The Brooklyn Nets signed G-League guard Tyson Etienne to an Exhibit 10 contract on Tuesday, per Evan Barnes of Newsday.
Nets have signed guard Tyson Etienne. Because the roster is at capacity, this is likely an Exhibit 10 deal. Between now and training camp, expect a few more signings of a similar nature.
Etienne’s signing is not a surprise, as Brooklyn’s G League Affiliate, Long Island Nets, acquired the 6-2 point guard from the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks’ G League affiliate, for Kaiser Gates last week. The 25-year-old has spent his entire career in the G League after going undrafted out of Wichita State in 2022. He is the cousin of Deandre Jordan and nephew of Marcus Camby.
Brooklyn Signs Cousin Of Nuggets Center, Who Else Could They Target For An Exhibit 10 Deal?
Etienne possesses good athleticism. Although Etienne doesn’t do anything spectacular, he is a decent shooter, playmaker, and defender. He significantly improved in his second season with the Skyhawks, averaging 10.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.7 rebounds. He also made 1.6 treys while compiling shooting splits of 44.0/35.9/77.8%.
Etienne’s signing gives Brooklyn 20 players on its training camp roster. The Nets only have one player on a two-way deal, though there is a rumor that Chinese guard Yongxi Cui may fill one of the other two spots. Jaylen Martin, a holdover from last season, is on a minor-league deal.
Keith Smith of Sportac reported that the Nets waived Etienne earlier today.
This is going to happen a lot over the next month or so. These moves are designed to get guys to the G League affiliates.
Given that and what Barnes said about the Nets signing more players to a training camp deal, Etienne is now eligible for a $77,500 bonus if he remains with Long Island for 60 days.
Brooklyn’s Training Camp Roster
Brooklyn currently has 16 players on standard contracts. Therefore, the Nets will likely have to make a roster cut before the regular season begins unless there is a trade. There have been rumors throughout the summer about Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ben Simmons, and Dennis Schroder being on the trade market.
If none of those five players are moved, Keon Johnson, Killian Hayes, and Jalen Wilson presumably will be the players battling for the last two spots. Johnson ($225,000) and Wilson ($75,000) have small guarantees.
Wilson, the Net’s second-round pick in 2023, has shown that he is an NBA-typish player. He spent most of his rookie season with Brooklyn, appearing in 43 games with three starts. The 23-year-old forward averaged 5.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists with 42.5/32.4/82.6 shooting splits. He had a very productive NBA summer league.
Johnson has struggled since being selected in the first round of the 2021 draft. The 22-year-old shooting guard is talented but has yet to put everything together. He has appeared in 82 career NBA contests, including five last year with the Nets.
Johnson compiled 6.2 points with 38.1/40.0/91.7% shooting splits in 2023-24. He is coming off the best summer of his career and has a team option for next season.
Hayes is the only player of the three without a guarantee. The 23-year-old guard is an outstanding distributor and quality on-ball defender who can be a pesk. He has struggled shooting the ball throughout his career, though he did shoot a career-best 41.3% from the field and 29.7% from beyond the arc.
With Etienne released, undrafted rookies Mark Armstrong and KJ Jones II are the only players on Exhibit 1o deals.
Tyrese Martin To Get A Training Camp Deal?
Tyrese Martin is the most obvious player to get a training camp deal. Like Etienne, Long Island acquired Martin’s G-League rights last week. Long Island sent their first and second-round picks from next year’s G-League draft to Iowa for Martin, so it would be a huge shock that he doesn’t get at least a training camp deal.
Due to his upside, Martin could earn a two-way deal, but he must have a great training camp. Martin, who has 16 games of NBA experience, was selected with the No. 51 pick in 2022 by the Golden State Warriors and had a productive summer league campaign with the Nets.
Martin spent all last season with the Iowa Wolves, averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He produced 12 double-doubles with 44.9/32.2/83.1% shooting splits.
