Category: Brooklyn Nets Blog

“I think we have a lot of talent,” Nets general manager Billy King said Tuesday at his preseason press conference at the team’s practice facility in East Rutherford, N.J. “I think we’ve got a good team. … I think we have a team that’s a playoff team on paper. I think we have a team that can withstand injuries, because we have depth.

“But, as I’ve always said, can we win a championship? Yes. But it takes luck in an NBA season to do that. You have to be healthy, for the most part. You’ve gotta get some breaks… the ball has to bounce your way sometimes when it doesn’t.”

Having a roster King thinks is a potential title contender is a far cry from the team he put together the past two seasons. But after trying to land first Carmelo Anthony, then Dwight Howard, waiting to see what Deron Williams would decide, and revamping the entire roster this summer, King admitted it’s a different feeling entering this season.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

During the recovery process from his second foot injury last season, Brook Lopez was hesitant to say he was back to 100 percent.

But that, Lopez said Monday, was just a case of him being hesitant because he hadn’t played in any competitive game settings yet.

“It was being cautious,” Lopez said at the opening of the Nets team shop at Barclays Center. “And, honestly, I hadn’t played any 5-on-5 or competitive basketball, but now, being that I’ve been here for three weeks, I’ve played 5-on-5 with everyone on the team … we’ve got 15 guys going every day, and I’ve had no problems. I’m very confident in my foot.”

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post (Blog)

InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner on Friday walked into the new Brooklyn Nets Barclays Center basketball arena. Here’s an InsideHoops video showing what it looks like to step inside the new home of the Nets:

When Mikhail Prokhorov bought the Nets two years ago, he declared the franchise will win a title by the end of the 2015 season.

After seeing his team’s roster dramatically overhauled this offseason ahead of the Nets beginning play in Brooklyn this fall, Prokhorov is standing behind that prediction.

“For me, there’s only one place: number one,” Prokhorov said Friday inside his team’s brand-new home, Barclays Center, in Brooklyn. “And I do my best to reach the championship.

“We’re moving on … slowly, slowly, step by step. It’s easy to make a strong team, but it’s very difficult to make a championship team. So we’re on the right way. And still, I’m expecting our championship within three years.”

Prokhorov was at Barclays Center alongside arena developer Bruce Ratner, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other dignitaries to help cut the ribbon for the $1 billion arena.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

The Brooklyn Nets have signed free agents Stephen Dennis, James Mays, and Carleton Scott, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreements were not released.  All three players played overseas last season.  The Nets training camp roster stands at 18 players.

Dennis, a 6’6” guard, spent four years at Kutztown University.  In his senior season he averaged 26.6 points per game and was named to the Division II All-American Team.  After college, Dennis played for the Bakersfield Jam in the NBA D-League, where in 51 games he averaged 18.5 points, 6.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds.  The West Chester, PA native then spent the 2011-12 season in Germany playing for the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig, where in 18 contests he averaged 8.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 22.1 minutes per game.  Dennis shot .424 from the field, including .304 from three-point range and .731 from the free-throw line.  Dennis was a member of the Nets 2012 summer league team.

Mays, a 6’9’’ forward, spent four years at Clemson University.  After his senior season, he was the second overall pick by the Colorado 14ers in the 2008 NBA D-League Draft.  In 12 games with Colorado, Mays averaged 18.7 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists.  During the 2009-10 season, Mays played for the Shougang Beijing Ducks in China, where he averaged 26.0 points and 13.2 rebounds per game.  During the 2010-11 campaign he played in the NBA Summer League for both the Indiana Pacers and the Toronto Raptors.  The Garner, NC native then went back overseas and played for Oyak Renault Bursa (Turkey), where he averaged 17.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game.  Mays spent the 2011-12 season with Mersin Buyuksehir Beldiyesi (Turkey), where he averaged 10.8 points and 6.0 rebounds, and Captanes de Arecibo (Puerto Rico), where he averaged 2.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in eight minutes per game.

Scott, a 6’8” forward, played three years at the University of Notre Dame.  Named the 2010 Co-Most Improved Player.  After graduating in 2011, Scott went to Austria and played for the UBC Carefuel Gussing Knights.  In 27 contests with the Knights he averaged 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game.  He shot .494 from the field, including .294 from three-point range and .730 from the free-throw line.  Scott was a member of the Nets 2012 summer league team.

Mikhail Prokhorov is a big fan of the deadpan delivery, so it’s easy to imagine a straight-faced towering man explaining to DETAILS Magazine why he won’t be rapping with Jay Z at the opening of the Barclays Center.

“I respect rap greatly but don’t consider myself a fan,” said the billionaire owner of the Nets, who previously rapped on Russian television while calling himself “a real Russian Eminem.”

“It was a complete surprise when I was asked to rap. But when I set myself to something, I always achieve great heights. So I don’t think it would be fair to rap with Jay. I could cause irreparable damage to his professional career.”

So Prokhorov won’t be kicking any rhymes at Jay Z’s concert on Sept. 28, but he is attending next week’s ribbon cutting ceremony at the Barclays Center.

— Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward Josh Childress, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Childress played in 34 games for the Phoenix Suns in 2011-12. The 6-8 forward averaged 2.9 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game.

The Stanford alum was selected sixth overall in the 2004 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks. A six year NBA veteran, Childress owns career averages of 9.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game. In 373 career NBA games, including 70 starts, with Atlanta and Phoenix, he has shot .524 (1,337-2,550) from the field, .329 (98-298) from three-point range and .779 (762-978) from the line. In seven postseason games, all with Atlanta during the 2007-08 playoffs, Childress averaged 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.3 minutes per game.

In 2008 Childress signed a contract to travel overseas and play for the Greek professional club Olympiacos Piraeus. In two seasons with the organization, he averaged 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed forward Andray Blatche, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

Blatche played in 26 games for the Washington Wizards in 2011-12, making 13 starts. The 6-11 forward averaged 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game. As a starter, Blatche posted averages of 11.5 points and 7.4 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game. Due to a calf injury, Blatche was forced to miss the last 40 games of the season.

The South Kent High School (South Kent, CT) alum was selected 49th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Wizards. In seven NBA seasons, all with the Washington, Blatche holds career averages of 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds in 409 games, including 176 starts. During the 2010-11 season, Blatche posted career-highs of 16.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in 33.9 minutes per game. Blatche has made postseason appearances twice, in 2006-07 and 2007-08. In eight career playoff games, he averaged 3.9 points and 3.4 rebounds in 14.1 minutes per contest.