The Nets assess their promising rookies at the NBA2K23 Summer League
The Brooklyn Nets will play their fourth of their five NBA2K23 Summer League games in Las Vegas Thursday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 when they face the Toronto Raptors. The Nets are 2-1 going into the contest after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 92-71 on Tuesday.
Brooklyn opened summer league play with a 101-97 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last Friday. Jalen Wilson, a 6-8 forward from the University of Kansas and the 51st overall pick in the second round by the Nets in last month’s draft, led the team with 17 points, adding five rebounds and two blocks. Wilson signed a two-way contract with the organization last week. Armoni Brooks, who last played in the NBA during the 2021-2022 season for the Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors, also scored 17 points while grabbing six rebounds.
18-year-old first-round pick Noah Clowney (No. 21 overall) struggled in the opener, scoring four points on 1 of 9 shooting from the field, missing six of seven three-point attempts. The 6-10 forward/center from the University of Alabama had seven rebounds.
In the second contest against the Knicks, Brooklyn came away with a 98-80 victory. Armoni Brooks led the team with 21 points, while David Duke Jr. chipped in with 19 points and four assists. Wilson, who won the 2022 NCAA championship with Kansas, finished with 18 points and eight rebounds. Clowney added eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
While Clowney hasn’t shot the ball well in two Summer League games thus far, with a combined 5-18 through three games, he has shown the athleticism, mobility, and force to be a plus rim protector, rebounder and floor runner that translates well to the NBA. With only one year of playing college basketball and weighing around a slim 210 pounds, he has much room for physical growth and skill development.
The Nets’ other first-round pick, Dariq Whitehead, an 18-year-old 6-7 forward from Duke, is sitting out the summer league. The Newark, New Jersey native is recovering from foot surgery performed in New York last month.
Brooklyn announced they re-signed Cam Johnson, who came to the team from the Suns in the Kevin Durant trade. The deal is reportedly four years and close to $95 million.
Brooklyn also signed Whitehead, former Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr, who was a lottery pick by the Dallas Mavericks in 2017, and shooting guard Lonnie Walker IV, the 18th pick in 2018 who spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
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