Brooklyn Loses $500,327.9 Million 5-Star Productive Defensive Back To Portal…
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The Brooklyn Nets are going to miss the NBA playoffs this season, and they have big roster decisions to make this summer, including the point guard position, which has been an enigma for them in the past few seasons.
When the Brooklyn Nets traded for Ben Simmons in 2022, the expectation was that he’d be their point guard for the long term. However, he has been anything but, primarily because of his back problems.
The former no. 1 pick underwent his second back surgery in three years after declaring out for the rest of the 2023-24 campaign, where he only averaged 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.7 assists per game.
Ben Simmons has played in only 57 games during his tenure with the Brooklyn Nets, and he’ll enter the final year of his current contract next season, where he’ll earn $40.3 million. This has led to speculation about what the team plans to do with the Australian international this offseason.
Brooklyn Nets plan to give Ben Simmons one more chance
According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Brooklyn Nets have no plans to seek a buyout of Ben Simmons’ current deal since they expect him to be back in the fold next season as one of their key players.
Because 2024-25 is Ben Simmons’ contract year, he will be motivated to return to full strength to land another huge contract and continue his NBA career.
However, since the team is not keen on seeing Ben Simmons riding the bench, it begs the question of how Dennis Schroder, whom they acquired via a trade with the Toronto Raptors in midseason, fits into their plans.
Dennis Schroder said recently that he wants to stay in Brooklyn. The FIBA World Cup champion will be owed $13.4 million next season.
“Of course. I always want to be stationed somewhere where people show me appreciation,” said Schroder. “And I felt that from the first day — people reaching out to my family, to my wife, to my mom. That shows, OK, they really (want me). And the playing style, as well, I like. They trust me, in what I am capable of. And of course, I want to stay.
Ben Simmons will not be leaving Brooklyn, at least that is the word from the Nets HQ, with the franchise announcing they intend to keep him on the roster.
The injury ravaged former All-Star has spent more time in rehab than on the court and as his final year of his $177.2 million contract expires at the end of the year, pundits are expecting him to be cut.
He will earn a whopping $40.3 million next season but there is not much downside to the Nets terminating his contract now, as they are well within their tax threshold.
He was traded to Brooklyn midway through the 2021/22 season and has only played 57 games including just 15 in the last season, before injuring his back.
When playing he has not looked like a multi-million-dollar player averaging 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.
For the time being the Nets must cough and pay up and hope he makes a significant improvement for the rest of the year.
Last night, the New York Knicks (48-32) crushed the Celtics 118-109, in a game that was much more of a blowout than the score suggests. On Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets (32-48) squeezed by the Raptors 106-102. Tonight, the Knicks host their NYC counterpart in their penultimate regular season game.
The Knicks have beaten the Nets three times this season, taking the last game 105-93 on March 23. In the win, New York shot 97 field goals to Brooklyn’s 76 and limited the Nets to 16 fourth-quarter points.
For their game on Wednesday, Brooklyn started rookie forward Noah Clowney, Cam Thomas, Dennis Schröder, Nic Claxton, and Mikal Bridges. Expect the same tonight, methinks.
Playing for his seventh team, 11-year-veteran point guard Schröder has averaged 14 points, six assists, and three rebounds in 80 games this season. He’s having his second-best season as a three-point shooter, making 38% on 4.6 attempts.
Former Wildcat wing Mikal Bridges has averaged 23 points, 4.7 rebounds, and four assists in his last three games against the Knicks. Brooklyn Bridges has taken a higher volume of threes–1278 attempts this season, 7.3 per game–and made 37% of them.
In his third season, shooting guard Cam Thomas has seen the most usage of his career, averaging 31 minutes, 22 points, and 18 field goal attempts per game. His shooting splits are 44%/36%/85%.
Rounding out the starters, freshman Clowney (6’10”, 210 lb) has averaged 12 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks in his last 5 games, and center Claxton has averaged 12 points, 9.9 rebounds, and two blocks this season.
ESPN.com gives the Knicks a 71% chance to win but beware of the trap game. Brooklyn will be playing for pride, and the Knicks will be playing the second game of a back-to-back. Will Donte DiVincenzo’s legs be tired after playing 41 minutes last night? How does Jalen Brunson’s wrist feel after appearing to injure it while taking a charge at TD Garden? The Knicks are motivated to win out and secure a top spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Nets might do their best to spoil their party.
I suspect that the playoffs have already started in the minds of Thomas Thibodeau, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, et al. Look for them to be a little loosey-goosey early on but lay down the hammer in the second half. Knicks by +12.
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Brooklyn Nets Poised To Lose Key Player In NBA Offseason
The Brooklyn Nets are in a difficult position. Their roster is not strong enough to compete, and they lack draft picks for future improvements. This situation is worsened by their reduced appeal as an NBA free-agent destination following the problematic tenures of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
The Nets may soon face another significant setback. Nic Claxton, one of the team’s standout players, seems likely to leave. NBA insider Frank Isola recently speculated on Claxton’s future.
