It’s official– the NBA is coming back and will resume in Orlando. Unfortunately, the Brooklyn Nets — among other teams — will not be at 100%. The superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will not participate due to injuries/personal reasons. The team also announced rookie Nicolas Claxton will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing arthroscopic labrum surgery on his left shoulder.
Add another player to the list of not playing upon the resumption of the season. When Brooklyn’s season resumes on July 31st against the Magic, the team will be without the services of power forward Wilson Chandler. The decision was not easy, but he stated that the health and well-being of his family was a priority.
Here’s the full list (so far) with rationale of Nets that won’t be with the team in Orlando:
- Kevin Durant (injury)
- Kyrie Irving (injury)
- DeAndre Jordan (personal)
- Wilson Chandler (personal)
- Nic Claxton (injury)
- Theo Pinson (waived)
- Spencer Dinwiddie (illness)
- Taurean Prince (illness)
Taurean Prince is the latest Net to opt out of the NBA’s restart– making him the 8th player that won’t finish the 2019-2020 season with the team. Prince recently tested positive for coronavirus.
(Kind of) New Additions
The Nets didn’t take long to try and patch their roster holes, inking both Tyler Johnson and Justin Anderson. Four years after signing a four-year, $50 million offer sheet from the Nets, Tyler Johnson is finally where he belongs. The signing can best be described as low-risk and high-reward. If all goes well, Johnson could play himself onto the team next season with the team competing for a championship. Brooklyn’s original plan was to add his young talent to a talent-less team. Now, he can help them win instead.
At the time of Johnson’s addition, the Nets didn’t have a open regular or replacement roster slot, so they opted to part ways with Theo Pinson, though later finding out that both Wilson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan would not be participating in the restart– thus opening two replacement slots. The chances of Pinson remaining on the team beyond this season were slim, but had they known of the future withdrawals, he likely could have remained on the team.
Pinson was later claimed off waivers by the Knicks.
Familiar Face
Justin Anderson, too, has previous ties with the team. He originally signed a 10-day contract with Brooklyn in late January but was later released. While his previous tenure was with Kenny Atkinson as head coach, the system should remain relatively similar under interim head coach Jacque Vaughn.
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