that had been destroyed by Brooklyn's first failed Big 3 project.
While Marks had two superstars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant dropped into his lap, and a third force his way out to join Brooklyn in James Harden, none of those pieces remain, just the rubble.
Many fans have even been clamoring for the team to relocate again and return to New Jersey since the product they're putting on the court is not up to snuff.
There is no magic sauce or formula that Marks can cook up to fix all these problems, but the first step will be to identify a direction, whether that is retooling, rebuilding, or trying to go big game hunting after available superstars.
The Nets are currently in NBA purgatory, not holding their own draft picks and they're an afterthought in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Things have been bad for the Nets before and even bad since the move to Brooklyn, but this season may be a new low for a franchise that has experienced its share of them.
With Nets floundering in Brooklyn, move back to NJ not crazy after all
The Nets have played in eight different arenas since the franchise's inception in 1967. That's an average of a new home every seven years. So by that math, the Nets are overdue for a change in city and venue.
Brooklyn lost for its 16th time in its last 20 games and suffered yet another late game collapse on Tuesday to the Knicks. The Nets forfeited double digit leads and eventually lost to Portland, Miami, Los Angeles Clippers and Knicks over the last ten days.
The Nets were in the driver's seat against the Knicks but fell apart down the stretch with questionable lineup decisions, shoddy shot selection and just overall poor basketball.
Knicks fans took over Barclays Center in full force and have now won four in a row in the area rivalry. Mikal Bridges, who scored 36, was booed on his home floor for missing a late free throw.
So with a Knicks takeover in Brooklyn, a max exodus of stars over the past few years, a billionaire owner in Joe Tsai, who lost a chunk of his large fortune with Alibaba stock plummeting, is a return to the Garden State possible?
Call me crazy, but it's not as farfetched as it once was. The Nets have now been in Brooklyn for almost 12 years. Two failed superstar eras later that produced just two playoff round wins, zero divisional titles or banners, it's clear success hasn't exactly been aplenty in the borough.
In 35 years in New Jersey, the Nets won six division banners, two Eastern Conference Championships and hosted five games at the Meadowlands.
Yes, the Nets played in a half empty building with a 50/50 split of opposing fans and the home crowd. But with revamped transportation hub in the Meadowlands serving MetLife Stadium, the infrastructure is in place to create a convenient situation for basketball fans looking to attend games in New Jersey.
Things would have to completely spiral out of control on the basketball side and financial hardship would need to be so extreme that it would force Tsai to sell both the team and arena, both of which he owns outright.
The reality is, the Nets have seen some dark times in Brooklyn and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to the suffering this season.
As the Nets aim to be a big market team and take local and national attention away from the crosstown Knicks, 12 years since their move to Brooklyn, it appears they're further than ever from taking the city by storm.
The Knicks historically have always been the biggest show in town and while the Nets tried to make headway and steal the limelight in recent years, so far they have failed to do so.
Who knows what the future holds for the nomadic Nets, but things will need to brighten up in Brooklyn quickly, otherwise cries for another relocation may get louder by the day.
The Nets have a great coach on staff, but it's not Jacque Vaughn
Jacque Vaughn may have signed a multi-year extension less than a year ago on February 21, 2023, but early returns for his tenure as head coach have been less than promising.
Yes, Vaughn was head man when the Nets won 12 straight games last season , including an 18 -2 stretch with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leading the way. However, everything went south from that point on with Vaughn.
The Nets stumbled into the sixth seed in the conference in the aftermath of the Irving and Durant trades. Brooklyn was swept with relative ease by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs.
Vaughn also took over as the interim Nets head coach back in 2020, during the NBA bubble season with the team being swept out of the first round by the defending NBA champion Toronto Raptors.
Vaughn has an 0-8 playoff record and has been reluctant to play young budding star Cam Thomas, whose offensive prowess is unmatched, but his defense needs some improvement.
Even veteran point guard Spencer Dinwiddie has spent critical moments on the bench and looks visibly discontent with his role on the team.
The Brooklyn Nets started the season as one of the surprise stories in the NBA at 13-10, but have gone 3-14 since that point.
The assistant coach that the team has seemed to respond to and has a great understanding of opponents is none other than Kevin Ollie. Ollie won the 2014 NCAA National Championship with his alma mater, UConn.
Ollie was investigated by the NCAA for compliance issues and ultimately was relieved of his duties as head coach.
A long-time NBA veteran, Ollie joined Vaughn's staff this season. With the Nets experiencing a talent deficit and coaching deficit, a change might be needed in a leadership position and Ollie can more than fill those shoes.
Nets snap five-game losing streak with shocking win over Thunder
The Brooklyn Nets led by as many as 32 points on Friday night at Barclays Center against Oklahoma City before surviving with a 9-point victory.
The Nets losing streak ended at five games as Nic Claxton and Spencer Dinwiddie added 23 apiece. Cam Thomas chipped in 19 and Mikal Bridges 17.
