Erik Slater Articles - Page 34

Nic Claxton said he felt he “kicked the door down” when speaking about his ranking among NBA centers following a breakout 2022-23 season. The 24-year-old’s two-way performance earned him his first appearance on an NBA Top 100 list at No. 79 on CBS Sports’ rankings. Claxton also earned the 87th spot on ClutchPoints’ Top 100 […]

Mikal Bridges drew praise across the NBA following a midseason trade to the Brooklyn Nets last season. The 27-year-old emerged as one of the league’s most efficient scorers, averaging 27.7 points per game on 47/38/89 shooting splits. He did so while maintaining his high-level defense, frequently drawing opposing teams’ top scorers. That two-way consistency landed […]

Following a disappointing exit at the FIBA World Cup with no medal, USA Basketball now turns its focus to the 2024 Olympics. After sitting out the World Cup, LeBron James has already started recruiting the league’s top players to join him in Paris next summer. Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges could be on the shortlist […]

Ben Simmons is on a mission to get his swagger back. After sitting out the entire 2021-22 season and half of 2022-23 due to a lingering back issue, the three-time All-Star is reportedly beginning to feel like his old self. “He’s talking about being an All-Star again. He said in some workouts in Miami he […]

Team USA entered the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup on a sour note after an upset defeat against Lithuania. In need of a bounceback effort against Italy in the elimination round Tuesday, Mikal Bridges was the star of the show for the red, white and blue. Bridges poured in 24 points on 8-of-11 shooting […]

Ben Simmons opened up on his health and mindset Tuesday during a lengthy interview with ESPN’s Andscape. The three-time All-Star spoke confidently about his ability to turn a corner this season, calling his body “the strongest it’s been” since joining Brooklyn. Simmons also left no doubt about what position he’ll be playing for the Nets […]

After a disappointing first season with the Brooklyn Nets, Ben Simmons opened up about his injury struggles, rehab process and more in a tell-all interview with ESPN’s Andscape. Among the topics Simmons dished on was his rocky relationship with head coach Jacque Vaughn last season: “I feel like our relationship, to start, was terrible,” he […]

“If” has been the defining word of the Brooklyn Nets for the past three-plus seasons, and more recently, Ben Simmons. Many Nets fans thought they were getting the missing piece to a title contender when the team traded for Simmons 18 months ago. Each of the “ifs” surrounding the former No. 1 pick have not […]

The NBA released its full schedule Thursday, giving Brooklyn fans a first look at the Nets’ full 2023-24 slate. Brooklyn is entering its first full season of a new era following the midseason trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last year. Here are five games Nets fans should have circled on their calendars. Fri, […]

The NBA announced the schedule for its inaugural In-Season Tournament on Tuesday afternoon. The Brooklyn Nets will have games on November 3 at Chicago Bulls, Nov. 10 at Boston Celtics, Nov. 14 vs. Orlando Magic and Nov. 28 vs. Toronto Raptors, all of which are the teams who make up the East Group C. The […]

Cam Thomas enters his third NBA season at a crossroads in his journey with the Brooklyn Nets. The 2021 first-round pick has been unable to carve out a consistent role during two tumultuous seasons in Brooklyn. Thomas turned heads across the NBA momentarily last season, becoming the youngest player in league history to score 40 […]

The Brooklyn Nets signed former Portland Trail Blazers forward Trendon Watford on Thursday, filling their final roster spot. Like recent signing Darius Bazley, the deal is a standard, non-guaranteed contract. Watford played the last two seasons with Portland after going undrafted in 2021 out of LSU. He averaged 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists […]

NBA training camp is approaching as the 2023-24 offseason winds down. While the Nets haven’t made a splash move this summer, the team has seen a fair amount of roster turnover as they continue their retool following Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving’s departures. With that, we took some questions from Brooklyn fans in another installment […]

It’s been a relatively quiet offseason for the Brooklyn Nets. The team hasn’t made a splash move this summer, but one thing is clear: Brooklyn is shifting toward youth and athleticism. The Nets swapped out aging shooters and defensive liabilities in Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Seth Curry for young, versatile athletes in Dennis Smith […]

The Nets have one standard roster spot to fill following a busy start to the offseason. Brooklyn shifted towards youth by trading aging shooters in Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Seth Curry and signing Dennis Smith Jr., Lonnie Walker IV and Darius Bazley. The team also welcomed two of the youngest prospects in franchise history, […]

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 […]