Erik Slater
@erikslater_
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Brooklyn Nets beat reporter @ClutchPoints • Host of Bleav in Nets @BleavNetwork • @NewhouseSU @LehighU Alum • Contact: erikslater44 @gmail .com
Brooklyn, NY
Joined July 2015
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🚨 New Film Study 🚨
Is Noah Clowney the Nets' power forward of the future? I analyzed what makes the 19-year-old such an intriguing piece for Brooklyn moving forward.
Full video here:
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Asked Cam Thomas about him joining LeBron James as the two youngest players in NBA history to score 44 points in consecutive games:
“That’s great company... I’m a Kobe guy though, so if you said Kobe I would’ve been a little more excited.”
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Harden, KD, and Kyrie have combined for 7 trade requests in less than two seasons.
Historic numbers.
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Reality is James Harden wanted an easy ring. When he realized it wouldn’t be easy, he quit.
He has a right to be angry with Kyrie, but this is next-level soft. Playing with Durant should be enough to win a title if he’s as good as he thinks he is.
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KD got noticeably choked up when speaking about his time in Brooklyn:
"I built a family over there. They're always gonna be a part of my journey... I love those guys. I get emotional talking about them because that was a special 4 years of my career coming off an Achilles. They…
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Dennis Smith Jr. reacts to Woj accidentally tweeting that the Nets traded him:
“I got Woj tweets as alerts on my phone… I see my name pop up and I’m like, ‘Hell nah!’... My phones blowing up. I ain’t even get no pregame nap that day. I was sick.”
😂😂😂😂
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I asked Mikal about his approach given analytics not favoring the mid-range shot in today's NBA:
“I know the analytics with the threes and layups, but we’re basketball players at the same time, we work on our games. Sometimes you can’t get to the rim, you just can’t. There’s a…
Jacque Vaughn when asked about his thoughts on Mikal Bridges' mid-range success:
“We’ll keep looking at the percentages… I’m learning more about him, what shots he likes to get to. If they’re going in we love them, but we do wanna have a profile of really getting to the rim and…
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Mikal Bridges has scored 30+ in three games with the Nets after doing it twice his entire career in Phoenix. And he said tonight that he felt the trade came at a great time:
“I think when I got traded, it was kind of at the right time. Because when everyone was out in Phoenix, I…
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Mikal Bridges reacts to receiving MVP chants from Nets fans:
“It’s crazy. I obviously wasn’t expecting that... It’s just a lot of love man. That’s the biggest thing I take away from being here is just the love from the city and the fans. Even when I’m home or walking around…
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Harden effort thread because I watched the film back and, my god, it's pathetic.
Clip 1: just blatantly not caring.
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Asked Lonnie Walker what he’s looking for in free agency:
“I’m just looking for a home… Just looking for a team that finds me valuable. [I want to be] an important piece for a team that can consistently play… We’ll see how things go.”
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I asked Jacque Vaughn what the biggest challenge of trying to harness Cam Thomas’ elite scoring at the NBA level has been:
“I wish the score was 134 Brooklyn Nets, 105 Philadelphia. I think that part helps. The goal is you win as a team. So 46 points is great but we end up…
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Jacque Vaughn when asked if he was surprised Damian Lillard was sitting courtside:
"I didn't even know... What was that about? If ya'll got something let me know now!"
😂😂😂😂
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KD speaks on his relationship with Kyrie following his surprise trade request:
“I’m disappointed that we didn’t finish the season, but I also know that we’re all our separate entities, we all move and do the things that we wanna do for our careers. I can’t fault somebody for…
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Mikal Bridges on being drafted and traded by 76ers:
“That was the biggest thing all of my senior year was Philly has the 10th pick, they’ll be dumb if they don’t get Mikal... It was just set up for me to go home.”
"I walk out of there and they told me the news and I was…
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Nic Claxton says he was "robbed" of being on the All-Defense team last season and his name disappeared once KD and Kyrie were traded:
"When KD and Kyrie left, it's like my name just fell off the map. It makes my blood boil... My numbers were amazing, I passed the eye test. I…
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Cam Thomas reacts to Kevin Durant saying he doesn't want a tribute video from the Nets:
“KD just be trolling… I’m sure they’ll give him one. He did a lot here… He just be trolling. Don’t listen to Kevin.”