Brooklyn got off to a strong start in the first half but stumbled to the finish line in the second half.
Sloppy execution down the stretch saw Brooklyn's lead shrink to only six points, but It held on for a 124- 115 win.
The Nets are ecstatic to be back in the win column and head coach Jacque Vaughn can loosen his collar a bit.
Brooklyn welcomes in the Portland Trailblazers to Barclays Center on Sunday looking for its second consecutive victory.
NBA cracks down on Nets for resting healthy players against Bucks
The NBA handed down a $100K fine to the Brooklyn Nets for resting four rotational players in a narrow loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on December 29.
Brooklyn rested Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Nic Claxton, while Mikal Bridges played just 12 minutes to extend his consecutive games streak.
The NBA has a load management problem and made the Nets an example by levying the fine against Brooklyn. A second offense would result in a $250K fine and each additional offense will produce an additional $1M fine on top of it.
A league investigation revealed there were no injuries that precluded the players from participating.
While Bridges' absence could be excused, the notion of resting multiple healthy players goes against everything the new CBA intends to avoid.
The real losers in this equation are the hard working fans who paid money to see their favorite players.
Hopefully, the Nets and the other 29 teams are all on notice that these type of deceitful tactics to rest healthy players won't be tolerated.
Nets in danger of falling out of playoff race after fifth straight loss
The Brooklyn Nets are falling fast. Jacque Vaughn is pushing all the wrong buttons as leading scorers Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges are both mired in shooting slumps.
Brooklyn's 3-point shooting has gone down the tubes and its perimeter defense is nowhere to be found.
The answers may not be on this roster although the absence of Lonnie Walker IV and Ben Simmons has not helped the team's cause.
To make matters worse, the team the Nets lost to 112-101 on Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets, will hold the Nets lottery pick if Brooklyn continues on this downward spiral.
Sean Marks is at a franchise crossroads. Does he make a fifth coaching change of his tenure that started in 2016?
Does he build around Bridges and Thomas or decide to blow up the current core and build from the ground up?
All the answers will come into view later this month as the trade deadline draws near.
For the time being, the Nets are playing an unwatchable brand of basketball over the past two weeks and if things don't change in a hurry, there could be massive changes coming to Brooklyn.
Nets should be ashamed for punting on Milwaukee game
Load management is alive and well in the NBA. On Wednesday night, the Nets sat the majority of their starters, while Cam Thomas and Mikal Bridges played just 12 minutes.
The Nets were in a dogfight with Milwaukee in the second half, but the organization called off the dogs before the game by sitting its best players.
This is an alarming trend in the NBA that was supposed to be curbed by stricter enforcement by the league and the addition of the In-Season Tournament.
The Nets, who will be fighting for a play-in position or possibly the sixth seed, can ill afford to just give away regular season games.
As for the fans that spent their hard earned money during the holidays to see their favorite Nets players take the court, it's a bad look public relations-wise.
The Nets organization has a lot of questions to answer to the fans and media.
If the league is serious about limiting load management, a fine could be incoming for Brooklyn.
Nets snap losing streak by keeping Pistons historic skid intact
The Brooklyn Nets breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday night at Barclays Center as they outlasted a reeling Detroit Pistons squad 126-115.
The Nets had lost five straight heading in to last night's contest while Detroit had lost 25 straight and was looking to avoid tying the longest losing streak in one season in NBA history.
Brooklyn dealt Detroit its 26 straight defeat, tying the 2010-11 Cavaliers and 2013-14 76ers.
Mikal Bridges led the Nets with 29 and Cam Thomas added 20. Jaden Ivey paced the Pistons with 23 and Cade Cunningham had 22.
The Nets and Pistons tangle again on Tuesday in the second half of a back to back. Another loss would set the record for Detroit and the Nets are hoping they can keep their winning streak and in turn the Pistons losing streak alive.
Knicks down Nets as Bridges has historically woeful shooting night
Durant's boneheaded foul seals Nets win in Suns Big 3 debut
The Brooklyn Nets got the revenge that many fans are hoping for on Wednesday night against Kevin Durant and his new team the Phoenix Suns.
Much Durant's ime in Brooklyn, Phoenix has been unable to stay healthy with Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal finally all seeing the court together.
Spencer Dinwiddie was clutched down the stretch as he scored eight fourth quarter points and Cam. Thomas connected on two free throws to seal a 4-point win at Footprint Center.
Thomas led the way for Brooklyn with 24, while Mikal Bridges chipped in 21 and Dinwiddie 16.
Booker dropped in 34 points and Durant 27, but Durant committed a bone-headed foul on Cam Johnson with just 3 seconds remaining on the shot clock where a stop would have given the Suns the ball down only two points with less than 10 seconds remaining.
Durant was adamant about asking out of Brooklyn at last year's trade deadline and with the Nets on the rise he can't ask his way back in now.