Long Island Nets add Okaro White, waive Kendall Gray, Kevin Olekaibe

The Long Island Nets added a combo forward with some NBA experience on Friday, signing Okaro White while waiving Kendall Gray and Kevin Olekaibe.

The Long Island Nets of the NBA G League added combo forward Okaro White on Friday, while waiving center Kendall Gray and letting go of guard Kevin Olekaibe, who had been added to the roster with a hardship roster exemption earlier this week.

Long Island announced the moves on Friday.

White, 26, had been waived by the Washington Wizards on Dec. 20, with the Wizards then signing former New York Knicks guard Ron Baker the following day to fill the roster spot.

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The Wizards had White for less than a month after signing him to a prorated veteran’s minimum deal on Nov. 23.

White spent most of the second half of the 2016-17 season with the Miami Heat aftyer initially signing a 10-day contract with them in January 2017. Last season, White sat out much of the season with a broken left foot and was traded to the Atlanta Hawks at the February deadline.

The Hawks immediately waived White, who signed a camp contract with the San Antonio Spurs before being among the Spurs’ final cuts.

The 6-foot-8, 205-pounder played in just three games for Washington, going 0-for-2 from 3-point range with two rebounds in just six minutes of playing time.

White was assigned to the Wizards’ G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go for seven games, starting five, averaging 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.7 steals in 29.6 minutes per game on 39.8 percent shooting overall, hitting 27.6 percent from deep.

White was undrafted out of Florida State in 2014 and played a season in Italy with Virtus Lavoro Bologna in 2014-15 and spent 2015-16 with Aris BC in Greece before getting a camp deal with the Heat in July 2016 after playing for their Las Vegas NBA Summer League squad.

He was among Miami’s final cuts that season and was allocated to the Heat’s affiliate in the G League (then the NBA Developmental League), the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he averaged 18.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 33 minutes per game over 23 starts before getting a 10-day call-up from the Heat.

in 44 NBA games with Miami and Washington, White has averaged 2.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game, shooting 38.1 percent overall and 35.3 percent from deep.

White’s G League returning player rights were obtained by Long Island in October 2017 in a trade from the Memphis Hustle. The parent Brooklyn Nets have an open two-way spot after waiving center Alan Williams on Wednesday, but White is strictly an addition for Long Island at this point.

The departure of Gray marks the end of an era for the Long Island Nets, as he was one of their choices in the 2016 expansion draft.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Gray was undrafted from Delaware State in 2015 after being named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He spent time in 2015-16 with Medi Bavreuth in Germany and in 2016-17 in Poland with MKS Dabrowa Gornicza.

He joined Long Island in 2017-18 and played 44 games, starting two, last season. He averaged 4.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 13.4 minutes per game, shooting 59.1 percent overall and going 5-for-13 from 3-point range.

Gray hadn’t played since Dec. 6 after undergoing surgery on his right knee. In five games this season, he averaged 5.0 points and 2.2 rebounds while shooting 7-for-10 from the field.

Olekaibe played just two minutes Wednesday in Long Island’s win at Nassau Coliseum over the Erie BayHawks, missing his only shot and gathering one rebound.

He spent the last four seasons with the Canton Charge in the G League before Canton waived him prior to the start of this season.

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Long Island is still short a player, as rookie point guard Jordan McLaughlin has missed the last three games with a strained left hamstring.