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Source: http://feeds.feedburner.com/sportsblogs/netsdaily?format=xml

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<title>NetsDaily - All Posts</title>
<subtitle>The most comprehensive source for news about the Brooklyn Nets.</subtitle>
<icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/50989/nd-fav.png</icon>
<updated>2024-05-02T17:12:52-04:00</updated>
<id>http://www.netsdaily.com/rss/current/</id>
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<entry>
<published>2024-05-02T17:12:52-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-05-02T17:12:52-04:00</updated>
<title>Scotto: Brooklyn Nets shaking up coaching staff. Is performance team next?</title>
<content type="html">
<figure>
<img alt="Brooklyn Nets v Philadelphia 76ers" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ojnFAk62a80SybC58R_NHMkzqfU=/0x386:2837x2277/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73323682/2149464994.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
Mike Scotto reports that while Jay Hernandez will be staying on under Jordi Fernandez, Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver and Ronnie Burrell will not return. Mike Scotto of Hoopshype reports Thursday that while Jay Hernandez, one Jacque Vaughn’s development assistants, will return next season, but Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver and Ronnie Burrell will not. Ollie of course filled in as interim head coach after the Nets dismissed Jacque Vaughn at the All-Star Break.
As previously reported, Steve Hetzel, an assistant coach with the <a href="https://www.blazersedge.com">Portland Trail Blazers</a>, and Juwan Howard, former head coach of the University of <a href="https://www.maizenbrew.com">Michigan Wolverines</a>, are joining Jordi Fernandez’s staff.
<div id="9QkA20">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sources: Nets will have Steve Hetzel (lead assistant), Juwan Howard and Jay Hernandez on the front bench of Jordi Fernandez’s staff. Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver and Ronnie Burrell won’t return. Ollie was interim coach. Weaver (2019) and Burrell (2023) won G League Coach of the Year <a href="https://t.co/NZ6cUzsl9r">pic.twitter.com/NZ6cUzsl9r</a>— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeAScotto/status/1786130537096139146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2024</a>
</blockquote>
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It’s expected that Hetzel, Howard and Hernandez will handle much of the Nets Summer League coaching responsibilities. Fernandez will be in Las Vegas early in July but remains head coach of the Canadian national team.
NetsDaily can confirm the report. No word yet on the fate of Adam Caporn, the Nets assistant who has also been director of development. Caporn is also an assistant coach on the Australian national team.
Meanwhile, multiple sources tell NetsDaily that the Nets performance team may also undergo a shake up with several members of the team possibly not getting their contracts renewed. No details yet on those moves including who might be leaving and who’d replace them.
<ul>
<li id="VoxwuP">
<a href="https://nypost.com/2024/05/02/sports/nets-jordi-fernandez-makes-more-changes-to-coaching-staff/">Nets’ Jordi Fernandez makes more changes to coaching staff</a> - Brian Lewis - New York Post</li>
<li id="x9mQcz">
<a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/03/jordi-fernandez-first-nets-coaching-staff/">Jordi Fernandez’s first Nets coaching staff nearly in place: reports</a> - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News</li>
</ul>
</content>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/5/2/24147571/scotto-brooklyn-nets-shaking-up-coaching-staff-is-performance-team-next"/>
<id>https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/5/2/24147571/scotto-brooklyn-nets-shaking-up-coaching-staff-is-performance-team-next</id>
<author>
<name>Net Income</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<published>2024-05-02T11:39:57-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-05-02T11:39:57-04:00</updated>
<title>As Canada’s players star in post-season, Jordi Fernandez Olympics role gets bigger</title>
<content type="html">
<figure>
<img alt="PHILIPPINES-MANILA-BASKETBALL-FIBA WORLD CUP-SEMIFINAL-SRB VS CAN" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YiZF9-pefuTfmAIbTpVJfNIROE8=/0x233:4230x3053/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73322718/1654039930.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Wu Zhuang/Xinhua via Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
Team USA is not the only national team with NBA players. Team Canada, led by Jordi Fernandez, will be big as well. With the Miami Heat losing Wednesday, there are now only six players on Team USA’s Olympic roster still playing in the NBA’s post-season: Anthony Edwards of the <a href="https://www.canishoopus.com">Minnesota Timberwolves</a>, Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday of the <a href="https://www.celticsblog.com">Boston Celtics</a>, Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers, Kawhi Leonard of the Los Angeles Clippers and Joel Embiid of the <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com">Philadelphia 76ers</a> ... who could exit the playoffs Thursday night if the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com">Knicks</a> win in Philly. And that’s with the first round still incomplete!
The playoffs have not been king to the NBA’s old guard, most of which are now comfortably sipping mai-tai’s on the beaches of Cancun or Cabo. Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, etc., are done for the season. 
Meanwhile, up north, Team Canada is looking pretty, pretty good. Our neighbors to the north have five likely Olympians still competing in the post-season and their roster is dominated by the NBA’s younger set: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort of the Oklahoma City Thunder; Jamal Murray of the Denver Nuggets, Nickeil Alexander-Wallace (SGA’s cousin) of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Norman Powell of the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com">Dallas Mavericks</a>.
They may not have the star power of Team USA, but they do have continuity, having won the bronze at the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/fiba-world-cup">FIBA World Cup</a> last summer with basically the same group ... and the same head coach, Jordi Fernandez, the <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com">Brooklyn Nets</a> new head guy. As anyone knowledgeable about the sport can tell you, continuity matters a whole lot, particularly when prep time is limited. So does youth.
It’s that potential, among other things that led the Nets to permit Fernandez to hang on to the reins of the Canadian team this summer in Paris. (And after all, the Nets owner is a Canadian citizen.) Fernandez, with limited head coaching experience, will be working with some of the world’s best basketball players on the biggest stage against the best competition the sport can provide outside the NBA. That’s got to be better for everyone involved than handling the sideline action at Summer League. And as Sean Marks said at Fernandez’s introductory press conference last week, you never want to deny a player or a coach his Olympic moment.
“I would never take the opportunity to play for or coach a national team away from anybody. I think that’s a chance of a lifetime to go and do that. I think, especially on that level, on that stage, right?,” said Marks who played for Team New Zealand as an NBA player.
But the motivation is more selfish than that. Marks wants his new head coach to get more time “behind the clipboard.” as he said in that same discussion with Nets media.