😂😂😂😂
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Sixers put a graphic on the jumbotron telling fans to chant MVP when Joel Embiid is at the line.
Kinda weak if you ask me. That stuff should be organic.
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Kyrie Irving waits to congratulate Kevin Durant after a historic 53-point effort.
They hug on the court and make their way to the locker room. What a game.
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Jacque Vaughn when asked if he feels Kyrie is letting the team down:
"I think you have a responsibility as a basketball player, like I do as a coach. I show up, I do my job every single day, that's what I signed up for, and that's my expectation for one through seventeen."
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Joel Embiid is an incredible player but flops and flailing like this against guys 50+ pounds lighter than him are a regular occurrence.
If you’re gonna do this don’t talk about the other team “begging for fouls” in your postgame presser.
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Asked Jacque Vaughn if he considered going to Cam Thomas with the Nets struggling to score:
"If I felt like we were struggling to get looks, maybe that could be an answer. But I thought that we got looks, and I thought that they were makable shots. Is Cam on the back of my…
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🚨 Nic Claxton corner three 🚨
(This will be my last post before Nets Twitter causes the servers to crash)
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NBA Commissoner Adam Silver was on ESPN this morning saying the NYC vax mandate is odd and he could see Eric Adams changing it.
This is massive for Kyrie Irving. First time the league has voiced this opinion.
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Ben Simmons after going scoreless on just 3 shots in tonight’s loss:
“I think I’m giving the ball up way too many times when I know who I am, I know I need to get to the rim and get buckets.“
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The Nets have cleverly leaned into using T.J. Warren as a screener for KD and Kyrie.
If teams double or shade heavily to Durant or Irving, Warren has made them pay using his 3-point shot or array of moves in the mid-range.
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Cam Johnson on Joel Embiid remaining in the game:
"I don't really get it. I thought precedent was set a day or so ago... I thought that was a surefire one. Literally exessive and unantural and not basketball-like. I thought it hit all those. I guess they saw it differently."
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Mikal Bridges after scoring a career-high 45 points:
"Defense always comes first. I'm still kinda mad that I gave up a couple buckets there... That's just who I am. I just think defense wins championships."
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KD said he didn't know what was going on ahead of Kyrie's trade demand. Added that not finishing the season was "tough for him to stomach":
"I was upset that we couldn’t finish. I thought that we had some good momentum. We were finally building the culture that we always wanted.…
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Mikal Bridges' 461 points in March are the 2nd-most scored by a Net during a month in franchise history, trailing only Kevin Durant (471). His reaction:
“I’ve been watching KD since I was a kid, he’s been one of my favorite players. He’s arguably one of the best scorers ever...…
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Spencer Dinwiddie on his first game back as a Net:
“It was weird. It was funny cause in the first half when Joe was raining threes, it clicked like, yo that was just like it used to be.”
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Yuta Watanabe: "We have so many guys that can create 1 on 1. So if I stay corner, they know I'm a good shooter, so they're not gonna leave me. That creates space for them. If they don't leave, they can attack. If they do leave, I'm wide open and I just make (the) shot. Simple."
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Mikal Bridges when asked if he knew Damian Lillard would be attending Game 3:
"I know people."
Cam Johnson said he knows Lillard and Bridges "are close."
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Kevin Durant on the Nets:
“I want the best for that organization. I wanted the best for us every game. I hated it had to go down like that. I wasn’t trying to prove the Nets is a s—ty organization. I was trying to prove that the Nets are a great organization, that they care…
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It’s fairly obvious there’s still something going on with Ben Simmons physically.
I mean look at this.
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Nic Claxton posted the play where Giannis appeared to swing him to the ground on Instagram.
“Is this basketball?” he asked in a poll.
