Brooklyn Nets: Theo Pinson another win for player development system

The Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday converted the two-way contract of undrafted rookie Theo Pinson to a standard contract after a strong first pro campaign.

The Brooklyn Nets filled their open roster spot on Wednesday with a familiar face, converting the two-way contract of rookie Theo Pinson to a standard player contract.

The 23-year-old was undrafted last year after a solid four-year career at the University of North Carolina that included helping the Tar Heels to a national championship in 2017.

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The knock on Pinson was his shooting, or lack thereof. In four seasons at Carolina, Pinson shot just 25.7 percent from the shorter collegiate 3-point line, including going just 12-for-53 in 37 games as a senior.

But the Nets brought Pinson to Las Vegas as part of its Summer League squad and he showed a deft touch from deep, along with the ball-handling and defensive skills that made him a professional prospect in the first place.

In five games with Brooklyn in Vegas, Pinson shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range, hitting 11-of-26, while averaging 11.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks in 24.9 minutes per game.

Pinson signed his two-way deal with the Nets in August and spent significant time with the parent club this season, playing in 17 games while also making 34 starts in an outstanding season with the G-League’s Long Island Nets.

With Long Island, Pinson averaged 20.7 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds in 35.6 minutes a game, shooting 44.6 percent overall and a solid 38.5 percent on 8.1 3-point attempts a night, while also canning 84.4 percent of his free throws.

That was good enough to earn Pinson a spot on the All-G-League second team and he finished second to Angel Delgado of the Agua Caliente Clippers in the Rookie of the Year voting.

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Long Island lost to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in Harlingen, Texas, on Tuesday night and will return to the Island for Game 3 at Stony Brook University’s Island Federal Arena on Friday night in a winner-take-all contest for the G-League title.

In four playoff games, Pinson has put up 20.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 37.6 minutes per game on 41.9 percent shooting. His 3-point shooting has cooled,, at 26.3 percent on 9.5 attempts per game.

Long Island won its first three postseason games before Tuesday’s road loss.

In 17 games with Brooklyn, Pinson averaged 4.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 11.3 minutes per game, shooting 34.8 percent overall and 28.6 percent on 2.5 3-point attempts per game.

His biggest performance with the Nets came in a Jan. 25 victory at Barclays Center over the New York Knicks in which Pinson logged 26 minutes and finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals in the Nets’ 109-99 win.

Pinson was appreciative of the opportunity.

https://twitter.com/tpinsonn/status/1116034121225121794

While he’s gained notoriety for his sideline celebrations with the Nets, Pinson has shown both at the NBA level and in the G-League that he has potential.

It’s another win for a player development system in Brooklyn that keeps turning castoffs into contributing members of the squad.

The G-League program at Long Island is playing for a league title in just its third year and Long Island produced two players this season — Mitch Creek and Tahjere McCall — who earned call-ups to Brooklyn on 10-day contracts.

The contract conversion will make Pinson a full restricted free agent, should the Nets opt to extend a qualifying offer, and per Early Bird Rights, he will now have a cap hold of $1.82 million for next season.

Brooklyn still has the ability to open up to $50.36 million in cap space this summer against a projected cap of $109 million, but Pinson’s converted deal increases the potential cap hold figure to $79.56 million.

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Alan Williams remains on a two-way contract and will also be a restricted free agent, but without a cap hold.