Category: Brooklyn Nets Blog

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Nets beat Mavs on Jason Kidd`s 41st birthday

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

Joe Johnson

Joe Johnson made sure Jason Kidd’s 41st birthday was a happy one.

Johnson, who has been automatic in late and close situations since joining the Nets two summers ago, hit the game-tying layup with 9.9 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and then led the Nets with six points in overtime on the way to an improbable 107-104 victory over the Mavericks in front of a sellout crowd of 19,603 at American Airlines Center Sunday night.

“Down the stretch, man,” Johnson said, “those moments are ones I really cherish and love.”

They have become moments the Nets (37-31) love to have Johnson for, as he is 7-for-7 in his one-plus seasons as a Net when they are within three points in the final 10 seconds of the game, and 3-for-3 this season.

“He’s clutch, man,” said Deron Williams, who finished with 15 points in his return to his hometown. “That’s why the ball is in his hands.”

Nets winning a lot at home lately

Deron Williams’ confidence is sky high and he’s taking the Brooklyn Nets along for the ride.

With the Nets’ winning streak in jeopardy, Williams scored 23 points, 11 in the final six minutes, to lead Brooklyn to a 104-99 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

The Nets were trailing 85-82 midway through the fourth quarter following Josh McRoberts’ dunk and free throw.

That’s when Williams took over.

He hit a driving layup with 6:00 left, then a 3-pointer on the next possession. He followed that with a steal and two free throws to give the Nets an 89-85 lead with 5:22 remaining.

The home team never trailed again in registering its 10th straight win at the Barclays Center.

— Associated Press

Some New York D-League team name possibilities emerge

Here’s the Wall Street Journal reporting on possibilities for the name of the upcoming new Knicks-owned team in the D-League:

The Knicks are letting fans help pick the name of their new Development League affiliate team in Westchester. But according to a handful of federal trademark filings, it appears the organization has already seriously considered a few names of its own.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the NBADL has filed for ownership of five potential team names: The New York Plainsmen, the New York Hutch, the New York 914s, the New York Empire, and the New York ‘Bockers.

It’s pretty clear that these name suggestions came directly from the Knicks rather than fans, as the filings were submitted on March 7, three days before the Knicks had announced they’d be allowing fans to have input on the name-selection process.

Nets sign Jason Collins for remainder of season

Nets sign Jason Collins for remainder of season

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Jason Collins for the remainder of the season, General Manager Billy King announced today.

Collins, who signed 10-day contracts on February 23 and March 5, has appeared in eight games for the Nets, totaling five points, six rebounds and six steals in 78 minutes.

Currently in his 13th NBA season, Collins has played in 721 NBA games, with averages of 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 20.6 minutes per game.

Paul Pierce scores 29, Nets beat Heat

Paul Pierce scores 29, Nets beat Heat

Something about facing the Miami Heat still brings out the best in Paul Pierce.

Jason Kidd isn’t half-bad against them, either.

Pierce scored 17 of his 29 points in the third quarter and delivered two crucial scores late, Shaun Livingston created a turnover on the game’s final play and the Brooklyn Nets topped the Heat 96-95 on Wednesday night — moving to 3-0 this season against the two-time defending NBA champions, two of those wins coming by a single point and the other in overtime…

Mirza Teletovic scored 17 off the bench. Livingston finished with 13 points and Andray Blatche scored 11 for the Nets.

Chris Bosh scored 24 points for Miami, giving him 15,003 for his career. Dwyane Wade scored 22, LeBron James finished with 19 and Mario Chalmers scored 14 for the Heat, who gave up 22 points off turnovers and were hit with two technicals (on Wade and Chalmers) for arguing calls within a 92-second span of the third quarter.

