Brooklyn Nets: Breaking down Nets entry in Las Vegas Summer League

Four who were with Brooklyn last season plus a guy from France

The Brooklyn Nets will have three players from their current roster as well as restricted free agent Theo Pinson and 2016 draft pick Isaia Cordinier, acquired from the Atlanta Hawks last summer, with them when they open play in the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday.

Here’s a breakdown of those players:

Jarrett Allen, C: Allen is coming off his second NBA season and one in which he showed solid improvement. He started all 80 games in which he played for the Nets in 2018-19, averaging 10.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 26.2 minutes per game.

He shot 59.0 percent overall and was 6-for-45 (13.3 percent) as his attempt to extend his range out to the corner 3 had mixed results.

Allen made a lot of progress as a defensive rebounder, improving from 6.1 boards per 36 minutes off the defensive window as a rookie to 8.3 last season.

He is looking to continue his work stretching his range this summer, as well as trying to add more bulk and strength, as he was pushed around badly at times last season.

As a two-year vet, he may not see a lot of time on the court. Caris LeVert was the lone two-year veteran on the Summer League roster last year for Brooklyn and did not play.

Rodions Kurucs, SF-PF: Kurucs will make his Summer League debut this year after he was unable to secure a buyout from Spanish club FC Barcelona in time to play last year.

The lean Latvian became a fan favorite last season and emerged as one of the early steals in the 2018 NBA Draft class, playing in 63 games and starting 46 after being selected 40th overall by Brooklyn.

He averaged 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game, shooting 45.0 percent overall and 31.5 percent on 2.9 3-point tries per game.

Like Allen, Kurucs is trying to gain mass and strength this summer, as well as quiet down a jump shot that appeared to be too wide at the base and could drift from side-to-side too often.

Dzanan Musa, SG: Still the youngest player on the main Brooklyn roster at age 20, Musa missed six weeks last season with a dislocated shoulder and spent much of the season with the Long Island Nets in the G-League.

In nine appearances for Brooklyn, he averaged 2.1 points in 4.3 minutes per game, shooting 9-for-22 overall and going 1-for-10 from deep.

But with Long Island, Musa showed signs of being the penetrating playmaker he was for Croatian club Cedevita before he was taken 29th overall last year by the Nets.

He played 36 games for Long Island, starting 34, and averaged 19.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 31.6 minutes per game, shooting 43.9 percent overall and 35.7 percent on 6.4 long-range tries per game.

Musa did not play in the Summer League last year after making 71 appearances for Cedevita as an 18-year-old, so this will be his Las Vegas debutante party as well.

Theo Pinson, SG-PG: It is an encouraging sign Pinson will be back with the Nets for the second straight Summer League, as it is an indication the Nets intend to bring him back after he provided them with some valuable minutes last season.

Pinson made 18 appearances for the Nets, averaging 4.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game, while shooting 34.2 percent overall and 26.1 percent on 2.6 3-point attempts a night.

But he played 35 games and made 34 starts at Long Island, putting up 20.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.6 minutes per game while shooting 44.5 percent overall and 38.4 percent on 7.9 deep tries per game, earning second team All-G-League honors.

A solid perimeter defender at 6-foot-6, Pinson could be a Spencer Dinwiddie-type as a big point guard, but needs to get more consistent with his shooting.

Isaia Cordinier, SG: Cordinier made a solid comeback last season with French club Antibes after sitting out the 2017-18 season following double knee surgery to address issues with chronic tendinitis.

Cordinier, who will be 23 in late November, averaged 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 25.3 minutes per game in France’s Jeep Elite League, shooting 48.2 percent overall and 33.3 percent on 2.8 long-range casts per game.

He has signed a deal for next season with JSF Nanterre in France after Antibes was relegated to the second division, but that deal includes an escape clause should the Nets offer him an NBA contract.