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Kevin Durant requested a trade to the Suns Monday in a meeting with Sean Marks, sources told
@wojespn
and
@ramonashelburne
.
"This was to stay a private appeal. Durant didn't want a bidding war and days of being the target of intense speculation and online obsession."
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This is the play Ben Simmons had yet to make this season: Initiating and finishing through contact towards the rim.
This breakout is starting to look for real.
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Apparently Chris Paul gifted Mikal Bridges a Nets football helmet.
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Kevin Ollie said Cam Thomas "gave him the biggest hug ever" after today's practice.
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Kevin Ollie on UConn winning back-to-back national championships:
“They gotta make us a blue blood now. They keep trying to keep us out… We’ve been running this thing for 30 years and everybody knows it.”
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Kevin Durant called out Montrezl Harrell for his quote on Nic Claxton:
“Come on Montrezl, you was talking crazy… You not like that. You’re an enforcer as a basketball player, but you’re not that guy. Clax is having a good year, come on.”
(Via The ETCs podcast)
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I think people sometimes forget that this was a thing. The 2020-21 Nets were insane.
People will laugh at Brooklyn's failed big three, but you give your franchise that opportunity 10 times out of 10 IMO.
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Kevin Durant was surprised by Kyrie Irving's trade request per
@wojespn
.
Said the entire organization, including KD, was caught off guard.
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Kyrie Irving on the Antisemitic film he promoted:
“Some of the inaccuracies in there about the Jewish community were unfortunate.”
Once again reiterated that he did not agree with everything in the film.
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It’s absolutely insane that this is the same guy playing for the Nets.
The acceleration and bounce Simmons shows on these plays isn’t there right now, and that’s clearly tanked his confidence/aggressiveness.
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Kyrie on being guarded by Pat Beverley:
“A few times I missed shots and he’s like, ‘That’s off!!! I told you he was gon miss!!!’ And I’m just looking at him like, the objective is to win Patrick. I’m not gonna get into this.”
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This clip of KD talking about Ben Simmons yelling at him after he passed up a backdoor dunk in Portland is hilarious:
“Joe missed the shot and I look up and Ben was like ‘Dunk the f***ing ball!’”
Simmons' mindset has done a complete 180.
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Cam Thomas on Kyrie Irving's trade request:
"Everyone was surprised, but that's not my business. That's still my brother at the end of the day. He's one of the few guys who I really consider a brother in basketball. Just a big brother who I can look up to and ask anything to."
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I asked Mikal Bridges if he sees value in such an efficient performance in his first playoff game as a lead option:
"None of that s*** matters when you lose. It feels good to make some shots, but I'd rather miss shots and win, so it's whatever."
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James Harden thinks he’s entitled to an easy ring because he carried the load in Houston for years.
He’s so far down that rabbit hole that some early adversity made him quit. We’re not even at the All-Star break. Despicable behavior.
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It looked like Mikal Bridges aimed his three-point celebration at Damian Lillard, who is sitting courtside.
Lillard recently named Bridges as one of his two favorite players to watch.
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James Harden was asked if Kyrie remaining unvaccinated led to him forcing his way out of BKN:
“The reason I made that decision to get out of my comfort zone which was to leave Houston and do everything that I did to get out of there was to come here and play with KD and Kyrie.…
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NBA top scorers age 25 or younger:
1. Luka Doncic: 31.6 – 24 yrs
2. Jayson Tatum: 30.5 – 25 yrs
3. Cam Thomas: 28.7 – 22 yrs
4. Anthony Edwards: 28.2 – 22 yrs
5. Desmond Bane: 26.6 – 25 yrs
6. Shai Gilg-Alexander: 25.7 – 25 yrs
7. Tyrese Maxey: 25.5 – 23 yrs
8. Tyrese…
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When was the last time a player hit three-straight threes in under a minute?
Incredible heat check from KD to close the 3rd last night.
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Ben Simmons on his Nets teammates rallying around him tonight:
“This is probably one of the best teams in terms of friendships that I’ve been a part of. Everyone gets along, we don’t have egos... For me to be able to be in an environment like this is amazing... So I'm happy."
