Erik Slater Articles - Page 2

The Brooklyn Nets ousted Kenny Atkinson as head coach during the 2019-20 season. He got the last laugh on Monday, winning the 2025 Coach of the Year Award. Atkinson led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 64-18 record and the Eastern Conference’s top seed during his first season with the team. It was a long-awaited head-coaching […]

With the NBA playoffs underway, the offseason rumor mill is already beginning to churn. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future with the Milwaukee Bucks remains the league’s top point of speculation. Following the Bucks’ third consecutive first-round exit and Damian Lillard’s Achilles tear, an Antetokounmpo trade appears more likely than ever before. The Ringer’s Howard Beck said the […]

The Denver Nuggets are showing the resilience of a championship team following Michael Malone’s bombshell firing. After taking down the Los Angeles Clippers in seven games in round one, Nikola Jokic’s squad stormed back for an upset road win over the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. Charles Barkley pointed to Jokic’s increased leadership when […]

The Golden State Warriors will visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday for Game 1 of their second-round series. Gary Payton II is questionable on the team’s injury report due to an illness. Here’s everything we know about Payton’s playing status vs the Timberwolves. Gary Payton II injury status vs. Timberwolves Payton missed the Warriors’ Game […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future has been the NBA’s top point of speculation over the last two years. With the Milwaukee Bucks bereft of assets and failing to resemble a title contender, many within league circles have felt a trade is the best path forward for both sides. Damian Lillard’s torn Achilles ended any doubt that a […]

Dennis Schroder has struggled to find an NBA home during the latter half of his career. The first half of this season was more of the same. The Brooklyn Nets traded the veteran point guard to the Golden State Warriors, who dealt him to the Detroit Pistons a month later in a multi-team deal that […]

Thursday’s NFL Draft began with fireworks. The Cleveland Browns traded the second overall pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who selected Colorado two-way superstar Travis Hunter. Jacksonville sent picks No. 5, 36 and 126, plus a 2026 first-rounder, to Cleveland for picks No. 2, 104 and 200. Here’s what ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. thought […]

The New York Giants took a swing for their quarterback of the future on Thursday. Hours after selecting Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter third overall, they traded back into the first round to select Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart at No. 25. It was no secret that the Giants coveted Dart throughout the draft […]

The Boston Celtics will visit the Orlando Magic for Game 3 of their first-round series on Friday night. Jayson Tatum is doubtful, and Jrue Holiday is questionable on the team’s injury report. Tatum is dealing with a bone bruise in his right wrist, while Holiday has a right hamstring strain. Here’s everything we know about […]

French point guard and projected first-round pick Nolan Traore declared for the 2025 NBA draft on Thursday. “I’m excited to take the next step in my career and declare for the NBA draft,” Traore told ESPN. “I still have many goals with my team, to finish the regular season strong, make the playoffs and then […]

The Denver Nuggets will visit the Los Angeles Clippers for Game 3 of their first-round series on Thursday. Michael Porter Jr. is questionable on the team’s injury report due to a left shoulder sprain. Here’s everything we know about Porter Jr.’s injury and playing status vs. the Clippers. *Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (Get […]

The Golden State Warriors saw their postseason lives flash before their eyes when Jimmy Butler hit the floor during the first quarter of Game 2 vs. the Houston Rockets. After being undercut by Amen Thompson on a rebound attempt, Butler landed hard on his pelvis and writhed in pain on the floor. He was ruled […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are off to an inauspicious start. Following a historic collapse last season, they’ve posted an 8-15 record to start the 2025 campaign. Rocco Baldelli knows he could be out of a job if his team doesn’t improve. “When you sign up to manage and coach or play, you sign up for anything,” Baldelli […]

NBA players expressed their opinions on various subjects in The Athletic’s anonymous poll. Among them was the league’s most overrated player, with Tyrese Haliburton earning the title. However, former NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins feels Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert is the clear choice. “I disagree with Haliburton being the most overrated… It’s Rudy [Gobert], man. […]

With the NBA playoffs underway, draft season is right around the corner. Rutgers star Ace Bailey announced on Wednesday that he is entering his name into the 2025 draft. His decision comes after Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, the projected top two picks, recently declared. Many considered Bailey a threat to Flagg for the No. […]

The New York Knicks bet the farm on Mikal Bridges being the missing piece to their championship hopes. That move looked like a losing proposition throughout the regular season. Bridges’ start to the playoffs hasn’t changed that sentiment. The forward, acquired from the Brooklyn Nets for five first-round picks last summer, was benched down the […]

The 2025 NBA draft will be among the most important in the Brooklyn Nets’ history. Following an active offseason, the rebuilding squad has an NBA-high five picks. Their draft position gained more clarity on Monday. The NBA broke five ties among teams with identical records through random drawings. Brooklyn’s first-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks, […]

The Golden State Warriors will face a decision on Jonathan Kuminga’s future this summer. With the former No. 7 pick set to hit restricted free agency, they “are monitoring” the Brooklyn Nets as a potential suitor, according to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. Golden State won’t be the only team monitoring Brooklyn as a threat […]

The Denver Nuggets have an opportunity to take a 2-0 lead over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Aaron Gordon landed on the team’s injury report ahead of the Game 2 matchup. The star forward is probable due to right calf injury management. Gordon battled a calf injury late in the regular season. He carried […]

Travis Hunter excelled as a two-way superstar at Colorado. Whether he will play cornerback or wide receiver in the NFL is among the top questions of the 2025 draft. NFL coaches, executives and scouts have varying opinions of Hunter’s position at the next level. However, many think he would be best utilized as a shutdown […]