“When you get to go to the Olympics, that’s very rare. So the more opportunities Jordi has behind the clipboard, the better,” the Nets GM added. “So I think that’s great for us,” 
Having Fernandez coach the Nets Summer League team in Las Vegas, is, of course, a lesser challenge, particularly since the Nets Vegas roster will likely be limited to Noah Clowney, Jalen Wilson, Dariq Whitehead if healthy and not much else since Brooklyn currently has no picks in the June draft. Moreover, Fernandez has been a Summer League head coach before with the Sacramento Kings.
Marks said he feels the organization can handle their summer training program, including Summer League, without Fernandez, noting that the new head coach be in Las Vegas for the Team Canada training camp anyway. 
“It’s gonna be a matter of making sure our summer program is an incredibly robust one. The staff is in place here.” Marks said while speaking at the Nets HSS Training Center. “Summer League, we place a a high level importance on summer league and training camp, and having this gym available to all of our players and development over the summer. So making sure our staff is here and that Jordi is in alignment with what they’re working on the whole summer. So just the communication back and forth.”
Asked about his opportunity and management challenge, Fernandez said he too believes things will work out and thanked the organization for letting him continue in his national team role.
“The challenge will be to be extremely organized because I think the opportunity I have in front of me will make myself better and the organization better,” said Fernandez who’s also been an assistant coach on the Spanish and Nigerian national teams. 
“Thanks to Joe [Tsai] and Sean [Marks] for allowing me to do it in the Olympics this summer, because right now, we have time to organize our summer, start working. Then I would have six weeks to work on the tournament then be back here right around, before mid-August. I think the timing works very well.”
Training camps for Team Canada and Team USA open June 30 and July 3, respectively, in Las Vegas. In fact, the two teams will face off in a nationally televised exhibition game July 10 in Vegas, then head to Paris for a month, carrying not just the hopes of their nations ... but in the case of Team Canada, the Nets fanbase as well. 
</content>
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<id>https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/5/2/24147176/as-canadas-players-star-in-nba-playoffs-jordi-fernandez-olympic-coaching-role-gets-bigger</id>
<author>
<name>Net Income</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<published>2024-05-01T19:10:43-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-05-01T19:10:43-04:00</updated>
<title>Mikal Bridges finishes second in Teammate of the Year vote ... by NBA players</title>
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<img alt="Detroit Pistons v Brooklyn Nets" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5GeXkS2jn9QxsxZOfsM5Sv9jOQI=/0x101:3648x2533/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73321501/2136584260.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by David L. Nemec/NBAE via Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
The captain gets the closest any Nets player has gotten to a post-season award. It’s been said many times, that everyone wants to play with Mikal Bridges, that he fits in everywhere. It’s a big reason why a rebuilding team, like the <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com">Brooklyn Nets</a>, would want him around, to recruit free agents like you know...
<div id="ygXoYG">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/spidadmitchell?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@spidadmitchell</a> and Mikal Bridges with <a href="https://twitter.com/sabrina_i20?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sabrina_i20</a> after her <a href="https://twitter.com/nyliberty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyliberty</a> game <a href="https://t.co/KWg83OTHoP">pic.twitter.com/KWg83OTHoP</a>— GQ Sports (@GQSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/GQSports/status/1673105196702892032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2023</a>
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So, it wasn’t much of a surprise Wednesday when Bridges finished second in balloting for the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award to Mike Conley, the veteran Timberwolves point guard. Indeed, it was the second time in two years that Conley bested Bridges at the top of <a href="https://pr.nba.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2024/05/2023-24-Twyman-Stokes-Award-Voting-Results.pdf">the vote count</a>. More than 300 players cast votes. Conley finished with 1,172 votes and 51 first place votes, Bridges 1,041 and 47, both far ahead of third place vote-getter, Jalen Brunson of the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com">Knicks</a>, and Bridges teammate at <a href="https://www.vuhoops.com">Villanova</a>, with 783 and 29. Of the three, only Bridges didn’t make the post-season.
Unlike other year end awards, the teammate of the year is ultimately determined by a vote of NBA players. A panel of league executives select 12 finalists (six from each conference) for the award. Then current NBA players select the winner from that list of finalists. Presented annually since the 2012-13 season, the award recognizes the player deemed the best teammate “based on selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.”
The Nets are counting on Bridges to help them recruit players to Brooklyn and he’s shown up at New York Liberty games with the like of Donovan Mitchell. Bridges, whose consecutive game streak surpassed 500 games this season, regular season and playoffs combined, had a tough second half of the season, his scoring average dropping to a little more than 16 points a game. Still, the Nets have continued resisting offers for him. According to one unconfirmed report, the <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com">Houston Rockets</a> offered the remaining assets from the 2022 James Harden trade as well as Jalen Green for Bridges.
Cam Johnson, Bridges teammate with both the Suns and Nets, said at season’s end that he’s not worried by his “twin’s” drop off.
“Because of how he played at the end of the last season, everybody went, ‘look at him,’ and had their questions and suspicions, but at the end of the day, I’m proud of him,” Johnson said.
“I’m proud of him, and I’ve seen strides in his game, I’ve seen strides in the way he sees and reads the game and his ability to play with the ball in his hand and his shot-making and his overall level for the game is increasing, ever-increasing. So, there’s no worry, there’s no doubt, there’s no — people are so quick to be like, ‘Oh, maybe he’s not who we thought he was.’ And whatever that may be, he’s only getting better. I got full faith, and everybody went through the same thing the second half of the year.”
<ul><li id="9D62CM">
<a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/05/01/nets-mikal-bridges-nba-teammate-award/">Nets’ Mikal Bridges named runner up for NBA’s top teammate award </a>($) - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News</li></ul>




</content>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/5/1/24146698/mikal-bridges-finishes-second-in-teammate-of-the-year-vote-by-nba-players"/>
<id>https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/5/1/24146698/mikal-bridges-finishes-second-in-teammate-of-the-year-vote-by-nba-players</id>
<author>
<name>Net Income</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<published>2024-05-01T09:05:47-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-05-01T09:05:47-04:00</updated>
<title>New York Liberty training camp begins with single-minded focus: depth</title>
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<figure>
<img alt="2023 WNBA Finals - Practice and Media Availability" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QBSXe_oTmzOTGAqU534J1p6Qv7k=/146x180:5264x3592/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73319835/1730498060.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
2023 taught us that the New York Liberty’s star-studded starting five is as good as advertised. It taught them that they need more than that to win a title. The New York Liberty are officially in year two of championship expectations, having come oh-so-close to accomplishing the mission in year one. Instead, they lost an excruciating, nail-biting, gut-wrenching Game 4 of the <a href="https://www.swishappeal.com">WNBA</a> Finals on their home floor to the then-and-still defending champion Las Vegas Aces.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center">
Bummer in Brooklyn. The Liberty blow a 12 point 2nd half lead and lose to the Aces 70-69 in Game 4. Las Vegas: 1st back-to-back WNBA Champions in 21 years. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WNBAFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WNBAFinals</a> <a href="https://t.co/JfLNmKhhzV">pic.twitter.com/JfLNmKhhzV</a>— Ryan Field (@RyanFieldABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanFieldABC/status/1714829090375585972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2023</a>
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But whether it was the six-month offseason or a cheery first three days of training camp now completed, the pain is gone from the Barclays Center. There is no room for it, anyway. The ultimate goal — a championship — may remain the same, but a new focus has arrived for the Liberty.
