Lewis: Nets don’t extend qualifying offers to David Duke, Jr. Dru Smith

The Nets’ first free agency move of the summer is in the books. The Nets declined to extend David Duke Jr. and two-way player Dru Smith qualifying offers for next season making both unrestricted free agents able to sign with another team.

Brian Lewis broke the news...

The Lewis tweet came not long after Duke Jr. tweeted this...

Undrafted, Duke Jr., 23, spent the last two years shuttling between Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Nassau Coliseum on Long Island, signing two-way deals at the beginning of the last two seasons. Near the end of last season, the 6’4” wing’s deal was upgraded to a standard NBA contract. After averaging 23.0 points per game to go along with 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals, Duke was named First Team All-G League and finished third in MVP balloting on a Long Island team that was top seed in the East, at one point winning 16 straight games.

Over two years with the Nets, Duke played in 45 games, including seven starts, averaging 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game. However, he never mastered the 3-point shot, shooting only 20.4% from deep in his two seasons in Brooklyn, 31.4% in Long Island.

The 6’3” Smith was signed to a two-way deal in January after the Nets waived Alondes Williams. He had started the season as a vets minimum player with Miami. He averaged 2.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 10 games.