Category: Brooklyn Nets Blog

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.

The Nets have made plenty of moves since free agency began July 1, but they still needed a backup small forward.

It took them a while but the Nets filled that need yesterday, when sources confirmed they had agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal with free agent Josh Childress.

The Nets had been on the verge of signing free agent Donte Greene late last month before Greene injured an ankle in a pickup game in Charlotte. That opened the door for Childress, who, assuming both he and power forward Andray Blatche sign with the Nets in the near future as expected, will bring the team’s roster to 15 players.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

At no point leading up to this summer’s crucial free agency period was Brooklyn coach Avery Johnson comfortable enough to believe that point guard Deron Williams was a lock to re-sign with the Nets.

Williams grew up in the Dallas suburb of The Colony and narrowed his free agent choices to the Dallas Mavericks and the Nets. Eventually, Williams signed a five-year, $98 million contract with the Nets after seriously considering returning home to play for the Mavericks.

Johnson, who spoke Tuesday at the Fort Worth Dunbar High School assembly, said he and Nets general manager Billy King were never overconfident about Williams’ desire to remain a part of the Nets.

“We felt we were going to be able to re-sign Deron,” Johnson said. “We felt it was like 80-90 percent, but it was the 10 percent that you were worried about.”

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

The Nets’ ongoing search for frontcourt depth has led them to Houston, and a meeting with Andray Blatche, who was cut this summer by the Washington Wizards.

Blatche, 26, has been working out in Houston with a number of other N.B.A. players, under the guidance of John Lucas. He was set to meet with Nets Coach Avery Johnson sometime this weekend, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting. It was not clear whether the Nets were prepared to make Blatche an immediate offer or were simply exploring their options.

— Reported by Howard Beck of the New York Times (Blog)

Seeking to fill the lone remaining hole on their roster — a backup center behind Brook Lopez — the Nets could give Eddy Curry a second-chance in New York.

Curry, along with Hilton Armstrong, worked out for the Nets Wednesday, according to Yahoo! Sports. Curry, the much maligned former Knick, spent last season with the Heat, playing 14 games and averaging 2.1 points while riding the coattails of LeBron James to his first NBA title.

Curry, 29, played a combined 10 games in his final three seasons with the Knicks before his contract was used as salary ballast in the Carmelo Anthony deal in February 2011.

— Reported by Tim Bontemps and Fred Kerber of the New York Post