In 2023, Head Coach Sandy Brondello was tasked with connecting a brand-new starting five, with only Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton returning from the prior season. And the Liberty weren’t exactly sprinkling low-usage role players around the incumbents either: in came Courtney Vandersloot, Breanna Stewart, and Jonquel Jones. Certainly an upper-class problem, but a problem nonetheless.
Even with all the talent at their disposal, Brondello and her staff aced the assignment. High-low action between Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart laid the foundation for the league’s No. 2 offense, as Laney-Hamilton ultimately became the slashing, shooting, connective wing you’d design in a lab, and Vandersloot and Ionescu turned into constant screen-setters all over the court in addition to being lead ball-handlers. 
But Brondello’s most important solution was also her simplest: Play those five together. A lot.
New York’s starters played 769 minutes together in 2023, including the playoffs, far more than any other unit in the WNBA. While Jonquel Jones spent the first half of the season recovering from a foot injury, she played every night, and the Libs as a whole avoided the injury bug en route to building serious chemistry.
Says Brondello of her approach: “You have to make a choice, don’t you? What do we need to be successful? And it was: We’ve got these really key players, and it took time. You can’t just say, ‘we’re going to snap the fingers and gonna know—’ it took, ‘how does it work? What’s it look like? Where can we add or be flexible or adapt?’ And I think we did that.”
The Liberty surely did do that, with those five outscoring opponents by 19 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. Yet, that number fell to just 6.2 in 246 postseason minutes. Some of that was improved competition, surely, but the signs of fatigue were undeniable.
Stewart played 34.7 minutes a night in the regular season, inflated by some Herculean performances pre-All-Star break, as the Liberty were still figuring things out. She carried them to wins as if she was on the antithesis of a superteam, which won her another MVP award, but perhaps came home to roost in October.
She shot an gaze-averting 35.8% from the floor in the playoffs, including just 19.6% from deep on 4.6 attempts per game. (Stewart shot 47.5% on the same 3-point volume in her five-year playoff career in Seattle.) The numbers merely confirmed what the film screamed: She was exhausted.
<div id="bGsU3c">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center">
Breanna Stewart in today’s Game 4 WNBA Finals loss: 10 points 3-17 (17.6%) shooting What’s next for one of the league’s brightest superstars? <a href="https://t.co/K1MklX52aX">pic.twitter.com/K1MklX52aX</a>— Reid (@reidwinterfb) <a href="https://twitter.com/reidwinterfb/status/1714854752167620978?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 19, 2023</a>
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While the Liberty did win 32 games last season, Brondello acknowledges that her team’s legs may have started to go by the playoffs, and has vowed to do things differently this season: “You need depth in this league, you need versatility. It’s a long, compact season. We start with five [games] in 10 days so, our starters probably all want to play a lot but we’ve got to be — I’ve got to be smarter this year, you know, not to kill them too early.”
And so, the New York Liberty’s main focus entering year two has taken shape. The starting five will continue to dominate, potentially bolstered by Jonquel Jones beginning this season with full health. But it’s about finding second and third units that will carry them through the regular season, and form wild cards to play in the postseason.
“We can grow on it now, [the starters] are solidified,” said Brondello after practice on Monday. “Now, how do we build the bench into complementary pieces to what we have? And I think we do, I think we have good versatility. We have good toughness. We have some good draft picks, and then we just have to see how it all evolves and what we need to make sure that anytime, if someone goes down, we can cover for it.”
One of those draft-picks is first-rounder Marquesha Davis, a six-foot guard from <a href="https://www.redcuprebellion.com">Ole Miss</a> with a questionable jumper but unassailable length, speed, and driving ability, some of which she’s already showing off in her first week as a pro...
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center">
TUFF ‍ <a href="https://twitter.com/MarqueshaDavis?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MarqueshaDavis</a> <a href="https://t.co/62uCL6wk3j">pic.twitter.com/62uCL6wk3j</a>— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) <a href="https://twitter.com/nyliberty/status/1785010344391532928?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2024</a>
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If the Davis selection wasn’t emblematic of General Manager Jonathan Kolb’s vision for the 2024 roster, his other additions certainly were. Davis will likely be competing with the 5’11” Ivana Dojkić — who hasn't yet arrived to camp due to Euroleague playoffs — for the third guard spot, and while the Croatian is no small guard, she’s the tiniest addition to the roster.
There’s Leonie Fiebich, another late arrival who brings sharp-shooting ability in a 6’4” frame, and Kennedy Burke, another athletic guard/wing who likes to drive the rock...
<div id="FkATny">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center">
Kennedy Burke is ‍ Let's wish a very happy birthday to one of the key players in ESBVA's unbelievable run to the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EuroLeagueWomen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EuroLeagueWomen</a> Quarter Finals <a href="https://t.co/UIuBTPgRRd">pic.twitter.com/UIuBTPgRRd</a>— EuroLeague Women (@EuroLeagueWomen) <a href="https://twitter.com/EuroLeagueWomen/status/1757721026622886159?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2024</a>
</blockquote>
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You see where this is going.
“I hate to use buzzwords — I really, truly do,” says Kolb, “but it is all about versatility. I think you can see we’ve got many players that can slide up and slide down, and that’s what you want to do. And I think that is the vision for [the bench] ... we’re bigger and longer. That’s what we want to insulate this group with.”
This is not a surprising vision in a season after the Liberty’s three main bench players were Marine Johannès, a dazzling guard who did not offer a ton in the way of rim-pressure or defense, Stef Dolson, a traditional center who was an afterthought in the playoff rotation, and Kayla Thornton. While Johannès will likely remain in France this season and Dolson has left for Washington DC, Thornton is back on a two-year extension after being the most reliable Liberty reserve, a voracious wing defender whose style of play is accurately represented by her shoulders, bis, and tris.
