Multiple reports, including those from The Forum and New York Post, are saying that the Brooklyn Nets will not be-resigning Grant Nelson.
Nelson’s 10-day NBA contract expired Saturday. The contract originally went into effect on Feb. 27. Reports indicated that Brooklyn will not be offering him another 10-day contract.
If the Nets had re-signed him, they would have done so on Monday. Instead, Nelson remains a free agent.
Nelson made his NBA debut the same day his contract was finalized. He filled numerous stat columns, with three points, two rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 10 minutes of playing time in a 148-111 loss to the Boston Celtics.
Nelson was even better in his second game. In a 106-102 loss to Cleveland on March 1, Nelson scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. He added four rebounds and three blocks. He got 20 minutes of floor time.
Since then, though, Nelson had played in just two games. He totaled five minutes of playing time between losses to Miami on March 3 and 5. He scored three points in that span, all from free throws.
“(He’s) a very good basketball player,” Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said of Nelson, per the Post. “Everything he does, he does it well. He doesn’t over-dribble or try to do too much. Everything is efficient.
“His size is great. He’s a multi-positional defender, very good playmaker, fast. All of those things have been very good. It translates to this level. … We’ll have to discuss and see what the next move going forward is.”
Before his call-up to the NBA, Nelson had been averaging 12.8 points and 6.6 rebounds in 17 regular-season G League games. He played 23 games with the Long Island Nets overall.
The Post noted that the Nets still hold Nelson’s G League rights, but that Nelson is free to be signed by any NBA team. If no other NBA team decides to give him a shot, he could end up back with Long Island.
Most outlets reporting on the news indicated some surprise, given that Nelson had played well in his limited time.
Overall, he averaged 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 8.8 minutes of playing time per game in four NBA games. He shot 5-for-9 from the field and 7-for-10 from the free throw line.
Nelson became the first Devils Lake High School alum to play in the NBA.
Leave a Reply