Brooklyn Nets confirm Theo Pinson as 2nd 2-way player

On Tuesday, Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks pretty much confirmed that undrafted free agent wing Theo Pinson will be the club’s 2nd 2-way player.

One bit of personnel news confirmed Tuesday by Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks was that undrafted free agent Theo Pinson from North Carolina will be staying with the club on a two-way deal.

The Nets had signed former Phoenix Suns big man Alan Williams to a two-way deal on Friday.

Nets GM Sean Marks: "Theo Pinson is going to be our (other) two-way guy." Alan Williams is also under contract as a two-way player for Brooklyn.
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) September 18, 2018

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Pinson on July 30 signed a rookie minimum contract with an Exhibit 10 attachment, which allows the Nets to convert his contract to a two-way deal, per Larry Coon’s NBA Salary Cap FAQ.

That came after Pinson had been one of the few bright spots for Brooklyn’s 0-5 Summer League squad in Las Vegas, averaging 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game.

The biggest surprise from Pinson in Vegas was his outside shooting. He canned 11-of-26 attempts from 3-point range in five games for the Nets, a 42.3 percent clip that far exceeded his career 25.7 percent mark from the shorter arc while playing at North Carolina.

Last season as a senior, Pinsion averaged 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.1 steals in 37 games, shooting .473/.226/.818.

His deficient outside shooting was likely the reason why Pinson — who served as North Carolina’s de facto point guard last season and was a key part of the Tar Heels’ national championship run in 2017 — went unselected in June’s NBA Draft.

At 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds, Pinson has solid size to play the wing and in Summer League showed some solid defensive chops and playmaking skills.

He was an honorable mention All-ACC selection last season before being named to the first-team All-ACC Tournament team.

He spent two seasons as a reserve for North Carolina, going scoreless in 12 minutes as the Tar Heels lost the 2016 NCAA Tournament final to Villanova.

Pinson missed the first 19 games of the championship season in 2016-17 with a fractured right foot after sustaining the injury during preseason practice.

He also played USA Basketball’s gold-medal winning U16 Americas Championship team in 2011, playing with current NBA players Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic, Stanley Johnson of the Detroit Pistons, Tyus Jones of the Minnesota Timberwolves, former Net Jahlil Okafor (now with the New Orleans Pelicans) and Jabari Parker of the Chicago Bulls.

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Future North Carolina teammate and current Sacramento Kings forward Justin Jackson was also on that squad.

Pinson being on a two-way deal means that the team’s other camp invitees — forward Mitch Creek and guard Jordan McLaughlin — are likely playing for spots on the roster of the Long Island Nets in the G League. They are also in minimum deals with Exhibit 10s.