Sources: Nets among several interested in Heat’s Tucker
The Brooklyn Nets are one of a number of playoff and championship contenders with tangible interest in veteran free agent forward P.J. Tucker, multiple sources told the New York Daily News.
Tucker became an unrestricted free agent after declining his $7 million player option with the Miami Heat earlier this week. He is great friends — “brothers,” in his words — with Nets star Kevin Durant, and adding a player of Tucker’s ilk would provide a much-needed toughness and frontcourt floor spacing to a Nets team lacking both.
Tucker, however, would likely have to take a pay cut to join the Nets. Brooklyn only has its taxpayer midlevel exception which maxes out at a three-year deal worth about $20M. If Tucker returns to the Heat, he could command a raise on his previous salary, which was a two-year deal worth $14.4M.
Playing with his good friend, Durant, however, would be the draw in Brooklyn, as would joining a team positioned as a perennial contender knocking on the door of an NBA championship with every year they surround Durant with the requisite level of star power needed to compete for a title.
Tucker would fit in perfectly: He just turned 37 years old but is a corner three-point specialist who doubles as one of the grittiest, most physical perimeter defenders in all of basketball. Last season with the Heat, Tucker averaged about eight points, six rebounds and two assists on 41% shooting from three-point range. He also played a key role in supporting Giannis Antetokounmpo’s Milwaukee Bucks as they not only eliminated the Nets out of the second round of the 2021 NBA playoffs, but also went on to beat the Phoenix Suns in 2021 NBA Finals.
The Nets aren’t the only contender with interest in Tucker’s services. Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks are also expected to make a run at Tucker’s services, another source told The News.
MAGIC HAS OPTIONS WITH FIRST PICK
Paolo Banchero thinks he should be No. 1. Jabari Smith Jr. is sure he won’t go beyond No. 2. Chet Holmgren would be happy with either.
The freshmen have been considered the top three players available, in some order, in the NBA draft. The Orlando Magic will determine who goes first on Thursday night, with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets slated to follow.
Smith, who led Auburn
to its first No. 1 ranking, gives a slight edge to himself but is impressed by all three.
“I think I’m perfect because just my ability to affect both sides of the ball and my ability to knock down shots and affect winning at such an early age and early part of my game,” Smith said. “So I feel like that’s why I’m the No. 1 pick. Those guys are great watching them all season, just how unselfish they are and how much they contributed to their teams so early.”
Assuming they are gone in the top three spots, that’s when the mystery could start up.
The Sacramento Kings hold the No. 4 pick, a spot that produced last season’s Rookie of the Year in Toronto forward Scottie
Barnes. They could have players such as Purdue guard Jaden Ivey and Iowa forward Keegan Murray to choose among, though it’s unclear which way the Kings might be leaning — or even if they will make the pick at all instead of trading it.
Ivey, an athletic guard who tries to pattern his game like Ja Morant and Russell Westbrook, said he hasn’t spoken with the Kings and doesn’t sound as if he’d be overly enthused with a conversation.
“If I got drafted there, it wouldn’t be the worst option,” Ivey said. “I can’t pick, I’m not the GM who picks the guys, so I’m kind of just trying to just enjoy this process and whatever happens on draft night, I’m just going to stick with it.”
Murray has a much more favorable view of going to play for new coach Mike Brown on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006, the worst drought in NBA history.
“I think for me, being a King, I’d want to be a part of that, that culture, and be a part of the group that can turn that franchise around and get to the playoffs,” Murray said.
Before whatever the Kings do, the Magic will make the No. 1 pick for the fourth time. They’ve done well with big men before, having drafted Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard first, and if they decide to go that way again, Smith or Holmgren would be the call.
The 6-foot-10 Smith doesn’t have quite the size of them but has the shooting touch most bigs never will, hitting 42% of his three-pointers in his one season at Auburn. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and believes he could defend all three frontcourt spots.
Same with Holmgren, the 7-footer from Gonzaga who has the mobility and shooting range to play on the perimeter, but at 195 pounds could use some more bulk to mix it up inside with NBA centers He’s been in the weight room, so that should come, and in the meantime still has plenty to offer.
“I feel like I have a wide variety of skills that compare well with anybody,” Holmgren said.
So does Banchero , who averaged 17.2 points while leading Duke to the Final Four. He’s been a little bored by the predraft process, which often features individual workouts and rarely game competition. But some encouraging words from Spurs guard Dejounte Murray, a fellow Seattle product, have him excited for what’s ahead.
ELSEWHERE
Cavaliers: Cleveland exercised the fourth-year contract option on forward
Dean Wade. Wade averaged 5.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 19.2 minutes in 51 games last season before suffering a knee injury and undergoing surgery.
76ers: Fanatics founder
Michael Rubin is selling his stake in the company that owns the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils. Rubin is worth an estimated $8 billion, according to Forbes. Rubin was part of the ownership group when it purchased the
76ers in 2011 for $290 million. The team was valued at $2.45 billion by Forbes last year. Rubin owns a 10% share.
Pistons-Trailblazers trade: A person with knowledge of the situation said Detroit has agreed to trade Olympic gold medalist
Jerami Grant to Portland, with the biggest part of the return being a first-round pick in the 2025 draft.