NetsDaily Off-Season Report - No. 7
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
We’ll be updating the Nets’ off-season weekly, with bits and pieces of information, gossip, and everything in between to help fans get ready for ... anything. Another slow news week in NetsWorld. The draft is still a month away and free agency starts a week later … in most cases. More about that in a minute. The big news of the week was Nets completing their coaching staff, a development-centric nine-man group. Brooklyn now has the largest or one of the largest coaching staffs in the league. Whether size matters is something we’ll see as season goes on. In the meantime, we’ll look at some subtleties that could become big deals.
The next big thing.
Every time a new CBA comes out, it can take years before all the new restrictions— and opportunities— become understood. It’s not so much that they’re hidden. It just takes a while for them to be implemented in real time situations.
But there’s one twist that’s known and could affect the Nets free agency and soon. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the Nets will be able to make their best offer to unrestricted free agent Nic Claxton a week or more before any other NBA team can.
Brian Lewis explained the home team’s advantage Saturday…
That (signing) conceivably could happen before anybody else gets a chance to officially bid, with Brooklyn having an exclusive negotiating window with their center that starts the day after the NBA Finals ends.
The Finals begin this week. If they go the full seven games, the Finals would end June 23 meaning the Nets can start talking to the 25-year-old on June 24. And if the series lasts only four games, the Finals would end June 14 and talks could begin the next day, two weeks from Saturday.
The 29 other teams will have to wait until midnight on June 30 to make their offers.
At the same time, both Lewis and Jake Fischer of Yahoo! report that there’s an increasing perception among NBA executives that Claxton will re-sign. The Nets have called bringing Claxton back their top priority. Fischer put the dollar amount of a Claxton contract at between $80 million and $100 million over four years, meaning between $20 million and $25 million on average, around what his predecessor in Brooklyn, Jarrett Allen, got from the Cleveland Cavaliers, what Jakob Poetl got from the Toronto Raptors and roughly what Fischer expects the Knicks Isaiah Hartenstein will get on the open market,
Claxton is the Nets leading free agent with the others — Lonnie Walker IV, Trendon Watford, and Dennis Smith Jr. — all coming off seasons where they played for the NBA’s minimum. Big day for them will be June 29 when the Nets have to decide about qualifying offers.
Speaking of contract dates, it should also be noted that the Nets can sign Mikal Bridges to a contract extension starting October 1. The contract wouldn’t kick in until after his current deal is completed two years from now. Still, it would seem logical for a team that’s invested so much in Bridges to get that done as well.
As we’ve noted before, both Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe can also get their contracts extended at any point through roughly October 23, the day before the 2024-25 season opens. However, the current belief is that the team will wait a year so they can have more cap space, more flexibility in the summer of 2025. In both cases, they’d be restricted free agents then, meaning the Nets could match any offers.
Finally, Ben Simmons is eligible for a monster extension starting July 6. Obviously, that’s not happening. Simmons remains in Miami rehabbing from his late season surgery and working out.
Development staff, why so big?
The announcement this week of Jordi Fernandez’s nine-man coaching staff held few surprises. Its size was one, making one of the biggest in the NBA and if our research is correct, the biggest in team history. As Mike Scotto reported first, the Nets added two outsiders - Deividas Dulkys from the Sacramento Kings and Connor Griffin from the Denver Nuggets - to the development staff. And as eagle-eyed obervers of the coaching staff’s impromptu team photo at a Liberty game a week back noted, Travis Bader has been promoted from Head Video Coordinator.
What’s the value of a large staff? Development. The Nets assign their young players to their young assistants who, working with team priorities, try to improve their charges skill sets, help them navigate the ups and downs of their careers. The relationship often doesn’t end when the season does either. Ryan Forehand-Kelly accompanied Nic Claxton to Texas two summers back when Clax worked with personal trainer Tim Martin. So the more assistants, the more personal attention. Some of the assistants also have specific skill sets that can help specific players. Bader once held the NCAA Division 1 record for the most field goals in a career, more than 500. The assistants report to a development director who last season was Adam Caporn, who’s been with the club for four years. No word on whether he retains the responsibility.
There are obviously other key pieces to development, specifically the performance team. Multiple sources inside the team and without tell ND that it’s been subject to a shakeup as well but no details have emerged. The core of the team has been together for six years.
Jobs, jobs, jobs
The Nets off-season has seen a number of comings and goings: Jeff Peterson and Ryan Gisriel left for the Charlotte Hornets, Matt Tellem is now with the Phoenix Suns, Kevin Ollie and Jacque Vaughn remain unemployed (although Vaughn just bought a $2.5 million condo in Brooklyn, always a good investment.) while Jordi Fernandez, Steve Hetzel, Juwan Howard and Justin Bokmeyer all have new offices at HSS Training Center.
So what jobs are still open:
*Assistant GM. Sean Marks No. 2. We first heard Peterson was headed to Charlotte a year ago. It was that much of an open secret and he was that well-thought of. In his last discussion with reporters following the Fernandez press conference, Sean Marks was non-committal but seemed to endorse B.J. Johnson, the Nets director of player evaluation who’s run the Nets draft operation the last several years. Before that he was Nic Claxton’s biggest advocate in the 2019 Draft.