Surrounding Thornton with like-minded athletes who have varying degrees of ball-handling and shooting skills provides the seafoam with options. That just leaves the backup-center position a tad wobbly, currently occupied Nyara Sabally, who recovered from a redshirt rookie season with a campaign of flashes, but not much more, in 2023.
That covers the 2024 New York Liberty, at least to start the season. Jonathan Kolb confirmed as much when speaking to the media on Monday, saying that he aims to exit training camp with 11 players, staying under the salary cap, and will “hopefully” be able to add a 12th sometime this summer, depending on injuries and potential hardship exceptions. While surprises can happen, the initial 11 seem set:
<ul>
<li id="omgIQ2">Kennedy Burke</li>
<li id="oPnAEz">Marquesha Davis</li>
<li id="vxR1fL">Ivana Dojkić</li>
<li id="W7YNm0">Leonie Fiebich</li>
<li id="mCMyyz">Sabrina Ionescu</li>
<li id="2WKfHg">Jonquel Jones</li>
<li id="e0yZcz">Betnijah Laney</li>
<li id="P4aITR">Nyara Sabally </li>
<li id="GAZbKL">Breanna Stewart</li>
<li id="GY2r9T">Kayla Thornton</li>
<li id="iUZO4K">Courtney Vandersloot </li>
</ul>
The focus does too. The Liberty were an offensive marvel last season, generating open threes and post touches behind head-snapping ball-movement, and falling back on Breanna Stewart isolations when necessary. But Stewie ran out of gas, and the Las Vegas Aces shut off paint penetration by Ionescu and Vandersloot, who couldn’t return the favor on the other end.
Still, the Liberty didn’t panic this offseason; the core is the same, and is sure to run over opponents in the coming months. But if last season taught them anything, it’s that one starting unit, no matter how good, isn’t enough to win a title. Will a bet on more length, athleticism, and driving ability off the bench pay dividends? Only time will tell, but that is the key question as the New York Liberty enter 2024.
Says Brondello: “We needed more versatility. I think we’ve added that. Now it’s about what works best with the players that we have, and how do we continue to build? That’s exciting for a coach.”
</content>
<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/5/1/24146116/new-york-liberty-training-camp-begins-with-single-minded-focus-depth"/>
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<author>
<name>Lucas Kaplan</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<published>2024-04-30T17:07:09-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-04-30T17:07:09-04:00</updated>
<title>For Cam Johnson, a chance at redemption in new season</title>
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Cam Johnson was one of two Nets players who were on hand for Jordi Fernandez’s In between answering media questions, smiling through photo shoots and glad-handing last week, Jordi Fernandez got to talk to two of his players at HSS Training Center: Dariq Whitehead and Cam Johnson. 
Both were getting up shots at one of the practice courts high above New York Harbor just before the introductory press conference began and each spent a few minutes with the new boss. While Fernandez said he had already spoken to most of the <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com">Brooklyn Nets</a> players, the conversation between he and Johnson looked like their first face-to-face. They talked for a few minutes, then moved on. Although reporters were nearby, they didn’t overhear what the two discussed. Was it advice about Brooklyn neighborhoods or back-and-forth on what position CJ might be playing next season? No way to tell.
Johnson did admit he was as disappointed in the season that cost Fernandez’s predecessor, Jacque Vaughn, his job and cost him, the Nets second highest paid player, his starting job.
“It’s part of it,” Johnson said of the disappointment of not starting 11 of the final 18 games he appeared in. “Nobody ever says anything will be handed to you, anything will be easy, adversity won’t come up, so it’s part of it. You just got to take it, keep it pushing, keep working, and focus on tomorrow, focus on what we can do today.”
Fernandez didn’t talk much about roster specifics in taking media questions other than the priority of keeping Nic Claxton around and how in general he thinks the roster is more talented than what you’d expect from a 50-loss squad.
Johnson will no doubt be one of the new coach’s biggest challenges, getting him back to where he was after the February 2023 trade when he averaged 16.6 points over the final 25 games of the regular season then 18.5 in the first round loss to the <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com">76ers</a>. That performance won the 6’8” wing a guaranteed $94.5 million deal over four years. 
He and the team were happy enough with each other last summer to construct a contract so that for the sake of flexibility Johnson was paid upfront. the contract paid him nearly $25 million last season then will drop to $22.5 million next season, then drop again to $20.5 million in 2025-26 when the Nets are expected to be big players in free agency. While some fans may want Johnson gone, it’s rarely a smart thing to deal a player, particularly a relatively young one, when his value is at its lowest.
As C.J. Holmes writes Tuesday, Johnson’s numbers had taken a dive from what he had done in both Phoenix and Brooklyn— and, more importantly, what the organization had hoped for. Johnson averaged 13.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists this past season while shooting 44.6% from the field and 39.1% from deep. Moreover, he missed 24 games to various leg injuries: including all of training camp to a hamstring issue, then more time to calf, ankle and finally a toe sprain. Like his “twin,” Johnson was coming off the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/fiba-world-cup">FIBA World Cup</a> tour. He may not have played that many minutes, but like Bridges he was part of a two-month, 13-game, 25,000-mile experience.
“I feel like the pieces are there. I feel like the base is there. I feel like it’s possible, it’s accomplishable,” said of a resurge in team fortunes. “Obviously, we failed in our mission this year, point-blank period, no way around that” Johnson said before Fernandez was hired, as Holmes noted. 
“That’s all part of the process. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, you just got to get better and focus on what we can do going forward. And that’s where my head’s at right now, how we can elevate the organization, how we can be better on the court, off the court and get back on track to where we think we should be.”
That’s pretty standard fare, of course, particularly since it was said before Fernandez was hired and no one knew what to expect. Better to be robustly positive. But if the Nets and their new head coach are going to succeed next season, Johnson will need to get better. 
