Damion James returns to Brooklyn Nets on 10-day contract

Damion James, the 6'8" small forward who the Nets traded for on Draft Night in 2010 then after a series of foot injuries decided against signing in 2012, is back with the Nets, this time on a 10-day deal. James was playing for Bakersfield of the D-League, where he was averaging 15.5 points and 7.3 rebounds as a small forward who can if needed play the four. James tweeted that he got word of the call-up early Saturday morning and was on a flight to New York late Saturday night. He is available for duty Sunday vs. the Pacers.

On arrival, he tweeted, "Man I’m so blessed to have this opportunity again to b here back n NY/NJ! Feels like home again! Wanna THANK the NETS for believing n me!" adding, "I'm a 110% now and I promise I want let u GUYS DOWN!"

James, 25, is likely to provide depth for the Nets at small forward while Gerald Wallace recovers from bruised ribs. James provides some of the same skills --athleticism, defense and rebounding. He is not known as a good shooter.

James career with the Nets never really got rolling. He was selected by the Hawks with the 24th overall pick in the 2010 Draft. His rights were quickly traded to the Nets in return for those of the 27th pick Jordan Crawford and the 31st pick Tibor Pleiss, a rising star in Germany.

After a summer league effort that wowed the team, James was slowed by a series of nagging injuries. On December 9, 2010, he got his first career start against the Dallas Mavericks, but he broke his foot during the game After surgery, he didn't return till late February before having other issues that caused him to miss the final 14 games. Last year, there were problems with a surgically emplaced screw and he played only seven of 66 games. The screw was replaced, ending his season. In his two years with the Nets, he played a total of 34 games and the team declined to re-sign him. In those 32 games, he averaged 4.5 point and 3.7 rebounds. The Hawks invited him to training camp and he was among their last cuts. He then signed with the Jam.

As Ridiculous Upside wrote last month of his skills,

James knows how to use his body, and isn't afraid to be aggressive and assertive to get his way on the basketball court. Every team in the league could use a player that puts forth a physical effort like the one he does.