Latest news with #NolanTraoré
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Speedy Nets rookie Nolan Traore off to fast start in summer league
LAS VEGAS — The Nets added an NBA-record five first-round picks last month, four of whom suited up and made their summer league debuts Thursday. It's no surprise the one who adjusted the quickest is the one who plays the quickest: lightning-fast Nolan Traoré, one of the highlights in an opening 90-81 loss to OKC. The French point guard was the only Nets rookie to crack double figures with 13 points, three assists, three rebounds and several quick bursts into the lane. He was even fighting through an early ankle injury while shaking off first-game jitters. 'That was a little bit hard because I rolled my ankle really early. … It took awhile. You've got to go into it quickly and be ready. So it wasn't that long,' Traoré said. 'I was a little bit [sore] on the break with the ankle. But it's all right. I'll be right back on Sunday.' Traoré twisted his ankle and gave way to Ben Saraf with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter and the Nets down 8-4. By the time he came back in for the Israeli guard, they trailed 24-18 with 8:20 left in the half. The speedster finished as the only Net with a positive plus-minus. 'I think his speed translates very well,' said Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, who is coaching summer league. 'We definitely put him in some actions where he could throw it and get it back and try to attack the rim. I thought he handled himself well with the physicality. I think, for all of our rookies, that's something that's gonna come over time. Getting in the weight room and their bodies maturing. So I look forward to that.' While Egor Demin was the Nets' first lottery pick since 2010 and played point guard at BYU, it was Traoré who found himself largely shouldering lead guard duties. 'It was just game flow. So whoever gets the ball, whoever is the closest is going to get it,' Traoré said. 'And we don't mind if it's me or him. We just play. 'I don't care who brings the ball up. We just want to play because, as you say, there's multiple guys who can handle the ball, so we don't care who. We just play through it.' Dariq Whitehead isn't playing in summer league. He told The Post it was the result of a discussion that his agents at Excel Sports had with general manager Sean Marks in an effort to get him through his injuries and 100 percent ready for the regular season. 'Absolutely, me coming to play, obviously at the end of last season I was getting ready to prepare for summer league,' Whitehead said. 'And then with the way I finished last season, it was just something that I guess my agent talked to Sean about and they were [thinking] more so get my body ready and prepare for training camp and next season.' The Nets renounced the free agent rights to Day'Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, per Spotrac. They'll be re-signed, either both via cap space or one via the room exception. The Nets have $22.3 million in cap space and could create more by using the room exception, or waiving non-guaranteed players.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brooklyn Nets lose third straight to open Summer League, 97-93, vs. New York Knicks
The Brooklyn Nets were bitten by a funky Las Vegas Summer League schedule, playing one game over the first four days but concluding with a back-to-back. That back-to-back began on Tuesday evening, a date with the New York Knicks. As a result, Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf were resting — with Tosan Evbuomwan and Tyson Etienne out with minor ailments — giving fellow first-round picks Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf a chance to shine, as well as UDFAs Grant Nelson and TJ Bamba. Advertisement Saraf had a strong start, scoring seven quick points and giving Nets fans the same sell his most ardent believers did before the draft. He is 6'7' with a real handle, and though the outside jumper is a major question, he can eat up space anyway... He scored seven points in the first quarter, but finished with just ___. Mixed in with some impressive drives and a nice pass here and there... ...were a ton of missed shots, as the #26 overall pick shot just 4-of-11 from the field, turning down some open ones as well. Ben Saraf, nor any rookie, can change the trajectory of their career in Summer League, but his strengths and weaknesses seem very clear after his third and possibly final appearance in Vegas. Advertisement While Saraf played 30 minutes, Traoré played just 19. It mostly went like this... As in his first two Summer League games, Traoré is blindingly quick with a downhill handle, but where he'll get his points from remains a mystery. He scored two points on 1-of-8 shooting, missing both of his 3-pointers and occasionally going too fast for his own good. It'll be a while before the #19 overall pick has the strength and craft to consistently finish at the rim. The guard who stood out on Tuesday was New York's Tyler Kolek; the 2024 second-rounder hit five 3-pointers in the first half and controlled every positive possession for the Knicks, who also entered 0-2. Brooklyn's offense could have kept up had they not shot 20% from deep, but alas, they lost steam early in the second half and never recovered. Advertisement Once again, they featured a whole hell of a lot of Drew Timme, who led the team with 24 points on 8-of-19 shooting... Some of his buckets were delectable, but at some point, watching the soon-to-be 25-year-old take over most every possession in the second half with Traoré sitting on the bench and Grant Nelson sitting in the corner got old. Nelson, for his part, passed up too many 3-point opportunities and turned it over four times, but he shot 3-of-4 with three steals. In a word: fine. The most impressive Net was Caleb Daniels, the 26-year-old former Villanova guard who put up 16/9/2 in 27 minutes. At 26, he probably should be one of the best players on the floor in Summer League, but he was. Minor applause. Advertisement Alas, the Summer League Nets, missing four of their guys, dropped their third straight game to open play. They kinda just ran out of talent, not effort, with MarJon Beauchamp matching Kolek's 25 points and the rest of the team making just enough 3-pointers. Brooklyn has just one game left in Sin City before the true quiet of the offseason arrives. Maybe that's not such a bad thing. Final Score: New York Knicks 97, Brooklyn Nets 93 Egor, you may now see the Shot Doctor Perhaps the most entertaining part of Tuesday's broadcast was an in-depth breakdown of Egor Dëmin's oft-discussed outside shot. Former NCAA coach and certified basketball lover Tom Crean broke down Dëmin's jumper, and why he expects the Russian teenager to blossom into a prolific shooter... Injury Report As expected, both Ben Saraf and Nolan Traoré will miss Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic. However, Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported that Traoré does have a minor injury... Next Up 2025 NBA Rookie Photo Shoot With Egor Dëmin and Danny Wolf likely back in the fold, the Brooklyn Nets wrap up their Las Vegas Summer League experience against the Orlando Magic on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Advertisement More from