<ul><li id="CRMwrp">
<a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/04/29/nets-cam-johnson-nba-dariq-whitehead-nba/">Cam Johnson remains confident in himself, Nets: ‘I feel like the pieces are there’</a> ($) - C.J. Holmes - New York Daily News</li></ul>

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<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/4/30/24145734/for-cam-johnson-a-chance-at-redemption-in-new-season"/>
<id>https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/4/30/24145734/for-cam-johnson-a-chance-at-redemption-in-new-season</id>
<author>
<name>Net Income</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<published>2024-04-29T13:14:47-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-04-29T13:14:47-04:00</updated>
<title>ESSAY: How Phoenix Suns spectacular collapse will likely affect Brooklyn Nets future</title>
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The Phoenix Suns folded up their mediocre season Sunday night. Now, the questions about their future are everywhere, most prominently in Brooklyn, N.Y. Back last summer, two of the NBA’s most respected pundits penned analyses of the NBA’s draft picture going forward. The articles, which both popped in August, didn’t get a lot of attention back then, but now, after the <a href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com">Phoenix Suns</a> monumental collapse, they have new relevance ... a lot of it.
<a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2023/8/8/23824960/quinn-suns-2029-first-the-most-valuable-traded-pick-in-nba">Sam Quinn of CBS Sports</a> looked at which teams had the best cache of traded first round picks, all 56 of them. The <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com">Brooklyn Nets</a>, he wrote, had the best cache, highlighted by the Phoenix Suns first round picks in 2027 and 2029 and the <a href="https://www.mavsmoneyball.com">Dallas Mavericks</a> first in 2029 — all unprotected. He rated the Suns first in 2029 the single best trade piece and wrote that he believed that of the top six traded first round picks going forward, four of them were controlled by the Nets:
<a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2023/8/28/23849481/pincus-nets-overall-pick-stash-is-top-5-in-latest-draft-power-rankings">Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report </a>went further a little later in August, analyzing every team’s full cache of picks: traded picks as well as their own. He even included second rounders! Pincus included protections as well as swapped rights in his analysis. He too ranked the Nets cache high: top five in what he called “draft power.” The only teams Pincus ranked higher are the Jazz at No. 4, the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com">Knicks</a> at No. 3, the Spurs at No. 2 and the Thunder at No. 1. Who’d he have at No. 30? The Phoenix Suns, of course.
Which brings us to Sunday night. The Phoenix Suns, with the highest payroll in the league, got swept in the first round by the <a href="https://www.canishoopus.com">Minnesota Timberwolves</a>. Mat Ishbia’s dream of generational dominance lies empty and broken in the Arizona desert. Other than the T’Wolves, the Brooklyn Nets look like the big winner Sunday night. No matter how valuable the Nets 10 first rounders and 11 seconds looked Sunday they’ve have a much higher price tag Monday morning with prospect of a long Suns rebuild certainly possible.
To recap, the Nets received five Suns picks in the Kevin Durant trade — four unprotected firsts in 2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029 plus swap rights to the Suns first in 2028, also unprotected — in addition to Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and Jae Crowder, who the Nets turned into two <a href="https://www.brewhoop.com">Milwaukee Bucks</a> second rounders. Since then, the Nets took Noah Clowney with the first of those picks and dealt the two Bucks seconds in salary dumps that provided them with $26.7 million in salary cap relief previously held down by Joe Harris and Patty Mills.
Brooklyn also got an unprotected Dallas Mavericks first rounder in 2029 from the Kyrie Irving trade along with two seconds, one of which was sent to Detroit in the Harris salary dump and still have the <a href="https://www.libertyballers.com">Philadelphia 76ers</a> first rounder in 2027, protected 1-8. (It rolls over into a 2028 first with the same protections if not used in 2027.)
Other than sending a 76ers first from the James Harden trade to Utah for Royce O’Neale (and getting three Memphis Grizzlies seconds back from dealing O’Neale to the Suns at the deadline,) the Nets have held on to their picks. They will go into the 2024 — and presumably 2025 — off-seasons with seven tradeable first round pick and 11 seconds and that’s the plan: use the picks to make big deals, rather than spend time on figuring out which 14 or 16 year old might be NBA-ready in 2027 or 2029.
Quinn in a recent Twitter exchange with NetsDaily said he believes that in terms of quality, the Nets have a better cache than Oklahoma City Thunder...
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Yea my stance has largely been, if I was gonna pick an overall portfolio, I'd take OKC's just because of the optionality that volume affords them, but I think the Nets have the most picks with the potentially to be really, really valuable. Basically all of their picks are good. <a href="https://t.co/oITOgAfZur">https://t.co/oITOgAfZur</a>— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/SamQuinnCBS/status/1763048103437877592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 29, 2024</a>
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Yes, the Nets owe the <a href="https://www.thedreamshake.com">Houston Rockets</a> their own firsts in 2024 and 2026 as well as swaps in 2025 and 2027, but those are sunk costs at this point and the increasing value of Suns — and maybe the Mavs picks — should take away some of that sting.
What makes the Nets a winner is the long-term situation in Phoenix. No team ever went all-in as the Suns have, thumbing their nose at both the new CBA and convention. They’re beyond the second apron and face increasing sanctions on their ability to make future moves. They have no firsts and one second between 2025 and 2030, <a href="https://www.prosportstransactions.com/basketball/DraftTrades/Future/Suns.htm">their books a mishmash</a> of swaps and protections. They’re hard-capped and can’t use the MLE or BAE for what seems like forever. They can’t include cash in trades, and trade rules in general become enormously restrictive as Quinn wrote Monday.
The Suns dilemma is one of their own making. Despite having all that cash, they didn’t fill basic needs like employing a top-flight playmaker and a reliable big, forcing Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant into roles that didn’t take maximum advantage of their skills. Going forward, they’re banking on older players with injury histories. Kevin Durant had a great year individually, averaging 27.1 points and 6.6 rebounds over 75 games, even finishing sixth in minutes played. But he is 35, turning 36 in September and is still owed $105 million over the next two seasons. Can the Suns ownership expect him to match the numbers he put up this season at age 37, particularly those related to his durability? You can’t put it past KD to do it, but there’s a risk. Making things even more iffy, KD is eligible for an extension this summer. Will Ishbia offer him one? Will he want to stay in Phoenix?
And according to a report from Shams Charania, KD is unhappy.
<blockquote>Durant, among the best scorers in NBA history, was not always happy with how he was used. Sources briefed on the matter told The Athletic that Durant never felt comfortable with his role in Phoenix’s offense alongside Booker and Beal this season. Those sources said Durant had persistent issues with the offense, feeling that he was being relegated to the corner far too often and not having the proper designs to play to his strengths as the offense was built around pick-and-rolls.</blockquote>
On the other side of the ledger, the Suns are not happy with Bradley Beal who played in only 53 games, averaging 18.2 points and 5.0 assists. Again, Shams:
<blockquote>In Phoenix, Beal dealt with injuries to begin the season, played in 53 games and never gained consistency at the point guard position. The arrangement was never ideal. Booker ran the offense more before the All-Star break, Beal did so after. Neither seemed comfortable as the point guard, particularly when the opposing team pressured full-court and wore on their stamina.</blockquote>
Beal is owed $161 million over the next three years and has a rock solid no-trade clause. They can’t even waive and stretch him under the new CBA, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac. They’re basically stuck with him. 
