Here’s some of the latest news & notes from around the ‘Net:
- In what he’s calling “The Jay-Z rule,” Zach Lowe of Grantland reports that the NBA will no longer allow NBA owners that purchase less than 1 percent of the team. Jay-Z’s ownership stake was roughly 0.16 percent of the Nets, and was transferred to Jason Kidd. It’s not immediately clear what would happen to owners who already own less than 1 percent of a franchise.
- Citing “multiple league sources,” NetsDaily reports that the Nets are looking at a return to the D-League, perhaps bringing a team into Brooklyn itself. The Nets were affiliated with the Springfield Armor up until this season, when their agreement ran out and the Armor’s base was moved to Grand Rapids to serve as the Pistons D-League affiliate. The Nets are currently one of 13 teams sharing a “hybrid affiliate” with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. As long as they ditch “Dude With Bucket On Head” for good.
- Per Bovada, Mason Plumlee has the longest odds to win the Slam Dunk Contest of the four contestants, at 6-1.
- Jason Kidd is loading up on former Nets. The Bucks signed Jorge Gutierrez (traded & released earlier this year) and former New Jersey Nets great Kenyon Martin, who Kidd played with in the few golden years New Jersey had. With Deron Williams out and their other point guards struggling, the Nets could use Gutierrez right now.
- Barclays Center has teamed up with Long Island University to bring entertainment to Brooklyn Paramount Theatre, owned by LIU. The agreement includes boxing, music, and comedy, as well as the “NBA House,” a fan hub that will provide “an interactive basketball experience on its full-size court and will include appearances from NBA legends.”
- Some interesting notes on the Nets from Ben Alamar of ESPN Stats & Info that show two big keys to the Nets offense: hitting the offensive glass, and Joe Johnson shooting three-pointers. The latter is obvious — Johnson is the only healthy Nets player hitting threes at an above-average clip — but the former is an interesting note that could lend credence to Hollins’s bigger lineups.
- A former New York Islanders player thinks it’s “sad” the Islanders are leaving Nassau Coliseum for Barclays Center next year. On a related note, this is quite the eulogy of the arena, “a mosquito trapped in amber.”
