Brooklyn Nets 2018-19 Primer: Mitch Creek looking to seize NBA chance

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Mitch Creek has had a big year, representing Australia in international play for the first time, but an opportunity with the Brooklyn Nets is a chance he’s looking to grab.

Mitch Creek could be forgiven for humming Frank Sinatra’s “It Was A Very Good Year.” The 26-year-old prospect of the Brooklyn Nets has added some significant lines to his resume already in 2018.

Creek was selected to play for Australia’s national team in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, appearing in four of the Boomers’ six games en route to winning Group B in the first round.

Creek averaged 13.0 points and a team-best 8.8 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game in his four appearances, shooting .641/0-for-1/2-for-2 in the process.

That came concurrently with his best season back home for the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League, where he was named to the All-NBL second team after averaging career-highs of 14.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 28.7 minutes a game.

His shooting was a very solid .611/.333/.773 as he helped Adelaide reach the Grand Final, where they lost to Melbourne United, 3 games to 2.

Creek took advantage of the extra exposure to venture out of Australia for the second time in his pro career, signing a late-season deal with BG Goettingen in the German Basketball Bundesliga.

In seven games, he averaged 11.9 points and 2.7 rebounds in 21.4 minutes a game, shooting .567/2-for-7/.619.

That led him to a second opportunity in the NBA Summer League, as the Dallas Mavericks added him to their roster for the July session in Las Vegas.

He impressed with his aggressive play and tough defense, averaging 6.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game on .433/0-for-6/8-for-10 shooting.

That performance vaulted him to eventually sign a non-guaranteed deal with the Brooklyn Nets that includes an Exhibit 10 attachment, meaning he could have his contract converted to a two-way pact.

It was a huge improvement over his first Vegas adventure in 2017 with the Utah Jazz. He admitted to being a little surprised at the pick-up nature of the team and averaged 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game, shooting .10-for-19/0-for-2/2-for-4.

Creek was finally able to sign with the Nets on Aug. 20 after the 36ers initially balked at releasing Creek to the NBA.

Creek had agreed to terms with Oliver Wurzburg in Germany, but exercised his NBA-out clause to get out of the contract in order to sign with Brooklyn.

Now he has a chance to play in the world’s best league, but don’t tell Creek he’s already an NBA player. As he explained to the Australian Associated Press, via ESPN:

"“I don’t like to say I’m an NBA player just yet. OI prefer to say I’m a rookie development player. But I’ve got an opportunity and that’s all that anyone ever wants in life.”"

Creek is listed as a combo wing player, at 6-foot-5 and 198 pounds. But he’s not like most wings in the NBA. He plays more like a combo forward, banging down low, getting to the rim, battling on the glass and playing with a physicality that belies his size.

He played more on the perimeter in Las Vegas and proved to be a handful for his defensive assignments with how he bodies up.

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Creek also doesn’t fit the mold of an NBA wing as a shooter. He’s been a decent, if reluctant, 3-point shooter over the last four seasons after struggling from distance over his first four NBL campaigns.

But mostly what Creek embodies is efficient shooting. He takes good shots and makes a high percentage of them — 61.1 percent in NBL play last season coming on the heels of a 60.3 percent mark in 2016-17.

His free throw shooting has evolved along the way, with his 77.3 percent mark last season for Adelaide marking a career-high.

He debuted with Adelaide as a 19-year-old in 2011 and his role grew over time. Creek gets his first NBA opportunity not as a wide-eyed kid, but an experienced performer and a grown man.

Stylistically, he wouldn’t appear to be a fit in a pace-and-space system such as that run by the Nets. But he brings a physicality and toughness that would be a needed addition to a team that didn’t display a lot of those traits last sason.

It’s hard to imaging Creek having more than a spot role at the back end of the rotation, at least initially, and with 15 guaranteed contracts already on Brooklyn’s roster, his chances of sticking may depend on his willingness to take a two-way deal and do the Long Island shuffle between Barclays Center and Uniondale.

Next. 10 best seasons in franchise history. dark

But he’s a player that bears watching, if only because his playing style makes him difficult to dismiss. Grinders grind and Creek in 2018 keeps grinding to new levels of competition.

Brooklyn Nets 2018-19 Primer: Mitch Creek looking to seize his NBA chance

By Phil Watson | Sep 2, 2018

Mitch Creek has had a big year, representing Australia in international play for the first time, but an opportunity with the Brooklyn Nets is a chance he’s looking to grab.

More from Nothin' But Nets