So what will the Suns do? And how would it affect the Nets? Word is that the Suns may soon fire Frank Vogel which seem to indicate that Ishbia would like to revisit his dream again next season. It won’t be easy and not just because they don’t have a lot of tradeable assets. Their hands are tied. The new CBA has other restrictions that will make any big moves difficult. 
Moreover, there’s a body of thought that Kevin Durant still has a wandering eye after switching teams three times from OKC to Golden State to Brooklyn to Phoenix and may want to make yet another move. His legacy remains front and center for him and he still has value. If the Suns have to trade him, they’re unlikely to get what they gave up for him in the Nets trade. And if that happened, would Devin Booker also ask out? Stephen A. Smith said Monday that he’s heard Booker wants to join the New York Knicks! Expect a lot more of that.
If any of those rumors became real, if Ishbia mounts a rebuilding campaign, it would be long, deep and painful ... for Suns fans. For Nets fans, though, it would be ideal. Those picks, particularly the firsts in 2027 and 2029 and the swap in 2028, could become the stuff of a superstar trade, if not immediately, then starting in 2025 when Brooklyn would be free of the luxury tax restrictions have two firsts in the Draft, the Suns and their own, which may have to be swapped with the Rockets.
Maybe the Suns will figure out a way to remake their team next season without draconian measures but it seems unlikely. In the interim, Nets fans can simply wait and see, root for the home team and against the Suns. Indeed, the latter’s fate may be more important!
<ul>
<li id="CEYstB">
<a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&amp;xs=1&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F5456932%2F2024%2F04%2F29%2Fphoenix-suns-season-end-frank-vogel-kevin-durant%2F&amp;referrer=sbnation.com&amp;sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.netsdaily.com%2F2024%2F4%2F29%2F24144302%2Fessay-how-phoenix-suns-spectacular-collapse-will-likely-affect-brooklyn-nets-future" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Phoenix Suns swept: What went wrong, what’s next for Frank Vogel, Big 3 and more</a> ($) - Shams Charania &amp; Doug Haller - The Athletic</li>
<li id="adUf1H">
<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nets-winning-bet-against-kevin-durant-suns-future-phoenix-postseason-debacle">Nets winning bet against Kevin Durant, Suns future after Phoenix postseason debacle</a> - Erik Slater - Clutch Points</li>
</ul>
</content>
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<author>
<name>Net Income</name>
</author>
</entry>
<entry>
<published>2024-04-28T23:40:12-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-04-28T23:40:12-04:00</updated>
<title>NetsDaily Off-Season Report - No. 2</title>
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Every weekend, we’ll be updating the Nets’ off-season with bits and pieces of information, gossip, etc. to help fans get ready for ... whatever. The festivities are over. The <a href="https://www.netsdaily.com">Brooklyn Nets</a> introduction of Jordi Fernandez as their new head coach, including a press conference, live and taped interviews with YES Network, an availability for the Spanish media who were there to celebrate Spain’s first NBA coach. Sean Marks talked to media as well, offering up the latest on the team Fernandez will coach.
Now, of course, comes the hard work. Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Brooklyn has already reached agreements with two assistant coach candidates, Steve Hetzel, like Fernandez a respected NBA assistant, and Juwan Howard, who played 19 years in the NBA and has both assistant (Miami Heat) and head coaching (University of Michigan) experience. 
Fernandez will also be shuttling between his two head coaching jobs this summer: the Nets and Team Canada who he’s leading into the Paris Olympics. Fernandez and Marks believe he’ll be able to do both and Marks argued that giving Fernandez more experience with the clipboard is a positive thing. 
The next milestones for both jobs will occur start at the end of June. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba-free-agency">NBA free agency</a> opens the same day as Team Canada training camp in Las Vegas but once the key players are signed and re-signed — and that usually happens quickly, everyone will be in Vegas anyway. Team Canada trains there and will play Team USA on July 10. <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba-summer-league">Las Vegas Summer League</a> opens two days later.
No doubt there will be more features on who Fernandez is. <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/04/27/sports/why-jordi-fernandezs-old-boss-thinks-he-may-be-perfect-for-nets/">There’s one this weekend</a>, in fact, from Brian Lewis who spoke with <a href="https://www.fearthesword.com">Cleveland Cavaliers</a> GM Mike Gansey, who worked with Fernandez during the new head coach’s first NBA experience in the G League more than a decade ago.
“I’m super excited for Jordi. That guy’s like family, a brother to me; so you guys are getting a good one in Brooklyn,” Gansey told the Post.
Indeed, Gansey spoke to Lewis about one very telling incident early in his career that he believed showed Fernandez’s character and just how much committed he is to the team concept. 
<blockquote>
Gansey first became acquainted with Fernandez’s character not by the job he did, but by the one he didn’t get. In 2013 Gansey interviewed both Fernandez — then a player development coach for the Cavs — and Steve Hetzel for the Charge head coach position. Gansey went with the latter.
“I went with Hetz instead of Jordi, and Jordi was pretty devastated for a couple of days,” Gansey said. “He was disappointed, frustrated. But then two days later, he’s like ‘I’m all-in as associate head coach.’ And it’s kind of it all went from there, because he was the best assistant for Hetz, and now Hetz is going to be the best assistant for him. So it just shows you his character and his personality that he was upset, but he knew that this was going to be his path.
“He could’ve easily just said, ‘You know what, I don’t want to do this: I’m gonna go back to player development or I’m gonna go to a different organization.’ But he took it as a challenge. I know he wasn’t happy about it … and now he’s reversing course and Hetz is his assistant. That was one thing that always stood out with showing his character and his drive, even though he wasn’t happy about that at the time.”
</blockquote>
Now, Hetzel is coming to Brooklyn as Fernandez most trusted assistant coaches. Gansey also echoed what others have said about his ability to build relationships.
