The Brooklyn Nets front office was very busy on Friday. The Nets took another step towards filling its 18-man roster by agreeing to a two-way contract with Chinese star forward Yongxi “Jacky” Cui. The terms of the deal were not reported, although there are conflicting reports about whether it is a one- or two-year contract.
“My mindset is in a good place,” Cui told the Chinese Media. “I don’t know how long I’ll be able to play here, but I believe the longer I stay, the more I can improve and help both myself and the Chinese national team.”
Brooklyn Takes Another Step In Filling 18-Man Roster By Purging Young Wing From Portland, Expected To Make Another Move To Fill Out Roster Before Training Camp
After participating in the G-League Elite Camp, Cui went undrafted in this year’s draft. The 6-5 wing originally agreed to an exhibit 10 contract with Portland and saw limited action in three games for the Trail Blazers Las Vegas Summer League squad, though he still was able to make highlight plays.
Cui never signed the deal as there were rumors that the Nets, who worked out the 21-year-old before the draft, were interested in inking him into a two-way contract. He spent the last two seasons with Guangzhou Loong Lions in the CBA, where he first team Chinese Domestic First Team honors this past season.
In 99 career games (76 starts) for Guangzhou, Cui averaged 14.1 points on 45.3 percent shooting from the field, 36.2 percent from 3-point range, and 80.9 percent from the free-throw line. He also compiled 5.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.7 steals across 32.9 minutes per contest.
“If he’d come to camp in Portland he would have been competing for a two-way, Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report tweeted as why Portland let him leave. “When [the] Nets offered him one outright, they weren’t going to stand in the way of him taking a more solid opportunity.
Cui To Spend Most Of The 2024-25 Season In G-League
Cui, a graduate of the NBA’s Australia Global Academy, first became an NBA prospect due to his athleticism, shooting ability, and defense.
“He’s got really good feet and plays super hard,” Chris Ebersole, the Head of International Basketball Development at the NBA, told HoopsHype about Cui’s best skill being defense. “Those ingredients, for both on-ball defense and off-ball positioning, serve him well.”
Cui is a long way from the NBA in terms of being ready for the league, and he knows it. As a result, he will spend most of the season, if not all, with the Long Island Nets. Still, he is an NBA player, as he is able to practice with the Nets and is eligible to suit up for 50 NBA contests.
“I have to start from the development league and then improve my skills and experience,” Cui continued about the likelihood of spending most of the season in the G- G-League. “Only then can I slowly move to the NBA bench and maybe [get] NBA rotation. I don’t know how far I will go, but first of all, I have to take each step well, I think that is the key.”
Nets Two-Way Players
Cui joins holdover Jaylen Martin as players on a two-way deal for the Nets. Therefore, the Nets have an open 2-way spot.
Cui was one of five players that the Nets signed yesterday. The Nets also signed Tyrese Martin, Patrick Gardner, Killian Hayes, and Amari Bailey to Exhibit 10 deals. These signings give the Nets a full training camp roster.
Players on Exhibit 10 contracts are eligible for two-way deals. Thus, it is conceivable that the Nets will convert either Martin, Gardner, or Bailey’s agreement to a that type of deal. However, Hayes is not eligible due to his number of NBA services. It is also possible that Gardner and Garrett get waived before the start of camp, allowing the Nets to sign someone else.
Martin and Bailey are the two most likely candidates to earn a two-way deal out of the four players eligible. Martin was a second-round pick of Golden State in 2022, appearing in 16 contests for the Warriors in 2022-23. He spent the entire 2023-24 campaign with the G-League Iowa Wolves.
Martin played well for the Nets this summer. The 25-year-old averaged 10.8 points, 2.0 3-pointers, and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 47.4/43.5/80. He also scored in double figures three times.
Bailey was a second-round pick of Charlotte in 2023. Bailey, who appeared in 10 games for the Hornets, played well for the G-League’s Greensboro Swarm. He struggled during the Las Vegas summer league with the Los Angeles Clippers this summer.
Gardner went undrafted in 2023 and spent the entire season with the Long Island Nets, where he played well despite not playing a ton of minutes. He also saw limited with Miami’s Vegas squad this summer.
Brooklyn is expected to negotiate their final two-way contract before the start of training camp on July 1.
Former Chinese Players
Cui’s signing to a two-way deal makes him the first Chinese-born NBA player since Qi Zhou appeared in 19 games for Houston in 2017-19. He is the eighth Chinese native to sign an NBA deal and the ninth citizen, as Golden State’s Kyle Anderson became a naturalized Chinese citizen in 2023.
Yi Jianlian, Yao Ming, Bateer Mengke, Wang Zhizhi, and Tom Meschery are other Chinese players to appear in at least one NBA game.
