The Milwaukee Bucks have traded guard Rashad Vaughn and a second round pick to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Tyler Zeller. Milwaukee will convey its 2018 second round pick provided that the pick falls between No. 31-47. If the pick is not conveyed in 2018, it will become an unprotected 2020 second round pick.
Vaughn (6’6”, 210) has played in 22 games for the Bucks this season, averaging 2.7 points in 7.9 minutes per game. Selected by Milwaukee with the 17th overall pick in the 2015 draft, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas product holds career averages of 3.1 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 12.3 minutes per contest in 133 games.
According to the New York Daily News, “Zeller has started 33 games for the Nets this season, averaging 7.1 points on 54.6% shooting from the field to go along with 4.6 rebounds. The 28-year-old big man is on a team-friendly two-year, $3.6 million contract with the second year non-guaranteed.”
Zeller, 28, is in his sixth season in the NBA and holds career averages of 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 50.4 percent from the field. This season with the Nets, Zeller appeared in 42 games (33 starts) and averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds in 16.7 minutes per game while shooting 54.6 percent overall. Zeller was in his first season with Brooklyn after spending three seasons (2014-17) with the Boston Celtics, and his first two seasons in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2012-14). The North Carolina product was drafted with the 17th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, but was traded the following day to the Cavaliers where he began his NBA career.
Bucks center John Henson and Zeller were teammates at North Carolina from 2009-12 where they advanced to the Elite Eight in consecutive seasons in 2011 and 2012.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Milwaukee Bucks will be acquiring center Tyler Zeller from the Brooklyn Nets.
In return, the Nets will reportedly receive a protected 2018 second round pick along with Rashad Vaughn, a former first-round draft pick.
Zeller adds frontcourt depth for Milwaukee. The Nets did start Zeller for 33 of the 42 games he played for them this season, but he was still averaging just 16.7 minutes per outing.
The Bucks, through Sunday’s games, are 29-23, which is the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference. And are trying to improve right now. The Nets, at 19-35, are 12th best in the conference and focused more on the future.
The Nets enjoyed an impressive home victory Wednesday night in Brooklyn, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 116-108.
In the win, the enjoyed continued fine play from Spencer Dinwiddie in his breaking season. The point guard, still currently starting as D’Angelo Russell, recently back from injury, is utilized off the bench, shot 6-13 and hit 13-15 free throws for 27 points and four assists.
Russell played just 17 minutes off the bench, but was huge: 8-15 FG for 22 points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.
And in another nice surprise for the Nets, talented rookie big-man Jarrett Allen, who got the start at center, was excellent, shooting 5-6 FG for 16 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in 26 minutes.
In the loss for the Sixers, Joel Embiid shot 8-19 FG but did hit 12-14 free throws for 29 points and 14 rebounds, Ben Simmons shot 11-16 FG for 24 points and seven assists, and JJ Redick shot 4-10 plus 9-10 free throws for 20 points.
Nets Team Notes
The Nets improved to 19-33 this season and 10-14 at Barclays Center with tonight’s victory, while the 76ers fell to 24-24 overall and 12-14 on the road with the loss.
It also gave the Nets consecutive home victories (Brooklyn defeated Miami 101-95 on 1/19 at Barclays Center).
Next up for Brooklyn: The Nets will host the Lakers on Friday, February 2, at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Next up for Philadelphia: The 76ers will return home to host Miami on Friday, February 2, at 8 p.m. EST.
Nets Player Notes
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 27 points (6-of-13 FG, 2-of-4 3FG, 13-of-15 FT) with two rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes tonight. Dinwiddie’s 27 points marked the second-highest scoring game of his career (behind a career-high 31 points on 1/8 vs. Toronto). He set career highs for free throws made (13) and attempted (15) tonight, both of which represented season highs for any Net. Dinwiddie registered his team-leading 13th 20-point game of the season tonight (and his 10th at Barclays Center).
D’Angelo Russell posted 22 points (8-of-15 FG, 2-of-5 3FG, 4-of-5 FT) with five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 17 minutes off the bench vs. Washington. Russell eclipsed the 20-point mark for the seventh time this season and the first time since 11/11 at Utah (26 points). He became the 10th different Net to score 20+ points in a game off the bench this season, which marks both a single-season franchise record and a league high this season.
Jarrett Allen scored a career-high-tying 16 points with a career-high 12 rebounds, a career-high three assists and two blocks in 26 minutes in his second-career start for Brooklyn. He shot 5-of-6 from the field and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line, with his 6 FTM also marking a career high. Allen recorded his second career double-double tonight (previously done on 1/23 at OKC this season). Allen has now extended his career-best streak of games reaching double figures to five. Prior to this stretch, he hadn’t scored in double figures in more than two straight games.
