LAS VEGAS — With the entire league gathered at NBA Summer League, this is the prime place and perfect time for Brooklyn to find trading partners for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But all indications are both dramas could drag on — and one or both stars could still be with the Nets in training camp.
But the Nets who are in Las Vegas will have other priorities — from honing their work in the NBA to taking their first baby steps to making the G-League.
Brooklyn’s summer league squad will be coached by Adam Caporn, who coached the G-League Long Island Nets and is in line for a spot on Steve Nash’s staff. The roster is highlighted by the return of last season’s huge rookie class in Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Kessler Edwards and David Duke Jr., but also includes several hopefuls on Exhibit 10 deals just eyeing a spot with Long Island.
Thomas earned co-MVP honors last year in Las Vegas, leading the summer league in scoring at 27.0 points per game. He was taken under Durant’s wing during the season and showed a penchant for scoring that outstripped his No. 27 draft slot — carrying the Nets at points offensively when they were shorthanded without Durant, Irving or Ben Simmons. He’ll be a go-to player in Las Vegas, though the Nets may look to see his defense and distribution as well.
Unlike last season, when Brooklyn padded out its roster with five draft picks, this time around they didn’t have a single selection in last month’s draft at Barclays Center. Instead, they’ll bring five undrafted prospects to Vegas. They are led by Wake Forrest point guard Alondes Williams, who had a cameo in a team video of the players’ arrival, saying, “Finally in Las Vegas!”
The 23-year-old Williams was the highest rated of the Nets’ undrafted signees as a projected second-round pick who fell on draft night. He was somewhat surprisingly inked straight to a two-way contract on Monday morning, leaving the team with just one open two-way spot.
After averaging just 6.7 points in his penultimate collegiate season, Williams poured in 18.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists last year. He used his 6-foot-5, 210-pound frame and solid court vision to lead the Demon Deacons to a 25-10 mark, being named ACC Player of the Year.
Considering Brooklyn’s glaring concerns on the wing even before Durant’s trade demand — a shortage the Nets have started trying to address by trading for Royce O’Neale and signing T.J. Warren on Tuesday — this summer league roster is wing-heavy. It includes 6-5, 206-pound Yves Pons, who spent last season as a two-way for Memphis. He played a dozen games for the Grizzlies and the rest of the season with their G-League squad, the Memphis Hustle.
The Nets also brought in four other undrafted prospects: Texas Southern’s Brison Gresham, Harvard’s Noah Kirkwood, Houston’s high-flying Taze Moore and UNLV’s Donovan Williams, who’ll be playing at his home arena. All except Gresham are wings.
The Nets rescinded the qualifying offer to Edwards, making him an unrestricted free agent, but they’re still negotiating with the second-year 3-and-D wing.
Brooklyn has five trade exceptions that can be used in deals: ($6.3 million, $3.3 million, $2.1 million, $1.7 million and $1.3 million). The second-largest expires on Wednesday, according to former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, now an ESPN front-office insider.