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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 signed Tyler Cook, a 6’9” G League big, to a 10-day deal, according to various reports.
Shams Charania reported two of the three waived, Roberson and Shumpert, will sign 10-day deals Friday 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
The Nets keep roster flexibility to take on players in trades or the buyout/free agent market. https://t.co/rs6GYsxrVb
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 24, 2021
Brooklyn is planning to sign Tyler Cook to a 10-day contract, source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 24, 2021
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 and Nash some time to take a further look at them.
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.
On Wednesday, the Nets confirmed reports of the Cook signing. The 23-year-old went undrafted out of Iowa in the 2019 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 with his 7’1” wingspan and athleticism.
His best game was the Wolves opener vs. the Long Island Nets, when he finished with 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 after the signing...
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
Darren Wolfson, who’s a Timberwolves beat writer, said Brooklyn, not Minnesota, was Cook’s “top choice!”
Good get for Nets, who were Cook’s top choice. Was hoping #Timberwolves would offer him a 10-day, but that never happened. He got his top choice anyway. He’s another example that there are more NBA players than jobs available. He should be on a roster full-time, IMO. https://t.co/WSRrLJoiKq
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) February 24, 2021
And John Hollinger offered his take on where Cook would fit with the Nets...
Cook might have been best unaffiliated player in G-League Bubble. Can't shoot but Nets could probably play him as smallball 5. https://t.co/m0fZWba5x9
— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) February 24, 2021
Cook played high school ball with the Celtics Jayson Tatum in their native St. Louis.