Nets interested in Chinese big man?

Michael Scotto of The Athletic reports that the Nets are among several teams who have worked out 22-year-old Chinese power forward Abudushalamu Abudurexiti from Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers, a pro team in the far west of China.

Scotto reports the 6’10” Abudurexiti has worked out for the Mavericks, Lakers, Bucks, Suns and Jazz in addition to the Nets. (A number of those teams, including Brooklyn, traveled to Phoenix for a multi-team workout.)

Although Abudurexiti averaged only 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in the Chinese league, scouts see his potential as a stretch 4, reported Scotto, who called him the NBA Draft’s “mystery man” ... there’s one every year.

“He has good size for his position at 6-foot-8 (he’s been listed at 6-9.5 with shoes), shoots a deep 3-pointer with range and is easy with his feet set, and has a nice feel (for the game),” an NBA executive who has seen Abudurexiti extensively told The Athletic. “He lacks the foot speed to defend, which will be a big issue. He could be a late 50s guy to undrafted. Shooting the 3-pointer gives him a chance.”

In fact, Abudurexiti (nickname “Slam”) was named as one of the top young bigs in a FIBA.com article last year, noting his strength as well as his range.

None of the big mock drafts have Abudurexiti, ethnic Uighur, in their top 100 and as of now, the Nets don’t have a pick in the 50’s, but they have been looking at a number of young international players who appear to be stash or two-way candidates. They could always buy a pick near the end of the draft and from there assign the player to a two-way G-League deal.

In his end-of-the-season press conference, Sean Marks talked about the Nets are pushing international scouting.

“We scout everywhere and you’re right, you have to find those hidden gems. They can be in any part of the world. To me, that’s the part of the business that’s really enticing – the curiosity of where’s the next player [coming from],” said Marks. “The fact that the G League has taken those steps now, where you’ll potentially have draft eligible candidates or players coming into the G League. You’ll have foreign guys coming into the G League early, that’s terrific.”

• Meet China’s Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, the NBA draft’s mystery man - Michael Scotto - The Athletic New York