And now there’s only one pro basketball team playing in New York and it’s defending WNBA champs who blew out the Connecticut Sun Sunday afternoon, giving them a 7-0 record The New York Liberty, who are drawing 16,114 per game to Barclays Center so far, will be the only basketball in New York until late in September when the Nets get a head start on the Knicks in training camp because of their China travel.
It’s going to be a long time and despite all the speculation, it doesn’t appear that real things have even started to gel. History tells us that most big trades come together fast just before the Draft. There might be an outlier that’s done a week before it was announced and a lot of trades have fits and starts then a frantic rush to get it done. Deadlines motivate people and that includes NBA GMs.
“I wouldn’t read or believe much that’s out there on any team,” a league source told NetsDaily this week about rumors. “Assume most are hypothetical.”
Simply too early as we noted in our cap space primer.
The Nets are starting to work out bigger names at HSS Training, from the little that we know about that practice! Next big name expected in — unless they were in the last couple of days — will be Jeremiah Fears or Kon Knueppel.
You can expect agents for most players will want their clients to show off in from of the Nets talent evaluators. When you have five picks between #8 and #36, you’re an attractive team. That’s not always been the case. If you have a lower pick or none as they did in two of the last three drafts, there’s not much benefit for a prospect spend time working out with a team that’s not going to draft them.
Pods look at Nets future
In the interim, we can spend time listening to podcasts featuring takes on the Nets from esteemed sports writers like Zach Lowe, who has gone independent after ESPN dumped him, and Brian Windhorst who is still with the World Wide Leader.
Windy is far more optimistic than Lowe but that’s not hard. Lowe ranked the prospects of all 15 Eastern Conference teams over the next three to five years. He put Brooklyn at No. 14 above only the Wizards.
“I have the Nets above the Wizards solely because they have those Knicks picks pretty far out are valuable picks ... looking pretty valuable,” said Lowe on the Zach Lowe Show. “Maybe I’m undervaluing them because I have them so low. I mean they are in New York. Free agents have gone their before. But is there one guy on the roster now — one — who’s going to be on the next 50-win Brooklyn. The answer might be no.
“Is Cam Johnson going to be on the next 50-win Brooklyn team? Is Nic Claxton going to be on the next 50-win Brooklyn team? Is Cam Thomas who is extension-eligible going to be on the next 50-win Brooklyn team? Are any of these dudes going to be on the next really good Brooklyn Nets team?”
(For the record, the Nets next 50-win team will be their second since moving from the ABA to the NBA. They won 52 in 2001-02, almost a quarter century ago.)
In his Hoop Collective podcast Sunday, Windhorst discussed the Nets during a take on the Knicks and Pacers, comparing the haul Sean Marks got from Leon Rose for Mikal Bridges and the limited return the Raptors’ Masai Ujiri got for Pascal Siakam, the Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Both trades happened last year.
“We have no idea what the unprotected picks that the Knicks gave in that (Bridges) deal, what they will turn into down the line, but they have two (first round) picks in the 2025 Draft — that’s the first two assets that they gave in that. The picks now are the 19th and 26th picks,” said Windy.
“For all I know, those (future) picks will be lottery picks and the Nets will be laughing all the way to the bank ... For all I know the player the Nets take with the 19th pick will be a nine-time All-Star.”
Tim MacMahon noted that the Raps wound up with “a late pick and a fairly late pick” in the 2024 draft, a comparatively weak draft, and a Pacers first in 2026, not unprotected! That’s likely to be late as well.
“It’s just another reminder,” Tim Bontemps chimed in, “Whether it’s three picks, five picks, seven picks, whatever, you’ve got to hit on it because you really have just one chance to push in on it ... But if you wind up with a guy who’s just okay ...”
Expect a lot of analysis of that trade in the next few days. One reason is the Knicks failure to get past the Pacers, but also the NBA Draft is now only three and a half weeks away and of their five picks over those two nights at Barclays Center, three of them. at Nos. 19, 26 and 36 are from the Bridges trade.
Draft Sleeper of the Week
The last time the Nets had a 6’9” Russian player with passing skills (among others), he was at the end of his career. Andrei Kirilenko was 34 and out of the rotation following a great career when he was traded to the 76ers in a salary dump. AK-47 had been signed to a big fanfare two years earlier, a merger of the NBA’s first Russian owner and the best Russian to play in the league
Egor Demin, a 19-year-old Moscow native, could be the next Russian to wear the black-and-white. He has been mocked to the Nets at both #8 and #19 following a productive if not spectacular season at BYU. He is not, repeat NOT, Kirilenko but word from Moscow is that the now 44-year-old former All-Star and three-time Defensive Team member is a big believer in Demin. Why not? Not only do the two share a home country but also an affection for the state of Utah.
