Nets Sign Marcus Zegarowski
The Nets have signed guard Marcus Zegarowski, who was drafted with the No. 49 overall pick in 2021, the team announced today in a press release. The terms of the agreement weren’t released. Brooklyn also signed and waived Zegarowski roughly one week ago.
Zegarowski, 24, played 92 games across three collegiate seasons at Creighton leading up to the 2021 draft. He averaged 14.1 points per game, shooting 47% from the floor, 42% from three-point range and 77% from the free throw line.
Zegarowski played with the Nets’ G League affiliate in 2021/22. The 6’2″ guard appeared in eight games, averaging 10.1 points per contest. He shot just 36% during those outings.
We’ll have to wait for clarity on Zegarowski’s situation, but the first contract he signed this offseason was likely his required tender, a non-guaranteed contract the Nets had to offer in order to retain his draft rights. By waiving Zegarowski after he signed that tender, Brooklyn gave up his draft rights. Bringing him back now suggests he may still be in the team’s plans as an affiliate player at Long Island.
Brooklyn has 19 players under contract entering training camp, which includes the team’s two-way players, Alondes Williams and David Duke.
Kemba Walker Likely To Be Away From Pistons To Start Camp
Veteran point guard Kemba Walker will likely be away from the Pistons as they open training camp this week, sources told Shams Charania and James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link). It’s unclear whether Walker is expected to miss the entire camp or only a portion of it.
As Charania and Edwards note, Detroit must waive or trade a player by Oct. 17 to be at the league limit for standard roster spots entering the regular season. That player doesn’t have to be Walker, of course, but at this stage in his career, it would make sense for him to join a contending team if possible.
On the flip side, it makes sense for Detroit to move on from Walker. The team could benefit from his veteran leadership in the off chance he’s interested in staying, but the 32-year-old was acquired in a salary-dump deal and isn’t part of the Pistons’ long-term plans. He’s set to make $9.17MM this season and become a free agent next summer.
A report at the start of free agency indicated that the Pistons and Walker were close to reaching a buyout agreement, but that deal was never formally completed. Subsequent reporting suggested Walker was likely unwilling to give up any money in a buyout until he had lined up a new NBA home.
Walker averaged 11.6 points and 3.5 assists in 25.6 minutes with the Knicks last season, starting in all 37 of his games. He hasn’t played off the bench since four outings during the 2014/15 campaign. While he has been an offensive force throughout his career, Walker’s defense was notably porous with New York. The four-time All-Star must prove he can survive on both ends before earning a significant role with a team again.
Knicks Waive Nuni Omot, Garrison Brooks
The Knicks have waived forwards Nuni Omot and Garrison Brooks, per the team’s public relations department (Twitter link). Both players were signed to Exhibit 10 deals and will head to the club’s G League affiliate, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets.
New York now has 18 players under contract. This includes Feron Hunt and Trevor Keels, who are both signed to two-way contracts. The team will open its training camp this week.
Omot, 6’9, played in Puerto Rico last season. He averaged 15.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists, appearing in 20.1 minutes per game. The 27-year-old went undrafted out of Baylor in 2018.
Brooks, also 6’9″, most recently played at Mississippi State. The 23-year-old held per-game averages of 10.4 points and 6.6 rebounds, shooting 50%. He also played four collegiate seasons at North Carolina.
Atlantic Notes: Barnes, Udoka, Celtics, Knicks, Williams, Nets
After initially being against the Celtics‘ decision to suspend head coach Ime Udoka for the season, former NBA player Matt Barnes has since retracted those comments, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee writes. Barnes says the situation is much worse than he originally realized.
“Last night, I spoke on this Ime Udoka situation without having all the facts, and I think as a part of the media, often the media speaks to something, and when they’re wrong, they won’t come out and say it,” Barnes said.
“Since I’m a part of the media now, and I try not to be like everyone else, I try to report and talk with facts and honesty, and I clearly have to say, last night, without knowing all the facts, I spoke on Ime Udoka’s defense, and after finding out the facts after I spoke, I erased what I posted because this situation in Boston is deep. It’s messy. It’s 100 times uglier than any of us thought.”