— Associated Press

Nets likely keeping Jason Collins for rest of season

Here’s ESPN.com with an update on the Nets and Jason Collins, who is on his second 10-day contract:

The Brooklyn Nets will sign center Jason Collins for the remainder of the season on Saturday, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Nets, who feel they’re getting everything they expected from Collins when they signed him for frontcourt depth Feb. 23, are already operating under the premise that the 34-year-old will finish the season with them even though his second 10-day deal doesn’t expire until after Friday. Sources say that the internal expectation all along was that Collins would be a Net for the rest of the season, from the moment he signed his first 10-day deal, as long he proved that he could still be an effective defender, which he did immediately.

D-League expanding with Knicks-owned team in White Plains, New York

The NBA Development League and The Madison Square Garden Company (MSG) today announced that MSG has acquired the right to own and operate an NBA D-League team that will play in White Plains, New York. The new team will be the NBA D-League’s record 18th team and will be the exclusive affiliate of the New York Knicks, playing its home games at the Westchester County Center, approximately 30 miles north of New York City. With the purchase, the Knicks become the seventh NBA team to fully own and operate their own NBA D-League affiliate.

“We are thrilled to work with the New York Knicks and Westchester County to bring NBA D-League basketball to White Plains,” said Dan Reed, NBA D-League president. “The New York area has a rich basketball history and we’re excited to give some of the game’s best fans the opportunity to watch top NBA prospects up close and personal in an intimate, family-friendly and affordable environment.”

Allan Houston, the Knicks’ Assistant General Manager, will serve as the new team’s General Manager, while Bill Boyce joins the MSG family as the vice president of sales and business operations for the club in Westchester, reporting to Dave Howard, president of MSG Sports. Bill joins MSG after four years as the president of the NBA D-League’s Frisco-based Texas Legends.

“We are very excited to bring a New York Knicks NBA Development League franchise to Westchester, a great basketball community that has embraced orange and blue and served as our training home for 25 plus years,” said Houston. “The NBA D-League is thriving, and this opportunity allows us to develop players closer to our training facility, and to provide high level, affordable basketball entertainment to the community.”

The Knicks are inviting fans to help choose the name for the new team. From now until March 24, fans can go to NYKnicksDLeague.com to submit their names online. Following the submission process, fans will go back to the same website to vote for the final team name. In addition, beginning today, fans can enter to win two full season tickets on the website; the sweepstakes will run until April 11.

“Westchester County is proud to be teaming up with three great organizations – the NBA Development League, The Madison Square Garden Company and the New York Knicks,” said Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino. “What’s exciting is that the partnership works on so many levels. It brings professional basketball to the County Center. It offers fans and families a lot of fun and thrills at an affordable price. And it will generate revenues and new jobs for the county at no cost to taxpayers. It all adds up to a winning combination.”

For the 2013-14 season, the NBA D-League features 17 teams, 14 of which are singly affiliated with their NBA parent clubs. Complete NBA and NBA D-League affiliations for the 2014-15 season will be announced over the summer.

More than 30 percent of current NBA players, including five current Knicks, have NBA D-League experience, while more than 40 percent of players drafted into the NBA over the last five years have spent time in the NBA D-League. To date, 27 NBA D-League players have earned 31 “Call-Ups” to the NBA this season, while 56 NBA players have seen action in the NBA D-League on assignment from their NBA parent clubs during the 2013-14 campaign.

No Paul Pierce retirement anytime soon

Here’s the New York Daily News reporting on veteran Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce, who is up there in age but playing good basketball and has no retirement plans just yet:

No Paul Pierce retirement anytime soon

Pierce understands that his post-playing career belongs with the Celtics, which is why he brought up the idea of “working” for the organization while talking to the Boston media on Friday night.

But the 36-year-old — an unrestricted free agent in July — has made it pretty clear that he has no plans to retire after this season. However, he is taking a pounding as a power forward, including some pain in his right shoulder that briefly put him on the bench against the Celtics.

“It’s been a problem for me throughout the last few years,” Pierce said. “It’s weak right now, so whenever I get hit in that shoulder . . . just with the constant years of banging, especially now that I’m playing the 4. So it’s a quick stinger.”

The Nets need Pierce because he fuels their preferred style of play. If they want to catch the Raptors, they also need to hit their long shots and continue their trend of collecting steals.