*Vice-President of Strategy. Matt Tellem’s old job. Tellem was promoted to VP last season so his departure for Phoenix was a surprise. But there’s no capology challenge like the Suns. The Vice President title is unlikely to be filled but the job will have to be. Makar Gevorkian has been Tellem’s No. 2 the last two years. Like Tellem, Gevorkian is a lawyer, having given up a job with a big Silicon Valley law firm to join the Nets, first as a seasonal assistant.
*Head Video Coordinator. Travis Bader’s old job. The Nets like other NBA squads have several such coordinators on staff who are jacks of all basketball trades and do a lot of things from isolating videos to help with development to working with individual players to practicing with players in scrimmages, etc. They can bring special skills. Bader as noted was 3-point shooting specialist. Forest Loyer was one of the top NCAA free throw shooters in recent years. Jim McDonnell, a former Temple big man, ran a Division 1 basketball program. The head coordinator gets a seat on the bench. More importantly, it is often a stepping stone to the assistant coaching job.
While the coaching staff was revealed Friday with a lot of hoopla, don’t expect other staff announcements for a while. In the past, the Nets have waited till closer to the season to lump a lot of hirings and promotions together.
Dennis Schroder’s off-season conditioning
NBA players do a lot of things in the off-season to keep in shape, hone their skills. They run, play street ball, swim, even box. In Dennis Schoder’s case, he took up a new sport … professionally.
The Nets point guard at the urging of his brother-in-law (who among us hasn’t blamed his wife’s brother for something!) decided to play in a pro soccer match in Gottingen, Germany. Okay it was sixth division but people got paid to play. Here’s the highlights with English subtitles…
The 30-year-old suited up for FC Germania Bleckenstedt, played 53 minutes but the home team lost. “Not the result I hoped for,” said Schroder who became a national sports hero last year when he led Germany to the gold medal in the FIBA World Cup, winning the MVP in the process. Schroder and Germania Bleckenstedt will return to action to face VfL Wahrenholz on June 6 as he gets ready for the Paris Olympics in July.
Schroder played soccer in his native Braunschweig till age 11 when he switched to basketball.
Draft Sleeper of the Week
Draft workouts continue and like a lot of things this summer, it’s uncertain they’ll bear fruit.
The Nets don’t have a pick in either round. The Rockets hold their first round pick, the third overall, and the Grizzlies hold their second, the 44th. Until recently, it appeared Sean Marks & co. weren’t interested in what virtually everyone calls a mediocre draft. Then in talking first to the BK Block, then beat writers, both in April, Marks indicated interest in acquiring a pick but didn’t disclose much else. He basically said if we like a player and he’s dropping, we’ll get interested. He also told the BK Block that the team will follow the “best player available” strategy rather than pick for need.
One thing we don’t know is how many agents are willing to bring their clients to Brooklyn for workouts not knowing when or even if they’ll pick. Prospects are often on a tight schedule. Top prospects even more so.
This week there was word that 6’8” Auburn forward Jaylin Williams was in. Williams, not the similar-sized Thunder player, spent five years at Auburn, developing into a highly versatile sharp shooter. He’s also a winner. Williams is Auburn’s all-time winningest player at 107 career victories. But he turns 24 in July and he’s not on anyone’s mock draft. It’s even hard to find a good highlight reel of him. Is a player like Williams going to be worth expending assets? Hard to imagine. But he could wind up in Summer League, on the Long Island Nets roster. And NBA teams can sign three two-ways now. (Nets late two-way signing, 20-year-old Jaylen Martin, is under contract for this season.) Workouts play a role in those selections too.
So far, we know of only three players who’ve in for workouts, Daniss Jenkins, a 6’4” shooting guard from St. John’s; Trynton Flowers, a 6’8” point forward who played for the Adelaide 36ers after a five-star high school career; and Williams. Only Flowers is projected to be picked in either round, at No. 31 by The Ringer, No. 32 by NBADraft.net. and both see the 19-year-old as very raw. Getting to early in second round would seem to be doable for the Nets if they’re interested in him but we’re unlikely to know much if anything till just before the Draft on June 26-27.
Would we surprised if Nets used their multitude of assets — the 18 draft picks (first and second rounders) they have available, the cash considerations — or acquired a pick in a bigger trade perhaps involving Dorian Finney-Smith? Not at all. Sean Marks doesn’t normally raise the idea of possibilities then not carry through.
Final Note
While Jordi Fernandez is building a coaching staff and cheering on the Liberty in Brooklyn, up north in Etobicoke, Ontario, he’s putting together quite a roster for Team Canada’s Olympic team. In the past two weeks, he’s gotten commitments from Jamal Murray and Andrew Nembhard and then a couple of days ago, Andrew Wiggins said he’d be “honored” (okay “honoured”) to join Team Canada.
Fernandez, who led Canada to the bronze medal at the FIBA World Cup last summer, already has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett, Dillon Brooks, Lu Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Kelly Olynyk, Norm Powell and Zach Edey on his Olympic roster. The team will gather in Toronto at the end of this month, then travel to Las Vegas for training camp and an exhibition game vs. Team USA on July 10 before departing for France. We plan on covering it all.
to bring their
Welcome to Billionaire Club Co LLC, your gateway to a brand-new social media experience! Sign up today and dive into over 10,000 fresh daily articles and videos curated just for your enjoyment. Enjoy the ad free experience, unlimited content interactions, and get that coveted blue check verification—all for just $1 a month!
Account Frozen
Your account is frozen. You can still view content but cannot interact with it.
Please go to your settings to update your account status.
Open Profile Settings