It wasn’t a great season for Keita Bates-Diop in 2023-24. Ending the season with the Brooklyn Nets, he received little playing time. Unable to establish much value, the 28-year-old has reportedly decided to pick up his player option worth about $2.65 million for next season. That will keep him on the Nets roster rather than have him enter unrestricted free agency.
Nets F Keita Bates-Diop has exercised his $2.65 million player option for the 2024-25 season, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 24, 2024
The 6-foot-8 Bates-Diop will be participating in his seventh NBA season in 2024-25 since being selected in the 2018 NBA Draft. It will also be his first full season with Brooklyn.
Six-Year Veteran Picks Up Player Option With Brooklyn Nets
Wasn’t A Great 2023-24 For Keita Bates-Diop
The Phoenix Suns had a ton of money tied up in Bradley Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker last season. They needed to fill the rest of their roster with low-salary players on the free agent market. One of those was Bates-Diop who signed a two-year deal worth slightly more than $5 million. The second year was a player option, the one he has decided to decline.
Bates-Diop saw his minutes decline as the season went along. He started eight of his first 19 games with the Suns, but received no starts in any of his last 20. Altogether with Phoenix, he averaged 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 39 games. In early February, he was involved in a three-team deal that sent him to Brooklyn and Royce O’Neale to Phoenix.
Playing time dropped even more for Bates-Diop once he joined the Nets. He played 14 games for Brooklyn, and in only one of those outings did he receive more than 10 minutes. A stress fracture in his right tibia ended his season prematurely in late March.
The 2022-23 Season Was A Career-Best
Part of the reason the Suns brought Bates-Diop in was because he had his most productive season in 2022-23. Playing with the San Antonio Spurs, Bates-Diop started 42 of his 67 appearances. He averaged a career-high of 9.7 points on 50.8% shooting from the field. The forward also connected on 39.4% of his three-point attempts, something he really struggled with prior to that season.
Bates-Diop began his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was selected 48th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. Minnesota traded him to the Denver Nuggets in February of 2020. After playing seven games for them, Bates-Diop was released. He joined the Spurs in 2020-21 and played three seasons for them.
After not being on draft radars, Bates-Diop had a superb 2017-18 season at Ohio State. Averaging 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. He was also a Second Team All-American. Bates-Diop decided to forgo the one season of eligibility he had left and entered the 2018 NBA Draft.
HBD, Keita Bates-Diop! 🥳
We’re celebrating the 2018 @bigten POY’s day with his game-changing 11-0 run in Ohio State’s win over Illinois.@KBD_33 x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/lI8ijc09Qa
— Big Ten Men’s Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 23, 2024
Over his six NBA seasons, Bates-Diop has played in 283 career games (67 starts). He has posted per-game averages of 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds.