Shaquille O’Neal knows what it takes to compete with the best of the best in the NBA playoffs. The four-time NBA champion watched his former team, the Orlando Magic, suffer a blowout loss to the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of their first-round series on Sunday. O’Neal offered a bleak outlook on the Magic’s chances […]

Ziaire Williams welcomed a fresh start this season after the Memphis Grizzlies shipped him to the Brooklyn Nets in a salary dump. The former top-10 pick had a career-best year, inspiring hope that he can secure a spot in an NBA rotation long-term. Entering the first free agency of his career, he hopes he’ll have […]

Drew Timme is earning recognition following a breakout 2024-25 campaign. The former Gonzaga star was named All-NBA G League Second Team for his performance with the Long Island Nets. Timme averaged 23.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 58/39/73 shooting splits over 29 appearances with Long Island. He joined the team from the Stockton […]

The Brooklyn Nets had high expectations for Nic Claxton this season after signing him to a four-year, $97 million contract. While the sixth-year center showed flashes of the two-way play that led to his life-changing payday, he struggled to live up to the billing. “It was a very humbling season. It was a lot of […]

Cam Thomas said he and the Brooklyn Nets were “a match made in heaven” when the team selected him in the first round of the 2021 draft. Despite a tumultuous first four seasons with the team, he doubled down on the statement ahead of his restricted free agency. “I never wavered from that. I always […]

The Brooklyn Nets had opportunities to cash in on Cam Johnson at the trade deadline. However, the rebuilding squad was content to hold onto the veteran wing during a career season. Will that change this summer? “There was no shortage of teams calling [about Cam]. He’s a good player, and teams value him, but so do […]

The Brooklyn Nets are in the early stages of a rebuild. However, with an NBA-best 13 tradable first-round picks and over $50 million in cap space, the team has the ammo to go star hunting as early as this summer. General manager Sean Marks said such an acquisition would need to turn the Nets into […]

The Brooklyn Nets ended their season with a whimper on Sunday, falling 113-105 to the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. While the game appeared to have little meaning, it had implications for Brooklyn’s draft positioning. The loss dropped the Nets’ first-round pick via the Knicks to 26th. Had Brooklyn won, New York would have […]

With the NBA playing its final regular-season games on Sunday, Mikal Bridges kept his Iron Man streak alive… technically. The New York Knicks forward played six seconds against the Brooklyn Nets, issuing a foul after the opening tip and exiting the game. Mikal Bridges committed a foul and checked out after just 6 seconds so […]

The speculation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets’ draft lottery position has ended. Following the Philadelphia 76ers’ loss on Friday, the Nets are locked into sixth place in the lottery standings. Brooklyn’s odds will be as follows: 1st: 9.0% 2nd: 9.2% 3rd: 9.41% 4th: 9.62% 5th: 0% 6th: 8.62% 7th: 29.77% 8th: 20.55% 9th: 3.68% 10th: 0.15% […]

Jordi Fernandez has told the Brooklyn Nets to let it fly from three this season. His players have listened. The Nets’ first made three of Friday’s Minnesota Timberwolves matchup was their 1,090th of the season, a new single-season franchise record. Brooklyn has attempted 39.5 threes per game this season, the eighth-most in the NBA. Fernandez […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves will face a shorthanded Brooklyn Nets squad on Friday amid a tightly contested Western Conference playoff race. The Nets ruled out Cam Johnson, D’Angelo Russell, Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams for the matchup. Brooklyn is virtually locked into the sixth-best draft lottery odds. The Nets have lost three of their last […]

The Denver Nuggets will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night at Ball Arena. Jamal Murray is doubtful on the team’s injury report due to right hamstring inflammation. Here’s everything we know about Murray’s injury and playing status vs. the Grizzlies. *Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)* Jamal Murray injury […]

The Los Angeles Clippers will visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday night at Golden 1 Center. Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac are questionable on the team’s injury report. Powell is dealing with right shoulder soreness, while Zubac has a right ankle sprain. Here’s everything we know about both players’ injuries and playing statuses vs. the […]

D’Angelo Russell will hit unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career this summer. He hopes it will end with him returning to the Brooklyn Nets. After rejoining the Nets in a midseason trade from the Los Angeles Lakers, the former All-Star sees a promising future in Brooklyn. “A lot of teams are […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo could be sidelined on Thursday as the Milwaukee Bucks attempt to move closer to securing the Eastern Conference’s fifth seed. The team downgraded the two-time MVP to questionable for their New Orleans Pelicans matchup due to an illness. They initially listed him as probable due to left shoulder tendinopathy. The Bucks are coming […]

With their draft lottery odds more of a concern than wins and losses, the Brooklyn Nets have auditioned several young prospects recently. While they clinched the sixth-best lottery odds on Wednesday, they will continue their youth movement to close the season. The Nets ruled out Cam Johnson, D’Angelo Russell and Day’Ron Sharpe for Thursday’s Atlanta […]

For many G League players, NBA call-ups end in disappointment as they struggle to produce at the highest level. For Dariq Whitehead, it’s been the opposite, at least in terms of outside shooting. The 2023 first-round pick has shot 44.8 percent from three over 17 appearances with the Brooklyn Nets this season, compared to 33.5 […]

The Houston Rockets will visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night at Intuit Dome. Alperen Sengun is doubtful, and Fred VanVleet is questionable on the team’s injury report. Sengun is dealing with lower back soreness, while VanVleet has right ankle soreness. Here’s everything we know about both players’ injuries and playing statuses vs. the […]