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SCHIFFER: NETS SIGNING ELIE OKOBO, SUNS FREE AGENT

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Phoenix Suns v Brooklyn Nets Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

A week after he was waived by the Suns, French point guard Elie Okobo is signing with the Nets, Alex Schiffer and Shams Charania of The Athletic report...

No word on the type of contract Okobo, 23, will sign. The Nets have 19 players currently under contract including 15 guaranteed or partially guaranteed deals, two two-ways and two Exhibit 10 training camp invites. Just this weekend, the Nets re-signed another free agent guard, Tyler Johnson.

Okobo, 23, was selected with the 31st pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Suns and played with both the Suns and their G League affiliate, the Northern Arizona Suns, the last two years. In the NBA last season, the left-handed Okobo played in 55 games, including three starts, averaging 4.0 points and 2.1 assists in 15 minutes while shooting 40/35/70. Although Okobo showed flashes, the Suns felt he was too inconsistent.

Here’s some highlights...

Signed to a four-year deal in 2018 with the final two years at a team option. He was waived after the Suns traded for Chris Paul, added veteran guards E’Twaun Moore and Langston Galloway, and re-signed guard Jevon Carter. Phoenix also picked up the team option on another guard, Cameron Payne, leaving Okobo as the odd man out. If not waived, Okobo would’ve earned $1.7 million this season.

The Nets liked Okobo enough in the run-up to the 2018 Draft that Sean Marks reportedly diverted his plane to watch him. According to French press reports, Marks had changed the itinerary of his European scouting trip and decided to take in a French league game in March 2018. The French-Congolese combo guard had been invited to work out for the Nets in the spring of 2017 before dropping out of the Draft.

In the game Marks witnessed, the then 20-year-old scored 21 points shooting 5-of-7 from 3-point land, adding three boards and three assists. Okobo at the time was rising fast in mock drafts, experiencing a breakout season, He finished the year with a 13.8 scoring average while shooting better than 40 percent from beyond the European arc.

Like Timote Luwawu-Cabarrot, Okobo has represented France in FIBA competition. The two also share Congolese heritage.

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