Sharif Phillips-Keaton
@SharifKeaton
Cover the NBA's Brooklyn Nets for Nets Wire (@thenetswire) For USA Today SMG. Contributor to Bills Wire (@TheBillsWire).
I respect Zach Lowe, but I wanted to point out a discovery I made while writing an article on Cam Thomas. Thomas is 1 of 12 guards that averaged 24.0 PPG and 3.8 APG while shooting at least 43.8% from the field last season along with guys like Donovan Mitchell and Steph Curry.
Zach Lowe on Cam Thomas: "The consensus on Cam Thomas — if there is one, and he's got some fans, and he's got some mega-detractors - but the consensus is kind of like Empty Calories Ball Hog.” 😳 via @ZachLowe_NBA
In my opinion, the issue with undersized guards is more about the lack of versatility. For example, in this era, Jalen Brunson isn't going to be able to switch onto anyone else but the other guard while someone like Luka Doncic is at least big enough to switch onto forwards.
People don’t realize Brunson is an undersized guard and history generally says those players do not have longevity (with Chris Paul as the exception). Letting Brunson dribble the ball into oblivion shortens his prime. The double big, Bridges/OG lineup means Brunson Iso City.
Kyrie Irving speaks about his relationship with the Nets: "I wish that we got a chance to get to know them beforehand because they wasn't f***ing with me like that... Kenny Atkinson wasn't f***ing with me like that. The Nets didn't want me like that. They wanted KD."
Despite averaging 25.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, Nets center Drew Timme did not make first-team or second-team All-Summer League.
The ironic thing about this tweet is that in ESPN's article to accompany this report, they acknowledge in the first paragraph that the ratings were down 36% from the previous year without Caitlin Clark. It took me 5 seconds on Google to find that out. espn.com/wnba/story/_/i…
Why does ESPN PR continue to mislead its followers? The 2025 All-Star Game viewership was not historic. It was a huge drop from last year. In 2024, 3.44 million watched when Caitlin Clark played in the game. This year, with Clark injured, viewership plummeted to 2.2 million.
“We love Cam. We think he’s one of the best scoring guards in the league, and an underrated playmaker. We’ll see what happens, but our feelings about Cam as a player and person have never wavered. We love him,” a Nets coach said. A LOT more on Nets from coaches and execs.
NBA Summer League is a bit about watching basketball and a lot about talking to people around the NBA about basketball. For @spotrac I emptied out half of my SL notebook. Here are notes from executives, coaches & scouts for all 15 Eastern Conference teams! spotrac.com/news/_/id/2912…
Just In: The Boston Celtics are hiring Drew Nicholas as Executive Director of Player Personnel, league sources told @hoopshype. Nicholas spent last season as a scout for the Brooklyn Nets. Before that, he spent the prior two years as Director of Scouting for the Denver Nuggets.
It's ironic how most, if not all, people agree that employees should be getting paid fair wages, but as soon as the employees are WNBA players, people's brains turn off lol.
WNBA all stars wearing a "Pay us what you owe us" shirt in warmups
Next game is October 10 in Macao, China, vs Suns. 84 days or 12 weeks
Tough loss for the Nets, but they kept it close Next game will be better
At the final buzzer, the Nets lose to the 76ers 87-83 in the summer league finale for both teams. Tyrese Samuel had 19 points and 12 rebounds while Quincy Olivari had 18 points and 2 rebounds. Brooklyn ends the summer league with a 1-4 record, but got good looks at the rookies.
This has been a rough summer league finale for the Nets. Quincy Olivari and Caleb Daniels have had to leave the game with injuries that required them to go to the locker room.
At the end of the third quarter, the Nets trail the 76ers 69-62. Tyrese Samuel has 18 points and 9 rebounds while Quincy Olivari has 12 points and 2 rebounds. Brooklyn has entered a cold spell over the past two quarters shooting the ball as Mark Armstrong has 18 points.
Egor Demin seems like he is mature beyond his years.
Egor Dëmin: "I think I might spend more time in the lifting room than on the court ... I'm super aware of myself and what I need to get better at. I'm living in the lifting room. I'm not getting upset because I know how much I'm putting into this. It's just a question of time."
At halftime, the Nets lead the 76ers 44-43. Tyrese Samuel has 14 points and 5 rebounds while Quincy Olivari has 9 points. Judah Mintz (9 points) and Saint Thomas (9) have caught fire for Philadelphia, making things interesting in the second quarter. Nets shooting 18.2% from 3.
For reference - this is the same surgery Joe Burrow had. Shooting motion is totally different than throwing motion, but can be a tough recovery for such a small ligament.
At the end of the first quarter, the Nets lead the 76ers 28-18. Tyrese Samuel has 9 points and 2 rebounds while Grant Nelson has 6 points and 2 rebounds. Brooklyn is doing a great job defensively as they are holding Philadelphia to 22.2% shooting from the field.
Nets center Grant Nelson making that move off the dribble on Mark Armstong and throwing it down at the end was impressive to see. Forward Tyrese Samuel is making an impact right away with 9 points and 2 rebounds in 6 minutes.
Nets starters for tonight's game against the 76ers: Quincy Olivari Caleb Daniels Tosan Evbuomwan Grant Nelson Tyrese Samuel As @erikslater_ reported, the four rookies are out while Drew Timme and Tyson Etienne are not playing as well.