The Nets have officially signed free agent guard Yuri Collins, according to NBA.com’s transactions log.
Sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link) that Collins received a one-year standard contract with a $85,300 partial guarantee and is expected to be released, just like Brooklyn’s recent contract agreements with David Muoka and D’Andre Davis.
A 6’0″ point guard, Collins went undrafted out of St. Louis in 2023 and has spent the past two seasons in the NBAGL with the Santa Cruz Warriors. After a fairly modest role in 2023/24, the 24-year-old’s usage rate nearly doubled in ’24/25, averaging 13.7 points, 10.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 49 combined games (32.2 minutes per contest). He posted a shooting line of .412/.264/.780.
Collins, who led the G League in assists per game (10.8) last regular season, signed a 10-day deal with Golden State in February and made his NBA debut that month, appearing in two games.
For G League purposes, the deals for Collins, Davis and Muoka will essentially function like Exhibit 10 contracts would have, and it’s safe to assume all three players will end up joining the Long Island Nets. The only real difference is that the $85,300 each player is receiving as a partial guarantee will count against the Nets’ cap.
Clubs generally favor Exhibit 10 deals because they don’t want those cap hits on their books, but those small partial guarantees may help ensure that the Nets’ team salary is above the minimum salary floor by opening night. Brooklyn is the only NBA team still operating below the cap.
According to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (Twitter link), Long Island acquired Collins’ returning player rights this offseason, yet another indication that he’ll be headed to the NBAGL in 2025/26.
Collins is one of those betweener players. Too good for G league but not good enough for the NBA.