Brooklyn Nets Blog – Page 48 – NBA Blog

Lots of interest in free agent Paul Pierce

Here’s ESPN New York reporting on veteran Nets free agent forward Paul Pierce, who presumably has another good season or two left of basketball in him:

The Brooklyn Nets, you would think, need Paul Pierce more than he needs them.

So it certainly came as a surprise Thursday, when Brooklyn GM Billy King, during an interview on ESPN New York 98.7 FM’s “The Michael Kay Show,” said the Nets would, all of a sudden, become fiscally responsible in their negotiations with the unrestricted free-agent forward.

Pierce has already drawn interest from several contenders, including the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies, sources told ESPN.com’s Marc Stein.

Those are some extremely attractive options — especially L.A., where Pierce could be reunited with former coach Doc Rivers and get to play with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, two of the most dominant players in the league.

Bucks owners admit process in getting Jason Kidd could have been smoother

Here’s the Associated Press, via the Minneapolis Star Tribune, reporting on the Milwaukee Bucks:

New Bucks owners Marc Lasry and Wes Edens admitted Wednesday that there may have been errors in how Jason Kidd was lured to Milwaukee.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t happy to have him as the Bucks’ new head coach.

Kidd was formally introduced Wednesday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Kidd said there were no hard feelings over his abrupt and surprising departure from Brooklyn, where he won 44 games and reached the second round of the playoffs as a first-year head coach but left after a failed bid for more front-office power.

His messy departure leaked to the media and Brooklyn agreed Monday to deal Kidd to Milwaukee for second-round draft picks in 2015 and 2019. The Bucks fired Larry Drew, who had no indication he wouldn’t be back for a second season.

Jason Kidd named new head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks today named Jason Kidd as the team’s new head coach. The Bucks signed Kidd after the Brooklyn Nets agreed to release him from his contract in exchange for two second round picks in the 2015 and 2019 NBA Drafts. Kidd will be the 14th head coach in the history of the Bucks franchise. He joins Milwaukee following a 19-year Hall-of-Fame-caliber NBA playing career and, most recently, serving as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets.

“When you list the characteristics that make a successful head coach, you would include leadership, communication and a competitive drive,” said Hammond. “Jason used all of those traits to become a 10-time All-Star player in the NBA, and has now translated his on-court success to the bench. We welcome him to the Bucks organization and look forward to building a Championship-caliber team with him as our head coach.”

“Jason is a determined leader, a tough-minded competitor and a great teammate,” said Bucks owners Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry. “We believe his focus, vision and intensity will help him work alongside John and David (Morway) to rebuild the Milwaukee Bucks as we aspire to achieve excellence over the next several years. We are excited that Jason will call Milwaukee his new home.”

Kidd, 41, most recently served as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets where he guided the team to a 44-38 record, earned the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, and was named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month twice. The Nets upset the three-seed Toronto Raptors in seven games in the First Round before falling to the Miami Heat in the Second Round.

Before becoming a head coach, Kidd enjoyed an exceptional 19-year NBA playing career, which included 10 All-Star Game appearances and an NBA Championship in 2011 as a member of the Dallas Mavericks. He was named to the All-NBA First Team five times, All-NBA Second Team once, to the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team four times and All-Defensive Second Team five times. Kidd also won gold medals with Team USA in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

When Kidd retired in 2013, he ranked second all-time in NBA assists and steals behind John Stockton. His 107 triple-doubles are third all-time behind Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. He also ranks third on the League’s all-time lists in minutes and 3-point field goals, sixth in games played, first among guards in rebounds and 71st in points scored. He joined Grant Hill as one of two players in the NBA to win the Joe Dumars Trophy – given to the winner of the annual NBA Sportsmanship Award – multiple times. Kidd received the honor following the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

The second overall pick of the Dallas Mavericks in the 1994 NBA Draft, Kidd shared Co-Rookie of the Year honors with Grant Hill. He played in 1,391 regular season games with Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey and New York. His teams qualified for the postseason 17 times, and he played in 158 playoff games, including three trips to the NBA Finals (2002, 2003 – New Jersey; 2011 – Dallas).

Born March 23, 1973, in San Francisco, Kidd played two seasons at the University of California, where he averaged 14.9 points, 8.4 assists and 5.9 rebounds, and was a Consensus All-America selection in 1994.

In Jason Kidd coaching move, Nets receive two second round draft picks from Bucks

Brooklyn Nets General Manager Billy King announced today that the organization has permitted Jason Kidd to pursue a coaching opportunity with the Milwaukee Bucks. In exchange for allowing Kidd to depart, the Nets will receive two second round draft picks (2015 & 2019) from Milwaukee.

The Nets’ search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

In one season as head coach of the Nets, Kidd led Brooklyn to a 44-38 record during the regular season and a first round playoff win over Toronto before losing to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

Jason Kidd leaving Nets to coach Bucks

Well, this escalated quickly. Here’s ESPN.com reporting:

The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to send two second-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets to secure the coaching rights to Jason Kidd, sources tell ESPN.com.