Barnes added that it’s not his place to share what he heard. Shams Charania of The Athletic initially reported that Udoka was suspended for having an improper, intimate and consensual relationship with a Celtics female staff member, but later stated that the staffer had accused Udoka of making “unwanted comments” to her.
Here are some other notes from the Atlantic:
- Jeff Zilgitt of USA Today believes Udoka left the Celtics with no other choice but to suspend him. Aside from Udoka violating team guidelines, the news came days after Suns owner Robert Sarver was suspended for one year and fined $10MM for his inappropriate behavior in the workplace. Whether the decision was justified or not, Boston clearly got ahead of the situation and showed it takes its culture seriously.
- The Knicks‘ training camp roster is likely set after some recent adjustments, Zach Braziller of the New York Post writes. New York waived M.J. Walker and Quinton Rose (Exhibit 10 deals) on Friday, signing Nuni Omot and Garrison Brooks in their place. The team also signed veterans Svi Mykhailiuk, Ryan Arcidiacono and DaQuan Jeffries. It has 20 players under contract, including two-way players Feron Hunt and Trevor Keels.
- Brian Lewis of the New York Post examines how rookie Donovan Williams won over the Nets. Brooklyn agreed to sign Williams to an Exhibit 10 contract after the draft. He averaged 12.7 points at UNLV last season, shooting 44% from downtown.
Keldon Johnson Suffers Dislocated Shoulder
Spurs forward Keldon Johnson suffered a dislocated right shoulder during open gym and has started rehabbing, the team announced on Saturday. Johnson will miss the start of the preseason schedule. However, San Antonio expects him to be ready by the time the regular season tips off next month.
Johnson is coming off the best season of his short career. In 75 games, he averaged 17.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, shooting 47% from the floor, 40% from three-point range and 76% from the charity stripe. He also provided versatile defense for San Antonio at 6’6″.
Johnson was drafted No. 29 overall by the Spurs in 2019. He’s widely regarded to be the best player on the team’s young roster, especially after Dejounte Murray was traded to the Hawks in June. The Spurs locked him up to a four-year rookie scale extension earlier this offseason.
In addition to Johnson, the Spurs sport a young core that includes Joshua Primo, Devin Vassell, and 2022 first-rounders Jeremy Sochan, Malaki Branham, and Blake Wesley. San Antonio finished with the 10th-best record in the Western Conference at 33-39 last season.
Clippers Sign Juwan Morgan
The Clippers have signed free agent forward Juwan Morgan ahead of training camp, his agency Edge Sports International announced on social media (Twitter link). The exact terms are still unknown.
Morgan, 25, finished last season as a member of the Celtics. He averaged 12.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the team’s G League affiliate in Maine. Morgan also shot 51% from the floor and 34% from deep, showing an ability to score from all three levels.
Before joining Boston, Morgan went undrafted in 2019 and spent two seasons with the Jazz. He appeared in 50 games across those stints.
Los Angeles currently has 20 players under contract, including Morgan. The team has Moses Brown, Xavier Moon, Michael Devoe and Lucas Williamson on Exhibit 10 deals. Shooting guard Keaton Wallace also signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the club, but he was waived on Friday.
Suns Sign Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
The Suns have signed free agent forward Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, the team announced in a press release today. Phoenix also formally confirmed the signing of Frank Jackson, who reportedly inked a non-guaranteed contract with the team.
Luwawu-Cabarrot averaged 4.4 points and 1.6 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game with the Hawks last season. The terms of his agreement with Phoenix are unknown, but the 24-year-old carries six years of NBA experience.
Before joining Atlanta, Luwawu-Cabarrot made stops with the Sixers, Thunder, Bulls and Nets. He was drafted No. 24 overall by Philadelphia in 2016 after playing four professional seasons in France and Serbia.