In the month of January, Allen shot .722 (57-of-79) from the field, which marked the highest FG % for a Net in any month since 1983-84 (min. 70 field goal attempts).
Joel Embiid Quotes
Joel Embiid, on 76ers’ defense: “The past couple of games we’ve been getting down a lot in pick and rolls, in OKC. That’s how they win – basically a two-man game, and everybody’s got to help each other and all the things we’ve been doing so far. I guess we’ve gotta go back to the drawing board.”
Embiid on if the team can blame their performance on coming off of a road trip: “No, that’s a game we’ve got to win. They’re a pretty good team, but I feel like we’re better than them. They got a win tonight, but that’s the kind of win we’ve got to get if we want to be a playoff team. Defense every day. If we’re gonna lose these types of games, we don’t deserve to go to the playoffs.”
Embiid on the team’s struggles against supposed-subpar opponents: “I don’t know. Maybe we’re too cocky, going into the game thinking that it’s going to be easy. Got to give them a lot of credit, they play hard, they make a lot of threes, they shoot a lot of threes and we didn’t guard them well today. But we gotta do a better job next time.”
The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward James Webb III to a two-way contract. In a related move, the Nets have requested waivers on forward Jacob Wiley.
Webb (6’9”, 202) joins Brooklyn from the NBA G League’s Delaware 87ers. In 21 games (13 starts) with the 87ers this season, Webb has recorded averages of 11.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 27.3 minutes per contest. He also appeared in 39 games (all starts) for Delaware last season and holds career NBA G League averages of 12.6 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals in 32.2 minutes per game across 60 career games (52 starts).
Prior to his time in the NBA G League, Webb played two collegiate seasons at Boise State (2014-16), where he earned All-Mountain West First Team honors as a redshirt junior (2015-16) and Mountain West Newcomer of the Year, All-Mountain West Second Team, and All-Mountain West Defensive Team honors as a redshirt sophomore (2014-15). In 63 career games (57 starts) with the Broncos, Webb averaged 13.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 29.1 minutes per contest. The Augusta, Ga., native also played one season (2012-13) at North Idaho College prior to playing at Boise State.
Wiley originally signed a two-way contract with Brooklyn on August 14. In five games with Brooklyn this season, Wiley recorded averages of 0.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 6.7 minutes per game. He also appeared in 16 games with Brooklyn’s NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, averaging 7.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.6 minutes per contest.
The Brooklyn Nets yesterday (Monday) signed guard Milton Doyle to a two-way contract.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Doyle becomes a member of the Nets from the team’s NBA G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets. In the G League this season, he played in 17 games, averaging a team-high 21.3 points plus 5.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.7 minutes per outing.
Doyle becomes the third G League to NBA “call-up” in Long Island Nets history, and he’s the first for the team this season.
He played four college basketball seasons (2013-17) at Loyola University Chicago. In 121 career games (98 starts), he recorded averages of 13.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 30.4 minutes per contest.
NBA TWO-WAY CONTRACTS EXPLANATION
NBA teams are allowed to sign two players to two-way contracts in addition to the 15-man regular season roster. A two-way player for the Nets will provide services primarily to the team’s NBA G League affiliate – the Long Island Nets – but can spend up to 45 days with Brooklyn, not including any time prior to the start of Long Island’s training camp and at the conclusion of their season.
The Brooklyn Nets have acquired center Jahlil Okafor, guard Nik Stauskas and a 2019 second round draft pick from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for forward/center Trevor Booker.
In a subsequent move, the Nets have requested waivers on guard Sean Kilpatrick.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Booker, 30, in his eighth year in the NBA, is a veteran power forward with an attractive expiring contract. The two-year deal he signed with Brooklyn in 2016 for just over $18 million is up at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.”
“We are excited about the prospects of both Jahlil and Nik, as well as adding another future asset which will aid us in our continued roster development,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “This trade provides us with a good opportunity to bring in two young players who were high picks in recent drafts and give them a chance to succeed in our system. We would also like to thank Trevor, Sean and their families for all of their contributions to our team and the Brooklyn community.”
“Trevor Booker has been a solid and competitive two-way contributor at every NBA stop. Trevor’s abilities should complement our style of play and his experience should add to our bench depth with playoff contention in mind,” said 76ers President of Basketball Operations Bryan Colangelo. “Jahlil and Nik are both quality young men with talent that should keep them productive in this league a long time. We hope they find more opportunity in Brooklyn this season and thank them for their contributions over the past few years.”
Booker, a 6-foot-10 forward, is in the midst of his eighth NBA season. He has appeared in 482 games (160 starts) with Brooklyn, Utah and Washington and holds career averages of 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in 21.0 minutes per game. His average of 10.1 points per game in 2017-18 represents a career-best.
Since signing with Brooklyn in the 2016 offseason, Booker has played in 89 games (48 starts) and produced 10.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 24.1 minutes per contest. Before joining the Nets, he’d held career averages of 6.5 points and 5.2 rebounds through his first six NBA seasons.
