BROOKLYN – The trade deadline came and went and not much change happened within the Nets roster. According to the players and Kenny Atkinson, that’s a good thing.
“I like continuity,” Atkinson explained after Friday’s practice. “I like that we have a group of guys that we’ve been working with for a long time.”
Over the past two months, DeMarre Carroll and Joe Harris were the two players who were heavily linked with moves away from Brooklyn. In the end of Thursday, both remained with the Nets. Carroll and Harris are both happy with that outcome.
“I felt good, it was great. It was exciting to see just how much this organization values my leadership on and off the floor,” Carroll said. “All of these young guys, I feel like I’m a big brother to, I built a strong relationship with all of these guys. In the end of the day, I’m just excited to be here and continue to help this team build their culture and keep growing.”
Carroll acknowledged that there was some interest in him, but was adamant that he wanted to stay in Brooklyn. According to the 31-year-old, the feeling was mutual.
“They told me they wanted me here and I wanted to be here and we came to a common ground,” Carroll said. “This is a good place for me to be.”
In Harris’ case, it appeared as if much of the talk around him was mostly speculation. He admits he didn’t let rumors affect him much.
“I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it because a lot of times, the speculation is more built up,” Harris explained. “It’s not necessarily what’s going on behind closed doors.
He added, “I have a lot of trust in my agent, I have a good relationship with Sean [Marks] and Trajan [Langdon] and the rest of the Front Office. I knew if anything were to be happening, they are very good at being transparent with us and talking to us about it.”
While the Nets didn't make any major moves, they added some much-needed depth with the arrival of Dante Cunningham.
“From our perspective, we got a little better and we can keep our group together while improving,” Atkinson said.