The Bucks had been offering one second-round pick, but the Nets initially wanted a 2015 first-round pick in exchange, a negotiating chip the Bucks originally dismissed.

A source told ESPN.com’s Andy Katz that the Bucks have only talked to Kidd about being the coach, not any kind of administrative position running basketball operations. The source said the negotiation was supposed to be between the owners, not involving any basketball personnel, before the story was leaked out by the New York Post. But the source said the negotiations are now being handled by Bucks general manager John Hammond and Nets GM Billy King.

Jason Kidd wants control of Nets, may wind up with Bucks

Here’s the New York Post reporting a wild story that came out of the blue and has been confirmed by several other outlets:

Apparently Jason Kidd isn’t satisfied with just coaching, but he’ll have to be if he stays with the Nets.

According to a league source, Kidd recently approached ownership with a series of demands, including the role of overseeing the Nets’ basketball operations department in addition to his head coaching responsibilities. The source said Kidd didn’t want general manager Billy King to be dismissed, but wanted to be given a title and placed above him in the organizational hierarchy.

Ownership declined to grant Kidd that kind of power, which is rare for any coach in the league to have. The source said ownership felt Kidd wasn’t ready for that kind of responsibility after having only one year of coaching experience — the team finished his first season on the bench with a 44-38 record, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference — and allowed Kidd to seek other opportunities.

The franchise then was approached by the Bucks for permission to speak with Kidd about the prospect of hiring him, and the Nets granted permission.

Brooklyn Nets trade for draft rights to Markel Brown, Xavier Thames, Cory Jefferson

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired the draft rights to guard Markel Brown (#44 pick) from the Minnesota Timberwolves, guard Xavier Thames (#59 pick) from the Toronto Raptors and forward Cory Jefferson (#60 pick) from the Philadelphia 76ers in separate draft night trades, each in exchange for cash considerations, General Manager Billy King announced.

Brown (6’3”, 184) played in 134 games in four years at Oklahoma State, averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.00 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. Brown averaged 17.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 35.3 minutes per game during his senior season, earning All-Big 12 Second Team honors for the second consecutive season. During his junior season, Brown averaged 15.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 34.1 minutes per game. He was named Louisiana’s Mr. Basketball in 2010 after a standout career at Peabody Magnet High School in Alexandria, Louisiana.

Thames (6’3”, 187) was named the Mountain West Player of the Year, All-Mountain West First Team and Mountain West All-Defensive Team after averaging 17.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.60 steals in 31.3 minutes per game during his senior season at San Diego State. Thames also earned Mountain West All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2012 during his sophomore season. He played his freshman season at Washington State before transferring to San Diego State for his final three seasons of eligibility.

Jefferson (6’9”, 218) played in 130 games in four years at Baylor, averaging 8.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.30 blocks in 19.9 minutes per game. Jefferson garnered All-Big 12 Third Team honors after averaging 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.30 steals and 1.30 blocks in 29.0 minutes per game during his senior season. During his junior season, Jefferson was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after averaging 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.90 blocks in 27.9 minutes per game.

Alan Anderson plans to opt out of Nets contract

Here’s the New York Post reporting on the Nets:

Alan Anderson is planning to opt out of the second year of his contract with the Nets and test free agency next month, a league source confirmed Tuesday night.

Anderson, 31, came to the Nets as a free agent last summer after spending parts of the previous two seasons with Toronto and became a dependable option within coach Jason Kidd’s rotation, giving the team a tough-minded defender who was capable of knocking down an open 3-pointer.

Anderson played in 78 regular-season games, averaging 7.2 points and shooting 34 percent from 3-point range in 22 minutes a game, before averaging 5.9 points in the postseason, appearing in all 12 playoff games.

Nets, Cavs discuss a Marcus Thornton, Jarrett Jack trade

With the draft and free agency soon approaching, rosters are going to start shifting around, and reports about specific targets that various teams have will start to materialize. Here’s ESPN.com reporting on the Nets and Cavs:

The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers are discussing a swap of guards Marcus Thornton and Jarrett Jack, according to sources briefed on the talks.

Sources told ESPN.com that the Nets, amid fears that they’ll be unable to re-sign Shaun Livingston in free agency, have identified Jack as a prime target to either help fill the void or improve their backcourt versatility.

Taj Gibson mourns loss of 6-year-old cousin

Here’s the Chicago Tribune reporting on a tragedy in NYC:

Taj Gibson mourns loss of 6-year-old nephew

New York police have arrested a man wanted in connection with the weekend stabbings of two children, one fatally, in a Brooklyn apartment elevator, officials said on Wednesday.

Daniel St. Hubert, 27, was arrested on Wednesday night in the borough of Queens. Hubert was wanted for the killing of 6-year-old Prince Joshua Avitto and the stabbing assault of 7-year-old Mikayla Capers, who were out buying ice cream on Sunday evening when they were attacked, officials said.

Avitto is the cousin of Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson.

Gibson posted a photo of his cousin to Instagram saying: “They killed my lil super man. #rippj only two more weeks until your 7 birthday. Tears forever…this can’t be life #foreversuperman #babycuzz”