With the Wednesday deadline for guaranteeing players contracts looming, the Nets waived guards Andre Roberson and Iman Shumpert as well as center Noah Vonleh and agreed to call up Tyler Cook, at 6’9” G League power forward, to a 10-day deal, according to various reports.
Shams Charania reports two of the three waived, Roberson and Shumpert, will sign 10-day deals if they clear waivers, giving Steve Nash a chance to further evaluate them. Vonleh appears to be gone.
Also, no surprise: Tuesday night’s reports suggest that Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot will be guaranteed for the rest of the season, giving Brooklyn his Bird Rights come August.
With the moves, the Nets roster will remain at the league maximum of 17 players: 12 with standard contracts, three on 10-day deals and two on two-ways.
Adrian Wojanarowski and Charania tweeted out the news shortly after the Nets beat the Kings…
Guard Iman Shumpert and forward Andre Roberson plan to sign 10-day contracts with the Nets when they clear waivers on Friday, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Nets maintaining flexibility ahead of guarantee deadline this week.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 24, 2021
Brooklyn is planning to sign Tyler Cook to a 10-day contract, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 24, 2021
By signing Roberson and Shumpert to 10-days, two defensive-oriented guards who can play multiple positions, the Nets will give Steve Nash more time to evaluate the two veterans. Team can extend players to a second 10-day before having to decide whether to keep them. Roberson was signed a week ago and Shumpert at the end of January but he’d been sidelined with a hamstring strain until Tuesday night. The moves will also save the Nets some luxury taxes, but the primary rationale appears to be giving Sean Marks roster flexibility.
Nash spoke about Roberson’s potential post-game, comparing the 6’7” 29-year-old to Tuesday night’s hero, Bruce Brown.
“Bruce makes it look easy. It’s not easy to be a 6’3” guard and be picking, rolling, catching the ball, finishing. Andre’s a very intelligent player as well, but I don’t want to put that on him. He can do some picking and rolling for sure, and he can definitely guard some bigger players,” said Nash, making the comparison.
Cook, 23, went undrafted out of Iowa in the 2018 NBA Draft and has bounced around the G League and NBA fringes since. Last season, Cook played in 13 NBA games, two with Denver and 11 with Cleveland, averaging 1.8 points and 1.1 rebounds in a combined 4.2 minutes.
This season, he signed with the Iowa Wolves, Minnesota’s G League affiliate where he’s been averaging 20.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists a game. He is not a 3-point shooter, but has defensive potential owing to his 7’1” wingspan.
His best game was the Wolves opener vs. the Long Island Nets, scoring 31 points on 14-of-20 shooting, 10 rebounds, nine assists and two blocks. He is not a 3-point shooter … or at least hasn’t been.
Dakota Schmidt of Ridiculous Upside, our G League sister site on SB Nation, had this to say earlier Tuesday..
Not surprising as Cook has been absolutely wonderful in the G League bubble. The 6’8 forward has been a force with the ball in his hands, fighting on the offensive glass, and as a facilitator with moving the ball around to other players. https://t.co/KaG9sbTkNX
— Ridiculous Upside (@RidicUpside) February 24, 2021
Cook played high school ball with the Celtics Jayson Tatum in their native St. Louis.