The Brooklyn Nets have had an extremely busy offseason. The Nets, who have been rebuilding since abandoning their Big 3 plan, have improved the talent on their roster. The Nets have also increased their draft capital by taking on unwanted contracts, but one consequence is that they will have to make some tough roster decisions, as they currently have 18 players on standard contracts.
Brooklyn made a decision late last night that will ease their decision-making process. According to Nets Daily, the team no longer has intentions of signing Ricky Council IV. It was previously reported that they intended to sign the 24-year-old guard to a partially guaranteed deal.
Why The Nets Passed On Former 76ers Guard And What The Signing Of A Chinese National Means For The Team As Training Camp Nears?
Philadelphia waived Council IV in late July despite being an essential contributor for the injury-plagued 76ers last year. The 6-6 wing demonstrated some promise as a scorer, but he struggled shooting the ball.
Council IV scored in double figures in 29 of 73 games last season, including topping the 20-point mark once, and produced three double-doubles. However, he struggled with his shot selection, connecting on just 38.2% of his shot attempts and 25.8% of his three-point attempts.
Council IV is at his best when he is attacking the basket. Council is an outstanding finisher around the rim and knows how to create contact. While he can make his own shots, he took way too many threes last season, with 46% of his attempts being from beyond the arc. He averages less than one trey a game and is a career 27.3% 3-point shooter.
In all honesty, signing Council IV to a standard deal never really made sense, given the makeup of the Nets’ roster. The Nets are loaded with 14 players capable of playing either the 1, 2, or 3 position. Now, a two-way contract for Council is a different story.
Council IV has consistently demonstrated over the last two seasons that he is too good for the G League; however, the athletic wing still has some areas for improvement before he becomes a surefire NBA player. Right now, Council is right where he should be, which is competing for an end-of-roster spot on an NBA team.
There could be a good reason why the Nets passed on signing the Arkansas product. According to NetsDaily this afternoon, Council IV is injured”.
“Hearing from a second source that Ricky Council IV is injured, that’s behind the decision not to sign h”m,” the Nets Daily tweet. “No idea of severity.”
Nets Training Camp
Brooklyn begins training camp on September 24 at the HSS Training Center. The Nets will be there for a little over a week before hosting Hapoel Jerusalem on October 4.
By not signing Council IV, Brooklyn currently sits at 20 players for training camp. All 20 players are either on standard or two-way deals.
In addition to revealing that the Nets aren’t planning on bringing in Council IV, Nets Daily reported yesterday that Brooklyn would add Fanbo Zeng to an Exhibit 10 deal, rather than a two-way contract. The Nets released their training camp roster today via X, and Zeng was indeed on it.
Zeng is a 6-9 athletic wing who played for the G League Ignite during the 2021-22 campaign. After going undrafted in 2022, Zeng returned to his native China to play for Beijing Shougang for the past three seasons. The 22-year-old is coming off a career year as he averaged 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.1 threes at a 53.0/40.9/77.9.
Zeng is expected to compete for the Nets’ last two-way spot. Tyson Etienne and EJ Liddell are the players signed to a two-way deal.
So, the question becomes, who is Zeng competing against?
Brooklyn has 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Jalen Wilson has a small guarantee, while Tyrese Martin and Drew Timme have a non-guaranteed pact. It is conceivable that Wilson, Timme, and, less likely, Martin are not only competing for a spot on the 15-man roster but also for the Nets’ final two-way deal.
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