In a surprising move, the Nets declined to give Grant Nelson a second 10-day contract, league sources told the Post.
Rebuilding Brooklyn is reshuffling the roster in talent-acquisition mode, and Nelson appeared to fit the bill.
After the Nets took a record five first-round picks in June, they scooped up Nelson after the draft as a sixth rookie.
Following early season injury woes that hampered his progress in the G League, the 23-year-old Nelson came on strong with Long Island and earned his initial 10-day deal with Brooklyn on Feb. 27.
In four games with the Nets, Nelson averaged 4.3 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.3 blocks, shooting .556 percent overall and .700 from the foul line.
In a 106-102 loss to Cleveland on March 1, Nelson had 11 points, four boards and three blocks in just over 20 minutes against the Cavaliers.
He finished with six stocks -— steals and blocks combined — in 29 minutes, showing mobility and defensive energy. But apparently not enough to stick around.
“(He’s) a very good basketball player,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernandez said of Nelson over the weekend. “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.”
Nelson’s next move could be back to Long Island, with the Nets’ affiliate still holding his G League rights and for the run-in before their playoffs.
But any NBA team can sign Nelson, should they want.
Brooklyn now has an open roster spot. They’ve reached the deadline to convert two-way players to standard deals, but the Nets certainly could simply call up two-way forward Chaney Johnson, who has played well of late.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
