Latest news with #Nets
New York Post
7 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Raptors have ‘mutual interest' as Bucks exit rumors ramp up
The Greek Freak has some interest in Canada. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the center of trade talks since the Bucks' season went down in flames in the first round of the playoffs, which included Damian Lillard tearing his Achilles. The Toronto Star's Doug Smith reports that Antetokounmpo and the Raptors have 'mutual interest' and could be a good match in a potential trade. Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Damian Lillard #0 of the Milwaukee Bucks NBAE via Getty Images Smith did qualify the report by adding that the odds are 'long' that the Raptors will outbid the bevy of teams looking to acquire a star player of this quality. Milwaukee, which doesn't control its first-round draft pick until 2031, would need a combination of draft capital and young players to complete any deal for its prized perennial MVP candidate. Antetokounmpo has not officially asked for a trade, but The Post's Brian Lewis reported that he is exploring his options and could opt to force his way out of Milwaukee. The Nets are also a potential landing spot. The Nets would have a tougher time trading for Antetokounmpo than most, despite having more draft picks than just about any team in the NBA. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been the subject of trade rumors. Getty Images Should Antetokounmpo request a trade, a list of teams would likely be sent to the Bucks of who he would like to go to, potentially giving the Raptors or Nets a chance to acquire him even if they aren't a perfect fit. Antetokounmpo, 30, is a two-time MVP and, in 2020, helped the Bucks win their first championship since 1971. Toronto would likely trade most of its draft capital to acquire Antetokounmpo and could look to trade young players RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley. The Golden State Warriors are also widely expected to be in the mix should he leave the Bucks.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 15 - Jamie Walker (1987)
Brooklyn Nets jersey history No. 15 - Jamie Walker (1987) The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the "New Jersey Americans". Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today. To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise's jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. The 17th of those 52 different numbers is jersey No. 15 which has has had a total of 14 players wear the number in the history of the team. The seventh of those players wearing No. 15 played in the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets era, guard alum Jamie Walker. After ending his college career at Virginia Union University, Walker was picked up with the 48th overall selection of the 1987 NBA draft by the Nets. The South Boston, Virginia native would play the only seasons of his NBA career with New Jersey, leaving the league after just nine games when he was cut. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Walker wore only jersey No. 15 and put up 4.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
New York Post
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
NBA's first openly gay player Jason Collins gets married to longtime partner
Former Nets player, and the first openly gay athlete in the NBA, Jason Collins married his longtime partner, Brunson Green, recently. The couple reportedly tied the knot over the Memorial Day weekend in a ceremony in Austin, Texas, after the two had been together for more than a decade. Collins and Green, a Hollywood producer best known for his work on the film 'The Help,' reportedly got engaged in 2023 during Pride Night at a Lakers game. Advertisement 4 Former Nets player, and the first openly gay athlete in the NBA, Jason Collins, married his longtime partner, Brunson Green. Octavia Spencer/Instagram Collins came out in a personal essay for Sports Illustrated in 2013, which made him the first openly gay athlete in a major American team sport. 'When I was younger, I dated women,' he wrote in the essay. 'I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue.' 4 Jason Collins is pictured during a 2014 game for the Nets. AP Advertisement He had started his NBA career in 2001 with the Nets, who were still in New Jersey at the time, where he spent parts of seven seasons with the organization before stints with the Grizzlies, Timberwolves, Hawks and Celtics. Collins returned to the Nets in 2014 for one final run in Brooklyn before retiring that same year. Collins started dating Green in 2014 and described how the two met in a Sports Illustrated interview in 2023, according to The Independent. Advertisement 4 Jason Collins participates in the New York City Pride Parade on June 30th, 2024 NBAE via Getty Images 'I was dating another guy at the time. I didn't see Brunson again until we ran into each other at a party three months later. By that point, I was single again,' he said back then. 'Brunson left for Europe the following day, and, while he was overseas, I asked everyone I knew in LA, 'Have you heard of this guy?'' The ceremony was attended by family and friends, including longtime teammate Richard Jefferson, according to Outsports. 4 Jason Collins and Brunson Green at Apple's 'Visible: Out on Television' screening at The West Hollywood EDITION. Getty Images Advertisement Actress Octavia Spencer also posted a picture on Instagram from the day, in which Viola Davis commented on the post. 'Aaaaahh!!!! Congratulations,' she wrote.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
