Erik Slater Articles - Page 28

It’s been over five months since Ben Simmons last appeared in an NBA game. After sitting out the entire 2021-22 season before undergoing surgery on a bulging disk last summer, Simmons struggled to regain his form with the Brooklyn Nets while battling a litany of injuries in 2022-23. The former number-one pick appeared in 42 […]

Mikal Bridges turned heads across the NBA during a 30-game stint following his trade to the Brooklyn Nets last season. After averaging 27.7 points per game on 47/38/89 shooting splits during that span, Bridges was one of 12 players to commit to Team USA for the 2023 FIBA World Cup this summer. The breakout forward […]

The Brooklyn Nets are adding a young center to the frontcourt mix ahead of training camp. The team has agreed to terms with former Marist center Patrick Gardner, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Gardner averaged 19.1 points and 6.6 rebounds on 49.7 percent shooting in 2022-23, earning Second Team All-MAAC honors in his lone season […]

Ben Simmons has become an afterthought in the discussion surrounding the Brooklyn Nets’ future following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. After averaging just 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists over 42 games last season, many have questioned whether the former No. 1 pick will ever return to a high-level NBA role. […]

The Brooklyn Nets’ offseason moves signal a team with a shifting timeline and mindset. The Nets swapped out aging shooters and defensive liabilities in Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Seth Curry for young, versatile athletes in Dennis Smith Jr., Lonnie Walker IV and Darius Bazley. Bazley, the latest Nets free agent signing, pointed to that […]

The NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement featured several eye-opening wrinkles. One that has not been discussed pertains to Brooklyn Nets big man Ben Simmons. The CBA came with “a previously undisclosed side letter” indicating Simmons received credit for a year of service for the 2021-22 season, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. Simmons sat that entire […]

Bonjour! The Brooklyn Nets are going international. The NBA announced the Nets will travel to Paris this season to face off with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 11. The matchup will mark the NBA’s third regular season game in the French Capital at Accor Arena. It will be the Nets’ second trip to Paris, having played […]

The Brooklyn Nets requested waivers on forward RaiQuan Gray Tuesday. Gray, the 59th overall pick in the 2021 draft, signed a two-way deal with the Nets in the final week of last year’s regular season. The Florida State product played one game with the Nets, tallying 16 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in Brooklyn’s […]

The Brooklyn Nets’ Summer League run ended with a 102-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the semifinals Sunday. Brooklyn finished 3-2 overall, with a pair of draft picks seeing their first pro action and several new faces auditioning for backend roster spots. With that, here are the three biggest things the Nets learned over […]

The Brooklyn Nets are expected to part ways with a main guard depth piece from last season. Brooklyn plans to release Edmond Sumner after pushing back the guaranteed date for his $2.24 million salary to July 15, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. The 27-year-old made 53 appearances (12 starts) last season, averaging 7.1 points, 1.5 […]

Damian Lillard quickly ended any Brooklyn Nets rumors following his trade request, firmly setting his sights on the Miami Heat. This has shifted speculation surrounding the Nets to Tyler Herro. With Portland uninterested in the Heat guard in a Lillard deal, Brooklyn has emerged as a potential landing spot in a three-team trade. Amid the […]

Cam Johnson’s restricted free agency was among Brooklyn Nets’ top questions entering the offseason. Despite rumors of potential poison-pill offer sheets from the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn promptly locked Johnson down on a four-year, $94.5 million deal. The extension, the first of his career, was a load off Johnson’s shoulders following a tumultuous […]

The Brooklyn Nets had an eye on the future in this year’s draft, spending first-round picks on 18-year-olds Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead. However, the team quietly managed to sprinkle in some experience, adding four-year Kansas forward Jalen Wilson with the 51st overall pick. Wilson was a first-round hopeful early last season but fell due […]

The Brooklyn Nets had several clear objectives following the midseason trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving: they needed to get younger, and they needed players who could put the ball in the basket. The team hopes Lonnie Walker IV can check both of those boxes, at least for next season, after signing the 24-year-old […]

David Duke Jr. is making his third consecutive appearance on the Nets Summer League squad. That is a result of Brooklyn’s decision not to extend the 6’4″ guard a qualifying offer this offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent. The move came as a surprise to Duke Jr., who emerged as one of the G […]

The conversation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets heading into the offseason is centered on one question: Would they go star-hunting following Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s departures? Damian Lillard was the name most often brought up in those conversations. Brooklyn has the fourth-most picks in the league with 11 first-rounders over the next sevens years. The […]

Dennis Smith Jr. found perspective in his second-chance stint with the Charlotte Hornets in 2022-23, a season that may have resurrected his career. He’s continuing his newfound opportunity with the Brooklyn Nets after signing for the minimum. And the former lottery pick is bullish on his fit with Brooklyn’s new-look roster. “I just thought it […]

It’s been five months since Ben Simmons last appeared in an NBA game. After sitting out the entire 2021-22 season, Simmons was sidelined during this year’s All-Star break and later shut down due to a nerve impingement in his surgically repaired back. Three months removed from the end of the Brooklyn Nets’ season, Simmons, who […]

The Brooklyn Nets understood the assignment when they drafted Noah Clowney with the 21st pick  of the 2023 NBA Draft. At 18 years old, the 6-foot-1o Alabama big man is among the youngest selections in franchise history, and that inexperienced showed Friday during his Summer League debut. Clowney had just four points on 1-of-9 shooting […]

The Brooklyn Nets are embracing a youth movement this offseason. The team parted ways with Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Seth Curry, its three oldest players, and inserted a pair of young guards with eye-popping athleticism in Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV. Despite a disappointing 2021-22 campaign, Ben Simmons is part of that […]

