East Notes: Nets, Noah Clowney, Pacers, injuries, Heat

Nets

Noah Clowney has a little more job security and seemingly a lot more confidence.

The Nets exercised the fourth-year option on his rookie deal this week, locking in his $5.41 million salary for the 2026-27 season.

“It feels good to know they believe in me,” Clowney told The New York Post’s Brian Lewis. “It means they see me as some form of a long-term piece. That means a lot.”

Head coach Jordi Fernandez plans to use a 10-man rotation, according to Lewis, though that could leave rookies Nolan Traore and Drake Powell spending time in the G League early in the season for extra minutes and development.

Pacers

Indiana’s bad luck at point guard continues.

Andrew Nembhard left Thursday’s double-overtime loss to the Thunder with left shoulder soreness and will undergo further testing, head coach Rick Carlisle said.

“We’ll find out more (over the weekend),” Carlisle said, via Fieldhouse Files’ Scott Agness. “He’s going to get some tests done. But this is going to potentially present some big challenges.”

The Pacers are already dealing with a thin backcourt, with multiple guards banged up to start the season.

Heat

Even in defeat, Erik Spoelstra liked what he saw.

Miami dropped its opener to the Magic, but Spoelstra indicated that he saw flashes of a faster, more dynamic offense than last season.

“I don’t want to take too much of a moral victory on this,” Spoelstra said, via The Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang. “But I see a blueprint for us. There are things that are going to get better as we spend more time together.”

The Heat still have work to do on execution, but Spoelstra believes the foundation is there, and that’s a start.