No Bull! Nets can still win PLENTY OF LEFTOVERS
Knicks have to decide what to do about 3 key players they held onto at deadline
That’s how you make an impression on your newest teammates.
With Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson watching from the sidelines, the Nets lit up Barclays Center in a 116-105 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. It was an unlikely victory given the circumstances: The Nets dealt Kyrie Irving last weekend and moved Kevin Durant in a deal with the Phoenix Suns early Thursday morning.
Bridges and Johnson were the highlights of the Durant deal.
And they watched gleefully, often jumping out of their seats as the short-handed Nets upset a Chicago team with two stars available in DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
General Manager Sean Marks’ vision for the future of this team is clear, though it needs to be tested against far more formidable opponents than a dysfunctional Bulls team that mustered just 5-of-26 shooting from downtown as a team.
The Nets are going to be a team that plays fast, shoots a ton of threes and defends for 48 minutes. Their newest additions all fit the bill.
Bridges is a Defensive Player of the Year candidate who can create his own shot. Johnson is a prototypical 3-and-D wing, as is Dorian Finney-Smith, who came to Brooklyn along with Spencer Dinwiddie as part of the Irving trade.
Dinwiddie remains a two-way playmaker, capable of guarding the point of attack, putting pressure on the rim, lighting it up from three and creating shots for his teammates. He finished with a team-high 25 points to go with six assists and five rebounds. Ben Simmons remains a defensive stopper, and Nic Claxton, who did not play due to right hamstring tightness, is another Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Brooklyn has a high defensive ceiling. Where the offense comes from could depend on the rotation.
The Nets played fun, they played free, and they shot 17-of-44 from downtown, led by Joe Harris, who shot six-of-nine from deep on the night.
After three straight 40-point games, Cam Thomas shot 3-of-16 from the field and finished with 20 points.
LaVine finished with 38 points on 16-of-25 shooting,
PHILADELPHIA — The Knicks swapped out Cam Reddish for versatile wing Josh Hart but were otherwise quiet at the trade deadline, leaving questions about the future of three players on their roster.
Obi Toppin, who has struggled to find playing time as Julius Randle’s backup, was among the players discussed in the Knicks negotiations but ultimately stayed put. Barring a Randle injury, it’s hard to see how Toppin’s role improves with the Knicks and that’s a timely issue because he’s eligible for an extension before next season. With no extension, Toppin becomes a free agent in 2024.
The current Knicks front office drafted Toppin with the eighth pick in the 2020 draft, which represented its first-ever significant roster move. So there’s a personal attachment.
It’s always harder to admit a mistake than to get rid of somebody else’s. Top executive William ‘World Wide’ Wesley has long been viewed as a big supporter of Toppin. Perhaps not coincidentally, Wesley, who has longstanding connections to Nike and Michael Jordan, was urging Toppin to again participate in this year’s Slam Dunk contest while, according to a source, pitching it as important to the Jordan Brand (Toppin, who has a sneaker and merchandise deal with the Jordan Brand, ultimately declined).
Derrick Rose, who hasn’t played since the New Year and fell further out of the rotation with the acquisition of Hart, was also involved in discussions before Thursday afternoon’s deadline. Part of keeping Rose is logistical: his $14.5 million expiring contract may still be useful to the Knicks to match salaries if they make a trade after the season.
The other part, as coach Tom Thibodeau outlined just hours before the trade deadline, is Rose’s leadership.
“I’m hopeful (Rose stays),” Thibodeau said. “Hey look, I always want what’s best for him. And I know he’s made a lot of sacrifices for the team. But I think it’s great for us to have him — and not just with our point guards. He’s been a great mentor to Jalen (Brunson), but also to (Miles McBride) and (Immanuel Quickley). He’s just such a great teammate and he’s been through so many things, has a great understanding of the
NBA. But he’s always been a team-first guy. And that’s what I love about him. So, I’m hopeful that he’s here. I like to have him around me because he has a very positive impact on our group.”
Rose, it should be noted, said recently that he’s not interested in chasing a ring.
“I just want to be happy playing basketball,” Rose said. “Of course if I could get one [championship], that would be great. But I always felt like me being on the court in Year 15, that is kind of like a championship for me.”
The Knicks did not make Rose available to the media after Thursday’s practice.
Evan Fournier was the third player often discussed, and his inclusion into a deal would’ve only made sense if it was a way to match salaries for a top-level player. The Knicks, for instance, were reportedly discussing separate deals for Chicago’s Zach LaVine and Toronto’s OG Anunoby.
Neither discussion gained any traction, per sources, but Fournier’s could’ve been included with draft compensation to finalize the trade. Instead, the Frenchman remains on the roster with no clear path to playing time but as an asset that will become more valuable after the season as an expiring contract.
Like Rose, Fournier has been professional about his demotion to DNPs and the Knicks expect that to continue.
“Continue to ask everyone to make sacrifices because that’s what a winning team does,” Thibodeau said.