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Asked Jacque Vaughn if he felt the Nets' struggles securing offensive rebounds and 50/50 balls were due to fatigue after doubling Embiid and rotating:
“Man, you cannot be tired at this time of the year. That is like an underlined excuse right there, That is underlined. No…
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Reporting on KD, Kyrie trades shows the difference in how Nets felt about them:
Kyrie fueled constant off-court drama and was not there for the team, Tsai didn't want to give him what he wanted (LA).
KD showed up to work and played hard, Nets worked with him to get him to PHX.
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Kyrie Irving with absolute ice in his veins for a game winner.
Stepback. Jumper. Nothin but net.
What a win for Brooklyn. 12th in 15 games.
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Dorian Finney-Smith on his father seeing him play in person tonight for the first time ever:
“I try not to make it more than what it is, but it's definitely important. I'm human, so I can't say I ain't gonna think about it. But it's gonna be fun... My momma talks a lot of…
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Jacque Vaughn on his team ahead of the playoffs:
"You look at teams seven, eight, nine, ten, they have an All-Star, or multiple All-Stars on their team. And this sixth seed, the Brooklyn Nets, we did it in a very competitive and collective way as a group, as a team. And…
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Seth Curry with high praise for KD’s leadership during Brooklyn’s turnaround:
“Honestly it starts with seven. Seven bringing the good mindset to the team, never complaining about the stuff that’s going on, working hard, being unselfish, and guys are just following that lead.”
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The contrast between KD and Kyrie's introductory press conferences says a lot about what they were like individually during their time in Brooklyn.
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Cam Thomas on his clutch free-throws with three seconds remaining:
"They're free-throws, I was gonna make those... That's nothing."
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This has to be some of the most ridiculous shot-making you will ever see in high-pressure moments.
Just an absolute whale of a 4th quarter from Kyrie Irving tonight.
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Mikal Bridges said he was joking around with Nets employees at Barclays days before the KD trade:
"I was f***ing around like, 'This is my home', then I get f***ing traded 2 days later... I'm dapping the employees up like, 'Imma see you bruh, imma be back here in a couple days.'"…
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The Grizzlies are exploring trade opportunities to help Tyus Jones land a full-time starting position elsewhere, per
@JakeLFischer
.
Memphis is prioritizing upgrading its wing depth. Jones is a name to watch for the Nets, who need guard help and can offer DFS or Royce O'Neale.
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Source tells me Kevin Love and Kevin Durant will be rooming together during Olympic training camp in Las Vegas.
Also adds that the Nets are at the top of Love’s list in the event he is bought out.
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Nic Claxton when asked if the team is playing a different style without Kyrie:
“Nah. I feel like once we get him back, the way we’re playing right now, it’s going to break the game wide open. He can adapt to any system, and you know, that’s 30 points we’re missing out there.”
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The Nets' offense today:
Mikal Bridges
And a little Cam Johnson. That's it.
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Stan Van Gundy not knowing what “spittin” means here is one of the funnier things you’ll see today.
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No Nic Claxton on the All-Defense teams.
Clax led the NBA in stocks (steals + blocks) with 254. Also guarded the most isolations in the league, allowing 0.79 points per possessions on those plays.
2022-23 NBA All-Defensive teams:
First team: Jaren Jackson Jr., Brook Lopez, Alex Caruso, Evan Mobley, Jrue Holiday
Second team: Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, Dillon Brooks, Draymond Green, Derrick White
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James Harden wants to be traded to the Clippers, per
@TheSteinLine
.
"The Sixers were clearly not prepared to spend as lavishly in free agency on Harden as The Beard had hoped, and now he wants out... Now he wants to team up with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in Clipperland."
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Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson on their nickname "The Twins":
"Everything we did, we did together. We worked out together, we chilled, ate, watched film... Deandre Ayton gave us that nickname cause we do everything together, and three and a half years later we're stuck with it."
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Lots of clapping and yelling coming from the Nets locker room.
Jacque Vaughn is fired up.