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Nets sign 19th overall pick Nolan Traoré to rookie scale contract
French guard Nolan Traoré, the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, signed his rookie-scale contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, the team announced. Traoré was the Champions League Best Young Player after averaging 12.2 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 44 appearances with Saint-Quentin in France. He registered seven 20-point games, including a 25-point effort on May 9. Advertisement He will make $3,811,560 next season, according to Spotrac. The 19-year-old put himself on the radar after a great offseason last year, representing France in the Nike Hoop Summit and FIBA U18 EuroBasket. He averaged 14 points, 9.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds on 42.9% shooting from 3-point range as France finished fifth in Finland. Traoré was highly touted entering the draft because of his potential to be an elite playmaker at the next level. He plays with excellent court vision, often flourishing by running offenses against high-level competition due to his instincts and passing ability. The 6-foot-4 standout is among a crowded draft class for the Nets, joining Egor Demin (eighth pick), Drake Powell (22nd pick), Ben Saraf (26th pick) and Danny Wolf (27th pick). With the exception of Powell, who is pending a trade with Atlanta, they have each signed their contracts. Advertisement Traoré will suit up with the Nets for at least five games in the NBA Summer League, beginning on July 10 against the Oklahoma City Thunder (5:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN2). This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Nolan Traoré: Nets sign 19th overall pick to rookie scale contract
USA Today
05-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Nets sign 19th overall pick Nolan Traoré to rookie scale contract
French guard Nolan Traoré, the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft, signed his rookie-scale contract with the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, the team announced. Traoré was the Champions League Best Young Player after averaging 12.2 points, 4.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 44 appearances with Saint-Quentin in France. He registered seven 20-point games, including a 25-point effort on May 9. He will make $3,811,560 next season, according to Spotrac. The 19-year-old put himself on the radar after a great offseason last year, representing France in the Nike Hoop Summit and FIBA U18 EuroBasket. He averaged 14 points, 9.3 assists and 3.6 rebounds on 42.9% shooting from 3-point range as France finished fifth in Finland. Traoré was highly touted entering the draft because of his potential to be an elite playmaker at the next level. He plays with excellent court vision, often flourishing by running offenses against high-level competition due to his instincts and passing ability. The 6-foot-4 standout is among a crowded draft class for the Nets, joining Egor Demin (eighth pick), Drake Powell (22nd pick), Ben Saraf (26th pick) and Danny Wolf (27th pick). With the exception of Powell, who is pending a trade with Atlanta, they have each signed their contracts. Traoré will suit up with the Nets for at least five games in the NBA Summer League, beginning on July 10 against the Oklahoma City Thunder (5:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN2).
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NBA Draft 2025: Brooklyn Nets break record by using all 5 of their first-round picks
The Brooklyn Nets were in full control of the NBA Draft on Wednesday night. But, instead of striking some sort of deal with their ridiculous amount of draft capital, they opted to set a record instead. Advertisement The Nets used all five of their first-round picks in the draft Wednesday night, breaking a record for the most picks used by one team in a single round of the draft. The Minnesota Timberwolves held the previous mark with the four they used in the 2009 NBA Draft to select Ricky Rubio, Jonny Flynn, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington. Here's a look at how the Nets used all five of their picks: No. 8: Egor Demin, BYU No. 19: Nolan Traoré, Saint Quentin No. 22: Drake Powell, North Carolina No. 26: Ben Saraf, Ratiopharm Ulm No. 27: Danny Wolf, Michigan The Nets also hold the rights to the No. 36 overall pick, too. They acquired several picks in trades over the years, and then they picked up their sixth pick in this draft on Tuesday in a deal with the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. Advertisement Their top pick, Denim, averaged 10.6 points and 5.5 assists per game last season at BYU. The 6-foot-9 guard out of Russia seems willing to do whatever it takes to help the Nets right away, too. 'I was playing all my life a point guard, so I see myself as a point guard,' Denim said, via the New York Post's Brian Lewis. 'But I'm also willing to do whatever it takes to bring success to the team and impact the game in a good way. If coach wants me to be a center, I'll be a center. I have no problem with that. I just know that I'm a playmaker.' The Nets' draft room was full of energy when it was shown on the broadcast Wednesday night, so clearly they are committed to this rebuilding strategy. The team went 26-56 last season and missed the playoffs for a second straight campaign. Jordi Fernández just finished his first season as the team's head coach, though he's the fourth man to hold the job over the past three seasons. It's going to take more than just a motivated Demin and a new young core to fix the Nets. And, with how they went about it, this is clearly a long-term play. But it's a good place to start.