As reflected by the variance in where media mocks have Demin falling on June 25, there is division among pundits and presumably scouts about his NBA prospects.
Jonathan Givony of ESPN put him at No. 11 in his Top 100 this week, the same spot in ESPN’s latest mock draft just about two weeks ago, despite some glowing praise that would seem worthy of a higher pick.
Demin had a positive week at the combine in Chicago, measuring bigger than expected at 6-9½ in shoes and then putting on one of the most impressive pro day performances we’ve seen in some time, causing even the most skeptical of NBA evaluators to acknowledge his undeniable talent. (Emphasis ours.)
Demin has made significant gains with his body and will continue to fill out, while making a barrage of 3-pointers with picture-perfect mechanics and a lightning-quick release that offered significant room for optimism despite hitting 27% of his 3-pointers in his lone season at BYU. Also, NBA teams raved about his interviews in Chicago.
There have been some concerns about a few other aspects to his game including his frame, whether it will work in the NBA. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor wrote while Demin has the best court vision on a draft board full of solid point guards he may be a bit raw. KOC has him at No. 13 in his latest mock.
When his shot is falling, Demin can thrive by simply making the correct read and capitalizing on it with his creativity. When it’s not, defenders often overplay the roller and dare him to take those above-the-break shots; if that continues, it’s difficult to imagine him being more than a supplementary handler who’d do best next to a big-time scorer.
The defensive profile is what you typically see from players of his type. But despite the poor lateral mobility, lean frame, and rigid posture, the effort is not a question. Demin’s anticipation is good, and his combination of hand-eye coordination and size helps him get into higher passing lanes and create deflections. I just wouldn’t bet on him ever being a plus defender.
O’Connor said Demin’s best NBA comparison might be Shaun Livingston. Nets fans might be able to live with that at No. 19 or higher if they trade up and acquire a second lottery pick. But No. 8, it will seem an unpopular pick depending on who is available.
The consensus top 10 picks, not necessarily in this order, are Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, V.J. Edgecombe, Tre Johnson, Jeremiah Fears, Khaman Maluach, Kon Knueppel, Kasparas Jakucionis and Noa Essengue. More than one pundit, including Givony thinks that the lottery drops off a bit after Nos. 7 or 8. It’s good to know the Nets almost assuredly will get one of those players.
Take a look for yourselves at his highlight package. Here’s his March Madness highlights. His weaknesses were not a problem in the NCAA where he led the Cougars to the Sweet Sixteen.
In BYU’s three March Madness games, he averaged 13.7 points on 43/29/100 shooting splits along with 5.7 assists.
Planet Brooklyn?
BSE Global CEO Sam Zussman has hinted in interviews of a new “ecosystem” around Flatbush and Atlantic with the bricks-and-mortar aspects of the plan openly modeled on the multi-billion dollar LA Live! entertainment district surrounding what used to be called Staples Center.
Prospects for a hotel, conference center, marketplace etc. — all mentioned by Zussman or BSE executives — would seem positive considering the backers would include Joe and Clara Tsai as well as members of the Koch family. But that will take years to realize starting with municipal approvals (if as rumored the hotel will replace Modell’s and P.C; Richards) followed by actual construction. One aspect of the plan, Improvements at Barclays Center, the focal point of the plan, is already underway part of a five-year $100 million plan.
Other less concrete aspects of the plan we’ve seen too, like the Brooklyn Wine Club which we’ve profiled, the purchase and relaunch of Brooklyn Magazine as BKMAG, and a new, bigger media project called Type.Set.Brooklyn.
Now, one of those entities, BKMAG reports exclusively that there will be two-day Brooklyn music festival called Planet Brooklyn August 23-24 sponsored by BSE featuring events at three venues: Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Paramount (of which BSE Global owns a piece) and BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
H/T to Norman Oder of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report for pointing it out.
Shows will be both free and ticketed, “accompanied by block parties around the venues, featuring DJs and hundreds of food vendors and merchants from across the borough” running from 1:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. ET. Performances will be ticketed separately, the Brooklyn Paper reported.
