The Nets clearly want another big man behind Kevin Garnett, Brook Lopez, Mason Plumlee and Mirza Teletovic.
So, Brooklyn is widening its pool of candidates.
The Nets signed Jerome Jordan to a partially guaranteed contract, and they tried to add Hamady Ndiaye before he failed his physical. They also drafted Cory Jefferson, who has a partially guaranteed deal.
Willie Reed will get his shot, too.
Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:
Willie Reed will be the last player Nets player signed to training camp.
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) September 22, 2014
Reed signed with the Grizzlies for the last day of the 2012-13 regular season but didn’t play. The Kings signed him late last season, but again, he didn’t play.
Between, the 6-foot-10 Reed spent most of his time with the Nets’ D-League affiliate, averaging 14.7 points on 58 percent shooting and 8.8 rebounds per game in two D-League seasons.
The Nets have 13 players with guaranteed contracts. So, Reed will be competing with Jordan ($150,000 guaranteed), Jefferson ($75,000 guaranteed) and Jorge Gutierrez (fully unguaranteed, becomes $25,000 guaranteed before training camp begins) for the remaining roster spots.
In isolation, I like Reed’s chances. The Nets know him well, and he’s been productive enough in the D-League to warrant NBA callups elsewhere.
But if Brooklyn signed him only because Ndiaye failed his physical, that wouldn’t bode well for Reed. As a second-tier choice, he’d have to really impress during training camp to get the job.