A 3-and-D wing who won’t turn 29 till October is the Nets senior player. What’s in store for the Brooklyn native.
Terance Mann is the son of immigrants from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia who was born in Brooklyn 28 years ago. For the first 11 years of his life, he lived close to where Barclays Center stands today. He remembers asking his mother, Daynia La-Force. who worked up the street as an LIU assistant women’s coach, what all the fuss was about at Flatbush and Atlantic.
“I used to walk around the area before Barclays was even built. I used to be around there, walking around, always asking, like, ‘What are they building here?’ My mom’s like ‘I think Jay-Z is bringing the Nets from New Jersey.’ That was the talk in Brooklyn at the time. So, it’s just crazy to be able to see it.”
By the time Barclays Center opened in September 2012, Mann and his family had relocated to Lowell, Massachusetts, but now that the trade winds have brought him to BK, he’s happy to be back.
“Great. Man, it’s just crazy to think about. I grew up around there.” he told Nets writers in Las Vegas, still able to recite his routine. “(I remember) just walking around. I went to school around the area. I would always go to Juniors, get some cheesecake; just different random stuff, playing with friends, walking around with my little brother while my mom was in practice, and just being at LIU Brooklyn a lot. Those are really my main memories.”
Mann is somewhat of a freebie. In return for lending some cap space to the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks in the three-team Kristaps Porzingis trade, the Brooklyn Nets got Mann and the 22nd first rounder in last month’s Draft, which became 6’7” UNC wing Drake Powell. Going the other way: a reported $1.1 million in cash considerations — no draft picks, two-way deal or even a draft stash. Brooklyn is responsible for the remainder of his contract, $47.0 million over the next three years.
The 6’5” wing thinks he’ll be worth it, both on the court and in the locker room. The Nets are likely to be the NBA’s youngest team with seven players between 19 and 21 and Mann the oldest player on the roster.
“For sure. I’m the oldest on the team. Yeah, so definitely,” said Mann of a mentor role. “It’s definitely new for me coming from the Clippers, where guys were a lot older than me. So, it’s an adjustment for me, for sure. But I’m excited to embrace the journey, taking these guys under my wing, showing them how to be professionals.”
Indeed, the Clippers are likely to be the oldest team in the NBA after agreeing to take on Bradley Beal following his buyout from the Phoenix Suns. Mann’s time with the Clippers was a bit up-and-down.
After he averaged a career-high 10.8 points in 2021-22 and played sharp defense for a Clippers team that made the Western Conference finals, In the next two years, his production dropped slightly but he was the Clips ironman, playing all but eight games. Indeed, he started 71 of 75 games in 2022-23. In September of last year, he signed his $47 million extension which kicked in this month.
At the beginning of last season, he lost his rotation spot in L.A. and was traded to Atlanta at the deadline. While with the Hawks, he had a bit of a resurgence, averaging 9.8 points on 54/39/67 splits in 30 games (but only one start.)
You’d think the Nets want Mann to be their next DeMarre Carroll also 3-and-D wing who they acquired in 2017 along with a first and second in the 2018 draft for nothing more than journeyman Justin Hamilton. Carroll who was 31 and owed $30 million over two at the time of that trade became a big contributor to the Nets during their first rebuild, averaging 12.3 points and 5.3 boards in 140 games including 81 starts.
Where Mann fits in is TBA. There could be a bit of a roster crunch. As Brian Lewis mentioned Wednesday, “Mann can get minutes at the 2 or 3. But with the Nets have a plethora of rookies to groom on the perimeter — Powell, Egor Demin, Ben Saraf” — as well as Dariq Whitehead and three wings who remain non-guaranteed —Tyrese Martin, Keon Johnson and Jalen Wilson.
Mann was asked how he expects to contribute to the rebuilding Nets.
“Just lead as best I can, that’s really one of the main focuses I’m going to try and take on with this group,” said Mann. “And then on the court, whatever coach wants me to do, I’m going to do. I’ve always been that type of player. So just being excited for it.”
And he’ll have family members to celebrate his return home.
- New Net Terance Mann returns home to a very different Brooklyn – Brian Lewis – New York Post