It also appears from the announcement that the festival is not a one-time thing but rather an on-going Brooklyn event.
“Brooklyn is a unique microcosm of the world—both a physical place and a state of mind—where global cultures meet, inspire, and expand each other,” said DeJuan Wilson, Chief Products and Experiences Officer at BSE, in the BKMAG article. “Planet Brooklyn was created to spotlight artists, creators, and innovators from around the globe who represent the borough’s rich diversity, while connecting people through the creative energy of Brooklyn.”
As is often the case with such big events, the first reporting on Planet Brooklyn deliberately doesn’t provide a lot of details, most importantly who will perform where. Expect the rollout to continue in June.
Like we’ve said, never underestimate the marketing chops of BSE Global.
Joe Tsai’s plan to find the next Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin
With more than 300 million hoops fans in China and a billion estimated in Asia, basketball would seem like a good investment.
Enter Joe Tsai. While a citizen of Canada and a native of Taiwan he is also proud of his Chinese heritage. Last week, it was announced that his Blue Pool Capital would be the lead seed investor — aka first-in — in the Asian University Basketball League, a college league consisting of teams from 12 Asian universities across China, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea. The AUBL will open play in August with a tournament in Huangzhou, home of Alibaba.
In August, the league will host a tournament with a group stage and knockout round for 12 elite Asian college basketball programs — including the University of Hong Kong and Peking University (China) — that will culminate with a final four and a champion. In 2026, the AUBL will play a full schedule, which will include road and home games.
Yes, there are also plans for a March Madness-like tournament starting in 2026 and a stated goal to produce the next Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin, both are friends of Tsai’s.
“As a former student-athlete, I appreciate the value of college sports for both participants and their communities,” Tsai said in a statement to ESPN. “In Asian society, top-tier universities are among the most recognized brands, and they easily translate into sports through the spirit of competition between schools. That’s why I believe in the AUBL’s vision. Asia’s growing basketball market, rising talent, and increasing institutional support create the right conditions for a successful collegiate league.”
Jimmy Li, the CEO of the AUBL, was previously involved with another Tsai venture of a different kind that also aims to improve the game in China from the ground up. Li was head of the entity that manages Tsai’s basketball scholarship program, the Joe Tsai Basketball Scholarship.
Every year for the last five, Tsai has provided full rides at U.S. boarding schools to 10 promising young Chinese basketball players, five boys, five girls.
The program has Chinese Basketball Association’s official support. The CBA described it as playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of Chinese basketball by providing young athletes with access to world-class resources, coaching and international exposure.
Late last year, at scholarship event, Tsai told of his own experience leaving home in Taiwan for Lawrenceville School in New Jersey where he played lacrosse. From there, he moved on to Yale and Yale Law.
“I’ll never forget seeing my father’s eyes fill with tears at my departure. But, sometimes, taking that courageous step is necessary to achieve something greater,” said Tsai.
It’s allabout improving basketball in Asia and particularly China where the national team is no longer the team to beat in Asian competition. It didn’t even make the Paris Olympics, losing to Iran.
Tsai has long said that he would do what he can to help a Chinese player join either of his teams, telling NetsDaily in 2019, “I have said, I’ve been on record saying if there’s good Chinese players, I would do anything to help them come — if they want to come play in the NBA, I would do anything to help them do that.”
And of course he played a role in signing Jacky Cui to a two-way deal with the Nets last season, becoming the seventh Chinese player to play in the NBA. Cui of course tore his ACL in December and was out for the season. Cui has publicly thanked Tsai.
Final Note
The Nets second episode in its planned docu-series on Nets scouting and scouts has provided a spotlight on several of the Nets long time talent evaluators who remained basically anonymous. Although the series isn’t giving away any inside info on who they’re scouting, even fuzzing out every document or PowerPoint document, it was good to see Shawn McCullion, Eddie Oran, Richard Midgeley and Simone Casali getting some props.
Good to also see how the title “scout” is loose. We noted in the video the presence of Kyle Hines, the Euroleague great who this week is serving as a player “mentor” at the Adidas Eurocamp in Treviso, Italy, the final NBA combine. Same with Matt MacDonald who is Long Island’s GM. They may have other titles, but they are out there at college and international games, entering data into Brooklyn’s scouting database..
It’s always good to get a look at how things work behind the scene. Transparency can be a good thing. There should be more of it.