Erik Slater Articles - Page 33

Several storylines surround Ben Simmons’ return to the Brooklyn Nets this season. For head coach Jacque Vaughn, few loom larger than the former number-one pick’s offensive fit alongside Nic Claxton. In a league that prioritizes spacing more than ever before, the Nets are attempting to defy modern standards, placing two non-shooters in their starting five. […]

After straining his hamstring days before the start of training camp, Cam Johnson participated in Brooklyn Nets practice for the first time this preseason on Saturday. Johnson had no restrictions, and Brooklyn expects the forward to be available for Wednesday’s regular-season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I think his progression to get to this point […]

Cam Johnson is progressing toward a potential return to the Brooklyn Nets’ lineup. With opening night vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers five days away, head coach Jacque Vaughn said Johnson is expected to practice for the first time this preseason Saturday. The Nets were dealt an unexpected blow when Johnson strained his hamstring days before the […]

The Brooklyn Nets made their first roster move of the preseason Thursday, waiving forward Darius Bazley. Bazley signed a non-guaranteed contract this offseason after three-plus years in Oklahoma City and a brief stint with Phoenix last season. In three preseason appearances, the 24-year-old averaged 5.7 points and 6.3 rebounds on 40.0 percent shooting 20.0 minutes […]

Mikal Bridges enters the 2023-24 season, his first full year as a member of the Brooklyn Nets, with star-level expectations. Following a breakout 30-game stretch with the Nets to close 2022-23, many have considered Bridges Brooklyn’s centerpiece as the team pivots to a new era. The 27-year-old has yet to showcase his high-level offensive capabilities […]

Australian basketball fans have long awaited the return of Ben Simmons to the country’s national team. After a lingering back injury sidelined Simmons for the second half of the 2022-23 season, the former number-one pick chose not to play for the Boomers in the 2023 FIBA World Cup this summer. After an extended rehab process, […]

Ben Simmons has high expectations for a healthy version of himself ahead of the Brooklyn Nets’ 2023-24 campaign. After missing the second half of 2022-23 due to a lingering back injury, the three-time All-Star said he feels Brooklyn can “shock a lot of people” before outlining some lofty individual goals. “I want to be back […]

The Brooklyn Nets looked far from a team ready for opening night during Thursday’s 127-119 preseason loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. Several numbers jump off the page when assessing what went wrong, but none were more glaring than Brooklyn’s 27 turnovers. Yes, you read that correctly, 27. The Nets are attempting to find an offensive […]

After three years of game-planning for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, opposing coaches will be met with a revamped Brooklyn Nets squad in 2023-24. While the Nets lack a superstar, the new-look roster is filled with versatile two-way players. Ben Simmons presents one of the league’s top passers and defenders if healthy. Mikal Bridges and […]

Spencer Dinwiddie has no qualms about accepting an off-ball role with a healthy Ben Simmons at point guard for the Brooklyn Nets this season. “This team goes as far as Ben and Mikal (Bridges) take it. We know who Ben can be when he’s healthy and in a good space mentally, and that’s what we […]

The Brooklyn Nets have yet to get a look at their new-look starting five through two preseason games. After straining his hamstring days before training camp, Cam Johnson has been held out of training camp thus far. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn is optimistic that the 6-foot-8 sharpshooter could join practice next week. However, Vaughn […]

Nearly two and a half years had passed since Harry Giles last appeared in an NBA game entering the 2023-24 season. The nation’s number-one high school player in the Class of 2016, Giles was once considered a future NBA star, ranked ahead of players like Jayson Tatum, Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox and Lonzo Ball. “A […]

Maccabi Ra’anana head coach Yehu Orland entered a crowded room of reporters ahead of Thursday’s exhibition with the Brooklyn Nets. His shirt read, “R.I.P Eli, forever in my heart.” The message honored one of Orland’s best friends, Eli Ginsberg, who was killed two days earlier defending Israel after Hamas militants attacked the country. The attack […]

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn faced scrutiny for Cam Thomas’ benching amid the team’s offensive struggles late last season. With Thomas’ role in question entering 2023-24, questions surrounding the 2021 first-round pick persisted early in training camp. However, the skeptics were silenced ahead of Brooklyn’s preseason opener, with Vaughn giving Thomas a surprise starting […]

Mikal Bridges’ stock has steadily risen within NBA circles since joining the Brooklyn Nets at last year’s trade deadline. The 27-year-old quickly cemented himself within the inner circle of the NBA’s rising stars upon his trade, averaging 27.7 points on 47/38/89 shooting splits in 31 games (playoffs included) with Brooklyn. He continued building that star […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas has not had a typical career arc through his first two NBA seasons. After a chaotic, Covid-laden rookie year in 2021-22, Thomas struggled to crack Brooklyn’s rotation following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last season. The late-season benching came after the 2021 first-round pick tied LeBron James […]

Preseason basketball typically isn’t headline-worthy. NBA starters go through the motions while coaches get a look at younger players on the roster bubble. But for the Brooklyn Nets, this year’s preseason opener presented a test for Ben Simmons, their highest-paid player, and one who could determine the ceiling of their new-look roster in 2023-24. Simmons […]

The Brooklyn Nets opened the 2023-24 preseason with a 129-126 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers Monday in Las Vegas. Nearly every player on Brooklyn’s training camp roster saw extended playing time in the defeat. With that, we outline three key takeaways from the team’s first game action of the season: 3. Nets experience growing […]

If you watched the Brooklyn Nets last season, you likely noticed a glaring hole at backup center behind Nic Claxton, a product of the team’s reluctance to play second-year big man Day’Ron Sharpe. However, after ranking 28th in defensive rebounding in 2022-23, head coach Jacque Vaughn is giving Sharpe an expanded opportunity to win the […]