<blockquote>“The guys are gonna love to play for him. There’s so much enthusiasm every single day,” Gansey told Lewis. “Here in Cleveland when he was here pre-LeBron when we struggled, you could easily have a bad day and just say we’re just gonna get some shots up and have no energy or enthusiasm. But Brooklyn loses five in a row, he’s gonna be the same guy, and then that sixth game that win comes and then you’re gonna win five in a row. He’s just got that personality and fire that that’s going to happen.”</blockquote>
Hopefully, those losing streaks don’t happen too often. So, other a trip to Chicago for the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba-draft">NBA Draft</a> combine in mid-May, maybe a community event here or there and a visit to the New York Liberty game, Fernandez will probably be low-key and out of the public eye. And if you’re wondering, Nets don’t advertise who will be at Draft workouts. 
<h2 id="2lY1YO">Liberty open camp with high hopes</h2>
The New York Liberty open camp Sunday. the last time we saw the seafoam and black, they were losing in the W<a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nba-finals">NBA Finals</a> to the Las Vegas Aces. That certainly stung. The Aces are the odds-on favorite to repeat but the Liberty still has Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Courtney Vandersloot. 
We’ll be covering Liberty camp as they get ready for their first exhibition game on May 7 vs. the Chicago Sky, then opening night in Washington vs. the Mystics, their home opener, vs. Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, on May 18, a nationally televised (ABC) game 
Not only are there high hopes for the team on the court, the Liberty’s basketball and business side think they can make a mark in attendance. In a Team USA promotion 10 days ago, Stewart spoke about the “buzz” around women’s basketball and the <a href="https://www.swishappeal.com">WNBA</a> in the city.
“There’s been a buzz literally in Brooklyn since the season ended,” said.Stewart, the WNBA’s reigning MVP. “I see people on the street. I mean bus drivers are beeping their horn at me on the crosswalk and I’m thinking ‘what’s happening here.’ People are excited to have a New York sports team to have success. Now, the <a href="https://www.postingandtoasting.com">Knicks</a> are playing really well also. So we need that and we want that. 
“And I hope when we get to Barclays, we’ll pick up where we left off and have 17, 18,000 in there from Game 3 on. I think Game 3 is our home opener and we’ll be ready to go.”
So did Stewie just break some news there? She’s hoping for Liberty sellouts at Barclays where the capacity for NBA/WNBA basketball is 17,732. The only way to get to that number is by opening the upper deck for WNBA games a rare event. Without the upper bowl, capacity is limited to about 8,000.
 As Brian Fleurantin, who covers the Liberty for ND notes, the Libs didn’t open the upper deck last season until the WNBA Finals. Looking at the Caitlin Clark home opener on Ticketmaster, it appears that at least for that game, the upper deck will be open. Will that continue? There’s been no official announcement but it wouldn’t be a surprise with women’s basketball exploding.
<h2 id="Y8XVKC">Draft Sleeper of the Week</h2>
Sean Marks said Wednesday that the Nets could move into the first round of the 2024 Draft if there was someone the team’s scouts liked and was “slipping” in the Draft. He threw out the No. 20 pick (as well as the No. 44) as the kind of pick that might interest them. Nothing specific beyond that.
So we took a look at who the draftniks think will be sitting at No. 44. On the ESPN mock draft, that means Trevon Brazile, a 6’10” wing for the Arizona Razorbacks. Brazile checks number a number of boxes on the slippage questionnaire. At 21, he’s a bit older than a sophomore might be and he’s has an injury history, tearing his ACL in December 2022. Moreover, he’s played with a number of NBA prospects in Fayetteville, so his skills may have been overlooked.
His skillset is quite varied, He played point guard in high school, winning a Missouri state championship. A hyper athlete, he has developed a knack as a shot blocker as well and shot 37.9% and 35.3% from deep in his last two years at Arkansas. Position-less basketball much.
Here’s some highlights:
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Of course, we don’t know if the Nets will actually wiggle their way into the draft. Nor do we have access to Brooklyn’s scouting reports on any prospect, but what we have started to see is speculation on which teams might be willing to make a deal. The Indiana Pacer, it’s been noted, have three second round picks at Nos. 36, 49 and 50 while the rebuilding Portland Trail Blazers have the fourth, 14th, 34th and 40th picks. In fact, our sister site, <a href="https://www.blazersedge.com/2024/4/28/24143746/nba-draft-rumors-2024-brooklyn-nets-portland-trail-blazers">Blazers Edge wrote this weekend </a>about the Nets willingness to deal and what the Blazers might want in return ... “talented players.”
They could trade a young player but at this point, the Nets are not interested in dumping youth but rather accumulating it. Jordi Fernandez said this week that the Nets youth was a big selling point for him.
There are a number of other ways that the Nets could acquire a pick. They could buy one — “cash considerations” — but that’s not been a path teams have taken of late. Even second rounders have carried a $3 million price tags. . Dorian Finney-Smith? The 31-year-old would be a good pick-up for a competing team, but not for a rebuilding one. The Nets can also use their trade exceptions. 
The most likely route? A future second for a 2024 second. The Nets control 11 second rounders between 2025 and 2031, having just acquired three future Grizzlies second rounders in the Royce O’Neale deadline trade. 
<a href="https://www.netsdaily.com/2024/4/25/24140661/draft-watch-1-sean-marks-says-they-might-get-involved">As we’ve noted</a>, in the six NBA Drafts he’s overseen, Sean Marks has made a trade affecting the Nets’ draft position six times. Each of those times, the deal got done within 48 hours of the Draft. So we will have a while to contemplate the possibilities.
<h2 id="NeDIjp">KD’s journey back</h2>
ESPN’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40016845/you-fake-fire-fueled-kevin-durant-incredible-return-game">Baxter Holmes wrote this week </a>about how Kevin Durant keeps going despite his age. He played 75 games this season and finished sixth in minutes played, eight minutes less than Paolo Banchero, 14 years his junior.
A big part of the report concerned how KD came back from his achilles injury in the 2019 NBA Finals, the prelude to his departure from Golden State and arrival in Brooklyn. Holmes doesn’t spend a lot of time on how the Nets helped him recover ... but Durant did publicly thank the Nets medical/performance teams after he was traded to Phoenix.
The Nets, it shouldn’t be forgotten, signed Durant to a guaranteed four-year deal despite his uncertain future. They relied on a diagnosis provided by their foot/ankle specialist, Dr. Martin O’Malley who was convinced that despite a lot of history, Durant could return to his MVP form. 
As Durant told Holmes, he wasn’t so sure himself, recalling his thoughts as he laid, face down, on a table on Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. ”This is career-ending, I’m done,” Durant said of his immediate anxiety. “That’s what I was thinking, because that’s all I was hearing, that this s--- is over.”