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Cam Johnson on his contract decision this summer:
“I’ve talked to the people here a little bit in terms of how the season went and what the future could look like. The people in this organization I believe are very high-quality people... That is not lost upon me. I take that…
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Nic Claxton getting some coaching on free throws.
You still see the extended pause at the top of his stroke. That wasn’t there early this season.
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The Nets offered Kyrie Irving a 4-year max contract with 2 years guaranteed and triggers for years 3 and 4 based on the games played in the first 2 years per
@ShamsCharania
.
That’s an extremely fair offer that shows Brooklyn was negotiating in good faith.
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Kevin Durant on Jacque Vaughn’s quick timeouts after defensive miscues:
“I love when he does that. It just keeps us on point… I love the sense of urgency. As a player I appreciate that.”
KD says it has been helpful to review the mistakes on the tablet in the huddle.
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Jalen Rose sums up the Kyrie situation to quiet Stephen A:
“When you’re a team that’s depleted, and you’re seeing guys like Isaiah Thomas and Joe Johnson being signed, and you have a chance to bring back Kyrie Irving, you do it.”
Fairly simple.
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Brooklyn's full return for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving:
Mikal Bridges
Spencer Dinwiddie
Cam Johnson
Dorian Finney-Smith
Jae Crowder
5 first-round picks
1 swap
2 second-round picks
A disappointing end to the era that never was.
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Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson will have an introductory press conference at 4:45 before tonight’s game.
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I really feel for all the Nets fans who will wake up to this news in a few hours.
You all deserve better, much better.
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I will say having watched the film that Kyrie posted:
The statement, “I cannot be antisemitic if I know where I come from” is in line with the film’s rhetoric and I’d argue it’s the basis for its blatant antisemitism.
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KD said he’s relaxed watching the games while out and joked that the game is on mute:
“I'm just taking in each play. No disrespect, I love Megan, but the game is on mute. Ruocco, and I love my guys, Sarah, I love y'all, but it's usually on mute. But not too animated at all.”
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Goran Dragic played 11 minutes in the 1st half last night. In that time:
16 points
7/10 shooting
Nash only played him 9 MINUTES in the 2nd half. The team was imploding, desperate for a steadying force and playmaker.
Fireable offense.
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Just heard a young Knicks fan tell his friend:
“Done with the Knicks, I’m officially a Nets fan.”
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Kevin Durant on his decision to request a trade to Phoenix at the deadline:
“I was thinking about who’s in the building, then when s*** started happening. We’re not playing well. Kai requested a trade. It felt like a lot of s*** wasn’t happening for us. But I was locked in. I…
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Cam Thomas on finding out about Jacque Vaughn being fired:
"I thought it was like a prank or something, then Sean [Marks] called and informed me. It's unfortunate... You don't wanna see nobody lose their job at the end of the day. It's tough."
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Nets using Simmons as a screener for KD in new camp footage. Something they should be doing a lot with KD and Kyrie handling.
Going to put a ton of stress on opposing P&R coverages with 7/11’s pull-up three/mid-range game + Ben’s ability to pass out of short roll.
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I just listened to Windhorst discussing Russ, THT, and a 1st for Kyrie + Joe Harris.
And his follow-up question was: “If you’re LA, are you willing to give up ALL of that?”
I felt like I was going insane.
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The Brooklyn Nets having 6 three-and-D wings after playing 90% of the last 4 years with 2+ undersized guards on the floor.
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Jacque Vaughn said he touched base with every Nets player yesterday to see how they were doing.
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Ben Simmons reacts to the hostility of the crowd during his third game back in Philadelphia:
“It’s funny to me. Like, I got grown men pissed off and yelling at me.”
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It didn't take long for T.J. Warren to flash his defensive capabilities last night.
He had Scottie Barnes in jail on this possession.
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Sidenote: The Nets got sued over these Coogi uniforms but they’re definitely the best of the Brooklyn era.
This court-jersey combo was so clean…
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Missed Tyler Herro, who should be 8th ahead of Tyrese Haliburton at 25.3 PPG and 23 years old.
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