Nets finalize Summer League roster

After an active day of free agency, the Nets officially announced their 2021 Summer League roster. There are a couple of surprises to the 14-man roster...

The 14-man roster is made up of the Nets' five draft picks from the 2021 NBA Draft — Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe, Kessler Edwards, Marcus Zegarowski and RaiQuan Gray plus two roster players, Alize Johnson and Reggie Perry, along with two former Long Island Nets — Jordan Bowden and Kaiser Gates.

Kevin Durant, who is overseas playing with Team USA in the Tokyo Olympics, said he’ll be watching the Nets draft picks in Summer League.

“I can’t wait to see what they do in their careers but especially starting with Summer League. Definitely will be watching and rooting for them and giving them advice as much as I can and just being there for them,” Durant said Monday.

Other than the players connected with the Nets organization, there were a few surprises, starting with two NBA veterans, Brandon Knight and Chris Silva.

Knight, the 29-year-old point guard who last played for the Detroit Pistons and is a current free agent, is the oldest player on the roster.

Silva — a 24-year-old native of Gabon who played high school ball in New Jersey, last played for the Sacramento Kings — is one of the big’s on the roster at 6’8”. Quinndary Weatherspoon — who spent the 2020-21 season on a two-way contract with the Spurs — tops out the Nets Summer League backcourt. Weatherspoon, a guard, played with Perry at Mississippi State in college.

The biggest surprise was who wasn’t on the roster: Nic Claxton. The Nets big man had been seen as a possibility to play in the Summer League. Although it’s not that common for third-year players to participate in Summer League play, the 22-year-old has played in a combined 47 games in his two years in the league due to injuries and illness.

Paul Eboua, who played for the Long Island Nets last season before returning overseas, was also not listed. It was widely reported that he would be taking his talents to Summer League to play with the Nets.

Also not listed is Isaia Cordinier, who played with the Nets during the 2019-20 Summer League. Cordinier, who played for Nanterre 92 of the LNB Pro A League in France last season, was seen as a possible addition. In an interview with Alex Sturm of NetsDaily, Cordinier had said it was possible he’d be in Las Vegas.

David Duke Jr and Brandon Rachal will also play for Brooklyn. Both Duke Jr. and Rachal signed with the Nets as undrafted free agents shortly after the draft and spoke to us about the Summer League opportunity Saturday, confirming both will be in Vegas with the Nets.

Jordan Ott, who has spent the last five seasons as an assistant with Brooklyn, will coach the Nets in the Summer League. Ott will reportedly be assisted by Tiago Splitter, who has been a player development coach with the Nets for two seasons and Jose Neto, the head coach of Petro de Luanda in the Angolan Basketball League Basketball Africa League and the Brazil National women’s basketball team, will also serve as an assistant, according to Brazilian reports.

Here’s the schedule, including who will be televising the games...

Aug. 9 vs. Memphis — 5:00 PM ET on ESPN2 — Cox Pavillion

Aug. 11 vs. Milwaukee — 4:00 PM ET on ESPN2 — Thomas & Mack Center

Aug. 12 vs. Washington — 5:00 PM ET on ESPN U — Cox Pavillion

Aug. 15 vs. San Antonio — 6:00 PM ET on NBA TV — Thomas & Mack Center

• BROOKLYN NETS ANNOUNCE SUMMER LEAGUE ROSTER - Brooklyn Nets
• Kevin Durant ‘looking forward’ to working with Nets’ draft picks - Brian Lewis - New York Post