The Brooklyn Nets turned heads when news of their four-year, $108 million agreement with Cam Johnson broke late last week. The $27 million annual agreement was viewed as a hefty commitment to a player who has never approached an All-Star team. However, the terms of Johnson’s deal were released Thursday, and the contract looks far […]

The Brooklyn Nets are undecided on the 2023-24 status of one of their main guard depth pieces from last season. The Nets and Edmond Sumner agreed to push back his $2.24 million guaranteed salary date for the 2023-24 season, according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto. Sumner was a sparkplug off the bench while bouncing in and […]

Speculation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the offseason centered on a potential blockbuster deal for Damian Lillard. The Blazers star finally requested a trade Saturday, but his desire to play only for the Miami Heat brought Nets rumors to a screeching halt. However, with the Heat lacking the assets to facilitate a Lillard trade […]

The Brooklyn Nets have signed second-round pick Jalen Wilson to a two-way contract for the 2023-24 season, the team announced Wednesday. Brooklyn selected Wilson with the 51st overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He was the unanimous Big-12 Player of the Year as a senior at Kansas, averaging 20.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 […]

The Brooklyn Nets wasted no time adding to their roster this offseason, signing three players within the first two days of free agency. With that, we offer grades for each signing, detailing what all three players can bring to the roster next season. Cam Johnson: 4 years, $108 million Brooklyn didn’t play around with the […]

It finally happened. After months of speculation, Damian Lillard requested a trade from the Portland Trail Blazers Saturday with the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets as his preferred destinations, according to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes. https://twitter.com/ChrisBHaynes/status/1675174339019444224 If it were truly a two-team race for Lillard, the Nets would sit firmly in the driver’s seat. Brooklyn […]

The Brooklyn Nets and restricted free agent Cam Johnson agreed to a four-year, $108 million contract Friday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Johnson was one of the key pieces acquired from the Phoenix Suns in Brooklyn’s midseason blockbuster trade of Kevin Durant. The 27-year-old is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 15.5 […]

The Brooklyn Nets are trading Joe Harris and a pair of second-round picks to the Detroit Pistons, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Detroit will receive a 2027 second-round pick via the Dallas Mavericks and a 2029 second-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pistons were viewed as Brooklyn’s most significant threat to sign Cam Johnson […]

Much of the conversation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets’ offseason has centered around their rumored pursuit of Damian Lillard. However, with the news that the Trail Blazers “remain committed to building a winner around Dame,” (per Chris Haynes) Brooklyn could soon be forced to go another direction. In that case, here are three guards the Nets […]

Ben Simmons will not play for Team Australia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup this August, according to NetsDaily. Simmons has been progressing through a rehabilitation program after missing the second half of the Brooklyn Nets 2022-23 NBA campaign with a knee injury and nerve impingement in his surgically-repaired back. I’m told Ben Simmons will […]

The NBA draft is in the rearview mirror, with the Brooklyn Nets welcoming three rookies for the upcoming season. The Nets’ focus now shifts to free agency, where Cam Johnson’s impending negotiations will headline their priorities. Johnson is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 15.5 points per game on 47/40/84 shooting splits […]

The Brooklyn Nets stood their ground on draft night amid heavy trade rumors, selecting Alabama’s Noah Clowney (21), Duke’s Dariq Whitehead (22) and Kansas’ Jalen Wilson (51). With that, we assess Brooklyn’s draft night haul, offering grades for each selection. *Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)* No. 21: Noah Clowney, […]

Many were projecting Dariq Whitehead as a Top 10 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft at this time last year. After a foot fracture derailed his freshman season, the 6-foot-6 shooting guard/small forward fell to the Brooklyn Nets at 21st overall Thursday. The second-ranked player in the class of 2022 out of the prestigious Montverde […]

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks said Brooklyn is preparing for everything as Cam Johnson enters restricted free agency. Johnson is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 15.5 points per game on 47/40/84 shooting splits for the Phoenix Suns and Nets. He was Brooklyn’s top playoff performer during a first-round sweep against […]

The buzz surrounding the Brooklyn Nets heading into the draft centered on a potential trade up. As the picks flew by Thursday night, the Nets stood their ground, selecting Alabama’s Noah Clowney and Duke’s Dariq Whitehead 21st and 22nd overall. Clowney, a 6-foot-10, 210-pound forward, averaged 9.8 points and 7.9 rebounds last season to help […]

The 2023 NBA draft could be one of the most active trade nights in recent memory. With two first-round picks (Nos. 21, 22) and several valued veterans, league sources expect the Brooklyn Nets to be at the center of the action. The Nets are said to be “extremely active” in trade conversations with their back-to-back […]

Duke center Dereck Lively worked out for the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft. At 7-foot-1 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, the 19-year-old is among the top rim protectors in this year’s draft class, averaging 2.4 blocks in just 20.6 minutes per game during his freshman season. Lively has frequently been mocked […]

Much of the conversation surrounding the Brooklyn Nets’ offseason plans has centered on a blockbuster trade for Damian Lillard. Brooklyn’s need for offensive production was glaring during a first-round sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers, and the team has no shortage of connections to Lillard, who sat courtside for Game 3 of the series and shares […]

The Brooklyn Nets have never traded into the draft lottery during general manager Sean Marks’ six-plus years at the helm. That could change this year with Marks working the phone lines ahead of Thursday. ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony reported earlier this week that Brooklyn was “exploring the possibility” of packaging picks Nos. 21 and […]