Booker was originally selected by Washington with the 23rd pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, following four standout seasons at Clemson. As a senior, he was named All-ACC First Team.
Okafor joins the Nets after spending the first two-plus seasons of his NBA career with the 76ers. In 105 career games (81 starts), the 21-year-old has averaged 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 26.2 minutes per game. Originally selected with the third overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, Okafor saw action in 53 games (48 starts) in his rookie season, registering averages of 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks in 30.0 minutes per game en route to All-Rookie First Team honors. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Okafor spent one year at Duke, helping lead the Blue Devils to the 2015 NCAA Championship. In his lone collegiate season, Okafor recorded averages of 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.4 blocks in 30.1 minutes per game in 38 contests, earning him Associated Press First Team All-America and ACC Player of the Year honors. He became the first freshman to capture the ACC Player of the Year award in the conference’s history.
Stauskas has appeared in 232 career games (63 starts) with Sacramento (2014-15) and Philadelphia (2015-17), recording averages of 7.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 22.3 minutes per game. The 24-year-old was originally selected with the eighth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft by the Kings out of the University of Michigan. Stauskas spent two years at Michigan, earning Big 10 Player of the Year and Associated Press Second Team-All America honors as a sophomore after averaging 17.5 points on 47.0 percent from the field and 44.2 percent from three-point range, 2.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 35.6 minutes per game. Stauskas also helped to lead the Wolverines to NCAA Tournament title game as a freshman and an Elite Eight appearance in his second and final collegiate season.
Booker, who originally signed as a free agent with Brooklyn on July 8, 2016, appeared in 18 games (six starts) this season with the Nets, averaging 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 21.9 minutes per contest. In 482 career games with the Nets, Jazz and Wizards, the eight-year veteran has recorded averages of 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 21.0 minutes per game.
Kilpatrick originally signed the first of two 10-day contracts on Feb. 28, 2016 before signing a multi-year contract on March 19, 2016. In 109 games (24 starts) with the Nets, Kilpatrick averaged 12.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 22.7 minutes per contest.
The Celtics came to Brooklyn Tuesday and left town with their NBA-leading 13th win in a row. Boston looked great in the first quarter, but then the Nets stepped up and made a game out of it. Here’s the New York Post with more:
Facing the hottest team in the NBA was going to be an uphill climb for the Nets under the best circumstances. But doing it without their two point guards — and arguably two best players — proved too much to handle.
With D’Angelo Russell out indefinitely with a knee injury and Jeremy Lin already sidelined for the season, also with a knee injury, the Nets were game, but woefully shorthanded against the Celtics. And scalding-hot Boston predictably proved to be too much, with the Nets falling 109-102 in a tightly contested affair Tuesday.
Hearing Boston fans take over the Barclays Center was just salt in the Nets’ various wounds, and listening to them serenade New Jersey-bred Celtics star Kyrie Irving with chants of “MVP!” as he took free throws with two minutes left was an added insult. But to be fair, Irving looked the part, dominating in his return from a facial fracture and then giving his shoes to some troops seated courtside.
And for more on the “relationship” between these two teams, here’s ESPN Boston:
In the aftermath of that late-game alley-oop, the remaining Nets fans were left to watch Brown and Tatum engage in a celebratory body-bump near midcourt. It was a painful reminder of what could have been.
Both Brown and Tatum, along with Irving, were delivered to Boston by direct result of the draft picks the Nets sent the Celtics as part of the 2013 blockbuster that sent Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn.
This was the first time since 2013 that Boston played a game against Brooklyn that didn’t have implications on a future pick, and Celtics fans had often utilized the hashtag #Netspick while basking in Brooklyn’s recent struggles. On Tuesday, Celtics fans simply enjoyed watching the exploits of their past picks.
Brooklyn Nets guard Isaiah Whitehead has been assigned to the Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets.
The assignment marks Whitehead’s first career stint with the LI Nets and also marks Long Island’s first assignment of the 2017-18 season. In 73 games (26 starts) with Brooklyn last season, Whitehead recorded averages of 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 22.5 minutes per contest.
The NBA season just began Tuesday, but for Nets guard Jeremy Lin, the 2017-18 campaign is already over.
According to the Nets, Lin has been diagnosed with a ruptured patella tendon of the right knee. The injury occurred during the fourth quarter of last night’s game at Indiana.
Lin is expected to miss the entire 2017-18 season.
Statement from Nets General Manager Sean Marks: “Jeremy worked tremendously hard during the offseason and in training camp and was excited for the prospects of the team this season. We feel awful that the injury will cost him the season, however our entire organization will be there to support Jeremy in every way possible throughout his recovery. Jeremy remains an important part of this team and will continue to contribute in a leadership role.”