As Claxton heads toward unrestricted free agency, his market value is rising. At just 24, he has proven to be a dominant rebounder and one of the league’s best interior defenders.
Claxton has also started to enhance his offensive game and has expressed a desire for a more prominent role on a team. His abilities extend to defending in pick-and-roll situations, rim protection, and perimeter defense.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS Nic Claxton, Brooklyn Nets Updates
These skills make Claxton a highly sought-after player as free agency approaches. The Nets now face the tough decision of trying to re-sign him or potentially watching him excel with another team. As the offseason nears, the Nets’ strategy and Claxton’s decisions will be pivotal to both parties’ futures.
Neither the Brooklyn Nets nor the Toronto Raptors were looking for much when they trotted into the Barclays Center tonight.
With everyone else having reserved their seats by now, both teams knew the NBA playoff bus would soon be taking off without them. It may have felt like one at times given the back-and-forth nature, but tonight’s game was no truly competitive contest in terms of what an NBA team’s goal should be. It was merely a basketball game that just so happened to be played at the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.
It being fan appreciation night and the home finale did give the game some appeal. But unfortunately, much of was coated in sad irony.
With it being Brooklyn’s last game of the season, in part due to a multitude of failures from all corners of the organization, every T-shirt, tribute, and salute to the Brooklyn faithful felt paradoxical. It was a toast to a crowd that almost all season has had nothing but drinks thrown in its face.
The Nets themselves played on though, and played hard, as they have since their official elimination one week ago to date. Thanks to some fiery sequences down the stretch from Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, and Dennis Schröder, they carved their way to a gritty victory that if it were to happen at any other point in the year would surely have more stock in it.
In our last look at the team up front until October, here’s what we learned.
Expect a Heavy Diet of Rejections in 2024-25
The Nets have a chance to throw a season-long block party next year if they’re smart with their finances this offseason. While Noah Clowney, who registered seven rejections tonight is locked up on a rookie contract for the foreseeable future, Nic Claxton, who added a relatively modest five blocks, will hit free agency.
Clowney and Claxton became the first Nets duo with four or more blocks in a game since Jarrett Allen and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson did so vs the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018. Brooklyn playin
Brooklyn’s possessed lengthy players all year, but never the athleticism, speed, and ball-tracking abilities they had tonight with Claxton and Clowney paired up. They didn’t just take turns swatting shots either, they played off each other, as one frequently put pressure on one side of the floor allowing the other to sneak in on the help late and take a swat.
“I think we got a good connection,” said Clowney, talking about Claxton postgame. “I know if he’s on the court I can press up sometimes and I know I got somebody behind me that’s gonna swoop in so I can just veer.”
It’d be unfair not not mention Day’Ron Sharpe either, who came up with two blocks tonight in just 11 minutes played. While he remains more of an anchor, drop-style big rather than a versatile one like Claxton or Clowney, he wields the tools needed to swat shots all the same. Barring a trade, he’s also likely to stick around for some time, not reaching restricted free agency until two years from now.
Expecting the Nets defense to rank among the league’s best was a common mistake this year. For that reason, it’s fair to remain hesitant in that regard leading up to next season. Contrary to what stat watcher think, rejecting shots is also a mere fraction of what encapsulates a solid defender. But in the spirit of digging for something to look forward to next season, exciting defense via Brooklyn’s shot-blocking personnel appears to be on the menu after tonight.
Thomas and Claxton Connection Still Needs Work
Nic Claxton has had more dance partners than a bride at her own wedding while manning the pick-and-roll this season. Spencer Dinwiddie’s second stint already feels like ancient history. Mikal Bridges put on the tap shoes for a bit, but then Dennis Schröder eventually took over.
It wasn’t until a week or two past the trade deadline that Brooklyn really started running their offense through Cam Thomas. Then even when they did, Schröder still got his licks in, rightfully so as the team’s only true PG, but nonetheless taking reps away from CT.
However, the lacking familiarity hasn’t stopped Thomas and Claxton from going full speed ahead while running together. Doing so didn’t bear any fruit, but they “went for it early” for lack of a better word early and often tonight.
On two first quarter sequences, Thomas failed trying to hit his lengthy rim wrecker a handful of lobs. One attempt seemed doomed from the start with it being a no-look dish at the tail-end of a crowded fast break. Something along the lines of a ghost screen ignited the next one, but this time a poorly timed pass from Thomas resulted in the miss.
Schröder then took over in the second half with Thomas struggling to find any offensive feel.
Given the limited run time they’ve had with each other, the miscues experienced tonight by Claxton and Thomas were somewhat understandable. When you drop the needle on a still developing offensive facilitator and big man, steps out of rhythm are common.