Luwawu-Cabarrot recently helped France to a silver-medal finish at EuroBasket 2022. Phoenix’s roster now stands at 18 players, which includes two-way players Duane Washington Jr. and Ish Wainright.
Pelicans Sign Cheatham, Butler; Waive Brockington
The Pelicans have signed forwards Zylan Cheatham and John Butler ahead of training camp, the team announced in a press release today. New Orleans also waived two-way guard Izaiah Brockington.
Cheatham, 26, is a 6″6″ guard who played for the Pelicans’ G League affiliate last season. In 21 outings, he scored 14.0 points per game on 55% shooting from the floor and 38% shooting from distance. He signed a 10-day hardship deal last season and was a two-way player for New Orleans in 2019.
Butler, a 7’2″ center, played four games with the Pelicans during summer league this year. He averaged 8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 16.7 minutes, shooting 12-of-16 from the floor (75%) and 6-of-9 from three-point range (67%). The 19-year-old went undrafted out of Florida State in June.
The Pelicans signed Brockington, a 23-year-old guard who also went undrafted in June, to a two-way deal earlier this month. The team’s roster now stands at 20 players, which includes two-way swingman Dereon Seabron.
Eastern Notes: Sumner, Nets, Morris, Westbrook, Heat, Celtics
Four-year NBA veteran Edmond Sumner is planning to bring grit to the Nets this season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Sumner signed with Brooklyn in free agency this offseason.
At 6’6″, the 26-year-old established himself as a valuable rotation player before tearing his Achilles’ last year. He averaged 7.5 points per game with the Pacers in 2020/21, shooting 40% from deep in 53 contests.
“He just doesn’t miss days, he doesn’t skip workouts,” Sumner’s trainer, Mike Robertson, said. “That’s a testament to who he is and the kind of guy that you’re getting there. He’s just a great human being. He’s going to punch the clock, he’s going to continue to not just work hard for himself but to lift the others up around him. And he’s just a world-class human being. [Nets fans] are going to love him.”
Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference:
- Nets owner Joe Tsai made a personal recruiting pitch to Markieff Morris before Brooklyn signed him, Marc Stein writes for Substack. Morris is expected to provide the Nets with frontcourt depth and could play small-ball five at times. He dealt with a neck injury after an altercation with Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic last season, playing only 17 games with Miami.
- Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel examines whether the Heat could have interest in Russell Westbrook in the event that he’s eventually bought out by the Lakers or another team. While Westbrook’s future with Los Angeles is unclear, he may not be a stellar fit alongside Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. The 33-year-old is currently on track to reach free agency next summer.
- Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com explores a number of Celtics-related topics in his latest mailbag, including Jaylen Brown‘s ball-handling. Brown struggled to take care of the ball at times last season, averaging 3.5 assists and 3.1 turnovers per game during the postseason. He still held respectable playoff averages of 23.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per contest, shooting 47% from the floor.
Community Shootaround: Best Starting Lineup
As the NBA season nears, it’s fair to wonder which team will sport the best starting lineup this season. Of course, a team’s finishing group matters more than its starting group, but that can depend on which players are having a good game on a given night, as well as the opponent.
When it comes to the best projected starting lineup, the reigning-champion Warriors can make a. Golden State can start Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Draymond Green. The team can also go bigger and swap one of those players with Kevon Looney.
The Celtics, who lost to Golden State in the Finals, are bringing their defensive-minded group back: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams III. They narrowly edged the Bucks in seven games last season, and Milwaukee figures to start Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
Besides those three teams, the Sixers, Nuggets, Nets, Suns, Bulls and Clippers can all make valid arguments for having the best projected group. The Grizzlies shocked the NBA by finishing with the second-best record at 56-26 last season, while the Hawks added Dejounte Murray to a star-studded lineup, so there are arguably other teams to consider depending on who improves the most.
We want to know what you think. Which team do you think has the best projected starting lineup? Was your pick mentioned, or do you believe another group deserves strong consideration? Take to the comment section below and voice your opinions!