SIGNED: Darius Bazley, Suns free agent PF, to join Nets
Have the Nets signed their back-up big man?
Adrian Wojnarowski reports Friday night that the Nets have an agreement with Darius Bazley, the Suns free agent power forward/center, to join the club on a one-year and presumably minimum contract...
Bazley, 23, has averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in his four NBA seasons. He started 118 games with the Thunder, who drafted him No. 23 overall in 2019. He landed with Suns at trade deadline, where he finished season. A big, versatile forward who'll get opportunity with Nets. https://t.co/sXrcNoHPvg — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 15, 2023
It’s the third young free agent signing in the last week by Sean Marks & co., all on one-year deals. The Nets previously signed Dennis Smith Jr. a 25-year-old point guard and Lonnie Walker IV, a 24-year-old shooting guard.
Just before tweets from Woj and Michael Scotto on the Bazley signing, Edmond Sumner tweeted what appeared to be a farewell...
James 1:2-4 always speaks volumes to me because of how I approach adversity now. I control what I can control and know it’s always gone work out. It’s just never the way I expect it. I been in the grind my whole life so I’m a keep doing what I always do GRIND. — Edmond Sumner (@EdmondSumner) July 14, 2023
Officially, the Nets have until Saturday to exercise a team option on Sumner for next season but his tweet strongly suggests he won’t be returning. He averaged 7.1 points a game in 13.9 minutes last season.
With Sumner out and Bazley about to arrive, the Nets will have 14 players on standard NBA contracts once Bazley signed. Jalen Wilson, the 51st pick in the June draft, has signed a two-way deal.
As Woj wrote, Bazley will have an opportunity with Brooklyn...
Bazley, 23, arrives to the Nets with an opportunity to join the frontcourt rotation after starting 118 games in his first three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bazley, the 23rd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, averaged a career-best 13.7 points and 7.2 assists in 55 games in the 2020-2021 season. He’s averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in his four NBA seasons.
Over a two-year period with OKC between 2020 and 2022, Bazley averaged 12.1 points and 6.7 rebounds in 124 games, 108 starts, while shooting 29.3% from deep. The Ohio product has improved his 3-point shooting since then, hitting 37.7% last season. After playing his first three years in the league at PF, Bazley played most of his limited minutes at center last season. Here’s some highlights from that time...
And here’s some from last month at Cincinnati’s Smith League, per Ballislife...
Welcome to the Brooklyn Nets, Darius Bazley!
Here's some footage of Bazley going off at the Smith League earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/6pJ9C6aL9r — Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) July 15, 2023
Bazley was traded from the Thunder to the Suns the day after the Kevin Durant mega-deal last February, but over the course of the rest of the season, he played in only seven games, averaging 4.0 points and 2.3 rebounds. The Suns decided not to tender Bazley a qualifying offer, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Source: Nets Daily