2025 NBA Draft: Would the Nets be the perfect fit for Dylan Harper?
2025 NBA Draft: Would the Nets be the perfect fit for Dylan Harper? The Brooklyn Nets have some important decisions to make before the 2025 NBA Draft comes around in June and they will have to do something with their five draft picks. Brooklyn will have four picks in the first round, including the eighth overall pick, but it's fair to wonder if a certain Rutgers player would be perfect for the Nets if the team were to select him. Brian Lewis of the New York Post recently said on X to user "Aces" that Rutgers guard Dylan Harper would be the first player taken in most drafts outside of the upcoming 2025 edition. Lewis went on to say that Harper would be "perfect" for the Nets, according to the scouts that he has talked to thus far. In the upcoming Draft, Harper seems to be the consensus second player taken after Duke forward Cooper Flagg and it makes sense given how much hype precedes Flagg. In his latest mock draft for Bleacher Report, Jonathan Wasserman projected Harper to be taken by the San Antonio Spurs with the second overall pick and one would be hard-pressed to find a mock draft that doesn't have Harper off the board by the time the third overall pick comes around. As this relates to the Nets, it's important to note that there are reports suggesting that Brooklyn could attempt to move up in the Draft. However, Lewis himself reiterated that multiple people believe that it's unlikely that the Nets would be able to get the No. 2 pick. Harper, 19, is coming off a freshman season at Rutgers in which he put himself firmly in the top-3 of the Draft after averaging 19.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 48.4% from the field and 33.3% from three-point land. Harper put forth that kind of production while playing alongside forward Ace Bailey, who is widely projected to be taken in the top-4 of June's Draft. While it's considered unlikely that the Nets would be able to get in position to take Harper in the Draft, if Brooklyn were able to get Harper somehow, it's easy to see why he would be perfect for a Nets team that is still looking for its point guard of the future. "The positional size, strength and length are obvious selling points and advantage creators for a ball-handler that can change directions and gears as well as Harper," Wasserman wrote.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Nets work out Colorado State's Nique Clifford ahead of 2025 NBA Draft
Nets work out Colorado State's Nique Clifford ahead of 2025 NBA Draft The Brooklyn Nets head into the 2025 NBA Draft with five picks to use, including four in the first round that could bring them a massive influx of young talent. From now until the Draft late in June, Brooklyn will be trying to get as much intel as possible on prospects and one of those players was recently brought in for a workout ahead of the Draft. The Nets brought in Colorado State forward Nique Clifford for a predraft workout at some point recently, according to a report from Brian Lewis of the New York Post on Thursday. Some of the other notable names that have worked out for Brooklyn already are Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears and Duke forward Kon Knueppel, two players that the Nets could select with the eighth overall pick. Clifford, listed at 6-foot-5 and 202 pounds, is coming off a senior season in which he rose his draft stock immensely after averaging 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 49.6% from the field and 37.7% from three-point land. In the latest mock draft from Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman, Clifford is being taken by the Miami Heat with the 20th overall pick, one spot after the Nets select Michigan State guard Jase Richardson 19th overall. "Nique Clifford should draw interest from teams that are prioritizing prospects that can provide instant minutes and versatility," Wasserman wrote when discussing Clifford. "A 23-year-old won't be for everyone, but between his age, broad shoulders, shotmaking diversity, playmaking IQ, excellent rebounding numbers and experience playing different roles, Clifford should look like an NBA-ready forward with an adaptable game." As Lewis pointed out in his post on X, Clifford is mocked to go anywhere from the back end of the Lottery to 20th overall, meaning that he could be there for the taking by the Nets with the 19th overall pick, assuming that he impressed Brooklyn in his workout. Clifford is an older prospect, but that doesn't change the fact that he presents like the kind of player who could contribute right away for head coach Jordi Fernandez and company.