To help assure a smooth recovery, the Nets decided to go beyond utilizing their own performance team. They wanted a physiotherapist to work directly with Durant, to focus his attention and chose Andy Barr, a British specialist who had been director of performance and rehabilitation for the New York Knicks from 2009 to 2015. His specialty is helping athletes recover from what look like catastrophic injuries. Barr had worked with former Nets D’Angelo Russell and Yi Jianlian at Quantum Performance in southern California, his homebase.
As Holmes writes, the Nets kept Barr on staff, working with him through his four years in Brooklyn.
<blockquote>For four years, the two worked together, with Barr, whom the Nets hired as a consulting physiotherapist, taking a red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New York almost every week — leaving on a Sunday night and returning to L.A. on Fridays. Depending on the team schedule, they’d work together nine-to-five on some days but 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on others.</blockquote>
As every Nets fan knows, Durant did return to his previous form but at the end of the day, it’s a business and he left. Still, as Holmes also writes and Durant acknowledges, the Nets medical/performance team deserves its reputation.
<h2 id="h8lLqz">The reviews are in ...</h2>
Clara Wu Tsai has been along with husband Joe a big contributor to the arts in New York, giving $50 million to the renovation of David Geffen Hall, home of the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, on whose board Clara Wu Tsai sits. 
Working with the New York Board of Education, she and Joe funded the inclusion of a Jean-Michel Basquiat curriculum in New York’s public schools and has produced several films: a 2018 environmental documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7573844/">Into the Okavango,</a> 2021 drama <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11121664/">Blue Bayou</a>, and 2022 WNBA documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19781466/">Unfinished Business</a>.
This season on Broadway, she’s ventured into a role She’s producer — aka backer — of <a href="https://www.hellskitchen.com/">Hell’s Kitchen</a>, a new musical by Alicia Keys, composer of among other things, Empire State of Mind with Jay-Z, that opened last week. The reviews are in and Hell’s Kitchen is a hit.
<ul>
<li id="YHBJQp">“CRITIC’S PICK:...easily stands out as one of the rare must-sees in a crowded season.” - New York Times.</li>
<li id="qL3Nzz">“Hell’s Kitchen is ultimately a celebration of the city—and the people who make it pop.” - Time Out New York.</li>
<li id="Ewdl2E">“Alicia Keys Musical brings a vibrant depiction of teen girlhood to Broadway” - Variety.</li>
</ul>
Why mention this? Other than to update all that Joe and Clara Wu Tsai have done for the arts in New York? It’s yet another indication that the Tsais remain committed to the city — whether in sports, the arts, social justice, etc. They’re here for the long run, as they say on Broadway.
<h2 id="tpCgAD">Final Note</h2>
Starting Thursday, we (that is Net Income) will be traveling on a much needed vacation to Turkey and Greece. While we have updated the site from a variety of places, from Tehran to Honolulu and many points in between, we don’t intend to spend THAT much time on the site until we return on May 20. In the interim, the rest of the gang will be updating you on both the Nets and Liberty who open while we’re in Athens, contemplating the Acropolis and looking for Nets gear on the street.








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<published>2024-04-27T17:20:06-04:00</published>
<updated>2024-04-27T17:20:06-04:00</updated>
<title>For Dariq Whitehead, new coach, new season offer a new start ... likely in Summer League</title>
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Dariq Whitehead was the Nets forgotten man last season, playing only 12 minutes. Now, it appears he is on the right track and will start his come back in Summer League. When Jordi Fernandez arrived for his introductory press conference Wednesday morning, Dariq Whitehead was there to greet him. The still 19-year-old has been cleared for court work and along with Cam Johnson he was putting up shots as TV crews were setting up and reporters gathered a few feet away.
Whitehead, a Newark, N.J. native, has had a tough time since he came out of Florida’s Montverde Academy in 2022 as a top, if not the top, NBA wing prospect. 
He’s had three foot and leg surgeries (on both legs) since August 2022 when he went under the knife for a right root fracture. Just before the 2023 Draft. Whitehead had a a second surgery on that foot, which included bone grafting. Then, on January 29 he was shut down after he underwent surgery for a stress reaction in his left shin. At the time a Nets medical update said that after a three month recovery, Whitehead should be “a full participant in the team’s offseason development program.” It was risky for the Nets to take him at No. 22.
Now, though, Whitehead is ready for a second attempt to justify the Nets taking him at No. 22 in the 2023 Draft, the youngest pick in organization history. Talking with reporters on Wednesday, Sean Marks gave an update on both Whitehead and Ben Simmons who was declared out for the season, undergoing a second surgery on his back.
“Dariq should play in summer league, should be available in summer league. Whether or not he plays the entire summer league or not, that’ll be TBD,” said Marks. “But the plan right now is he’s in the gym every day.” Whitehead himself didn’t speak.
Summer League will be a bit delayed this year with a July 12 start date, Fernandez will be in Las Vegas as well for Team Canada training camp and a July 10 “friendly” — exhibition — game vs. Team USA. 
Whitehead got only 12 minutes of playing time over two games during his short stints with Brooklyn. He was also limited in G League play by injury and by health management limitations. He averaged 8.8 points in 18.6 minutes per game for the Long Island Nets playing in 17 games. By the time January rolled around, and Whitehead was missing games because of his shin, he sounded frustrated.
“I feel like I’m there and trending in the right direction,” he said. “I just have to play with more energy. I have to be back to that dog I was before and not let this injury linger in my mind so I can play like how I want to play.”
By mid-March, Whitehead was back to his optimistic ways but also said, without further explanation, that everyone had to understand, “we don’t rush things. Take our time and come back right this time and do it the right way,” 
<div id="LoRQHu">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Dariq Whitehead provided an update on his recovery and more when he caught up with <a href="https://twitter.com/Meghan_Triplett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Meghan_Triplett</a> between quarters. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NETSonYES?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NETSonYES</a> <a href="https://t.co/5InMKFlX1X">pic.twitter.com/5InMKFlX1X</a>— YES Network (@YESNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/YESNetwork/status/1770242258098426111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2024</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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“The recovery process has been going great. Just making sure that we don’t rush things. Take our time and come back right this time and do it the right way. It’s been going great… just making sure that I constantly take each day and just trust the process and everything will be alright.”
Jordi Fernandez told reporters on Wednesday that Brooklyn’s youth was one of the things that drew him to the Nets. As of today, Whitehead is still the Nets youngest player at 19 years, 270 days.


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