The Brooklyn Nets open the preseason on Monday against the Los Angeles Lakers in Las Vegas. The team boasts a reshaped roster following a pair of blockbuster trades at last year’s deadline and numerous offseason moves. With that, we break down the three must-watch developments for the Nets as they take the floor for their […]

The Brooklyn Nets aren’t concerned with individual accomplishments in 2023-24, but Spencer Dinwiddie said they are aware of how a winning season could personally benefit several players on the roster. Ben Simmons is attempting to rectify his NBA career amid a newfound bill of health, Mikal Bridges has All-Star expectations, and Cam Johnson has to […]

When a player has a place alongside LeBron James in the NBA record books, you’d think it’s safe to assume he has a secure role on a team without a superstar. Yet that’s not the case for Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas, who tied James last season as the youngest player in league history to […]

The Brooklyn Nets enter the 2023-24 season searching for a new offensive identity. With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out the door, the days of historic isolation scoring are in the rearview mirror, leaving the team with several question marks. Mikal Bridges will shoulder a large portion of the scoring burden after breaking out with […]

Damian Lillard had a well-documented interest in the Brooklyn Nets this summer, but from all reports, it was not reciprocated on Brooklyn’s end. With negotiations between Portland and his top preferred destination, the Miami Heat, going nowhere, the seven-time All-Star reportedly informed the Bucks and Nets last month that he was interested in trades to […]

The Brooklyn Nets had several glaring weaknesses last season, but few were more evident than their rebounding. Last year’s team ranked 28th on the defensive glass and was outscored 80-22 in second-chance points during a first-round sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers. General manager Sean Marks and head coach Jacque Vaughn emphasized that changes were necessary […]

Mikal Bridges’ breakout stint with the Brooklyn Nets offered the team a silver lining following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last season. The former Sun quickly cemented himself within the inner circle of the NBA’s rising stars, averaging 27.7 points per game on 47/38/89 shooting splits in 30 appearances. He continued to […]

Nic Claxton was one of the Brooklyn Nets’ few bright spots during an otherwise bleak 2022-23 season. The 24-year-old emerged as one of the NBA’s top perimeter-defending centers while making significant strides as a rim protector. Claxton tied Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. for the league lead in stocks (steals + blocks) […]

Ben Simmons’ health status was a black cloud over the Brooklyn Nets season in 2022-23. But after a summer rehabbing a back injury that forced him out at last year’s All-Star break, the three-time All-Star finally has a clean bill of health, one he says will allow him to play without restrictions in 2023-24. “I […]

There’s a real world where Damian Lillard could have been reporting to training camp on Monday as a member of the Brooklyn Nets. With trade talks between the Portland Trail Blazers and his top destination, the Miami Heat, going nowhere, Lillard instructed his agent to inform the Nets and Milwaukee Bucks he was interested in […]

Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, dubbed “The Twins” by their Phoenix Suns teammates after joining the team, quickly became fan favorites in Phoenix due to their hard-nosed defense, unselfishness and three-point shooting. After a midseason trade sent the duo to the Brooklyn Nets, Johnson and Bridges turned heads across the league while stepping into expanded […]

The Brooklyn Nets enter the 2023-24 season with a fully revamped roster. After posting a 12-15 record and being swept in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers following the midseason trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn will have a full offseason and training camp to incorporate a bevy of new faces. Among […]

Eight months ago, the Brooklyn Nets were thought to have hit rock bottom. Kyrie Irving requested a trade, then Kevin Durant. Brooklyn acquiesced to both, completing the implosion of what many considered the most talented big three in NBA history. With Durant, Irving and James Harden all requesting trades within a year, the questions about […]

The Brooklyn Nets want more from Mikal Bridges this season. If you watched Bridges following his trade to the Nets in 2022-23, that’s saying a lot. The former Sun quickly cemented himself within the inner circle of the NBA’s rising stars, averaging 27.7 points per game on 47/38/89 shooting splits in 30 games with Brooklyn. […]

Brooklyn Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie isn’t tolerating any more Ben Simmons slander. The nine-year veteran stood up for his teammate during an appearance on The Pat Bev Podcast Wednesday, calling Simmons “a far more athletic” version of Golden State’s Draymond Green: “Ben at his best form is a far more athletic Draymond Green with less […]

Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks didn’t mince words at the end of the 2022-23 season: his team needed to get bigger and nastier on the boards. After ranking 28th in defensive rebounding and losing the second-chance points battle 80-22 during a first-round sweep against Philadelphia, both Marks and head coach Jacque Vaughn appeared aligned […]

Ben Simmons has made it no secret what position he will play for the Brooklyn Nets in 2023-24. The three-time All-Star continuously reiterated that he wants to be Brooklyn’s point guard, indicating that the Nets’ coaching staff is on board. Head coach Jacque Vaughn spoke to the media for the first time since Summer League […]

After a tumultuous first season with the Nets, Ben Simmons’ health is on the mend, and so is his relationship with head coach Jacque Vaughn. Simmons was largely ineffective last season while battling a rash of injuries, something Vaughn found frustrating throughout the year. The Nets head coach said Tuesday that he’s since realized he […]

For the first time in over two years, Ben Simmons has a clean bill of health entering training camp. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said Tuesday that Simmons progressed through a rehab process for his surgically repaired back and will be 100 percent when the team reports to Brooklyn: “Ben is playing five-on-five with no […]

The Brooklyn Nets open training camp next week as they turn the page to the first full season of the post-Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving era. The bulk of Brooklyn’s roster will be comprised of returning contributors from the second half of 2022-23. With that, we breakdown the number one area each returning Net must improve […]