Brooklyn Nets news: Summer League roster taking shape

According to reports, the Brooklyn Nets roster for the Las Vegas Summer League is coming together, with 4 undrafted rookies and an Israeli veteran on board.

The Brooklyn Nets will be sending a squad to the Las Vegas Summer League beginning July 6 and their roster is beginning to take shape, per reports.

According to the New York Post, four undrafted rookies and a veteran from Israel are committed to the Nets for the Las Vegas session, including Texas A&M big man Tyler Davis, USC guard Jordan McLaughlin, North Carolina wing Theo Pinson and George Washington wing Yatu Watanabe.

More from Nothin' But Nets

Along with those four players who went undrafted on Thursday night, wing Shawn Dawson from Israel will be joining the Nets in Vegas.

Pinson has reportedly already agreed to a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets for next season, so a Summer League invitation is the next logical step as he tries to secure a spot on Brooklyn’s 17-man roster for 2018-19.

Pinson was No. 63 on Jonathan Givony’s big board at ESPN.com for the 2018 NBA Draft, was ranked No. 65 by SI.com and was 83rd on NBADraft.net‘s list.

Tyler Davis opted to leave Texas A&M after his junior year to enter the draft and the gamble didn’t pay off for him. Last season, he averaged 14.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots in 29.1 minutes poer game on .585/.280/.623 shooting.

A load at 6-foot-10 and 270 pounds, the Plano, Texas, native was No. 85 on Givony’s big board, slightly higher at NBADraft.net at No. 71 and No. 81 on SI.com’s top 100 list.

He’s more of an old-school center prospect, heavy on post-ups but lacking explosiveness inside.

Jordan McLaughlin was not in any of the top-100 lists referenced here after being a four-year starter at the point at USC.

Former USC point guard Jordan McLaughlin has agreed to join the Brooklyn Nets’ summer league team, per a source. He is also expected to receive a training camp invitation.
— Joey Kaufman (@joeyrkaufman) June 22, 2018

Undersized at 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, McLaughlin averaged 12.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 2.0 steals in 35.3 minutes per game for the Trojans on a slash line of .449/.397/.746.

Yuta Watanabe comes to the Nets Summer League squad from Kagawa, Japan, via George Washington, where he was a full-time starter his time three seasons and progressed steadily through his time with the Colonials.

Watanabe is a rangy wing at 6-foot-8 and 215 pounds, but was an older prospect who will be 24 in October. The only big board he ranked on was Givony’s at ESPN, dropping into the No. 93 spot.

Last season, he averaged 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 36.6 minutes per game for GW while shooting .437/.364/.807.

The only non-rookie of the early group committing to the Nets is Shawn Dawson, a 6-foot-6, 205-pound swingman from Eilat, Israel. Dawson’s father, Joe Dawson, played professionally in Israel for more than 20 years.

Dawson was undrafted in 2015 and played last season with Bnei Herzilya in his home country after five seasons with Maccabi Rishon LeZion.

Last season in the BSL in Israel and in Europe Cup competition, Dawson ave4raged 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 32.2 minutes per game, shooting .458/.299/.712.

For Dawson, it will be his second time coming to the U.S. for Summer League play. In 2016, he played with the Washington Wizards in Las Vegas and earned a training-camp contract with the New Orleans Pelicans, playing 10 minutes in three preseason games before being waived.

Next: Nets 15 best draft picks of all-time

We’ll have more on the Summer League squad for the Brooklyn Nets as it comes together and will have full coverage of their play in Vegas, as well.