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

Kids look to show out after being ignored on draft night

With only 60 picks in the NBA Draft, many good players were going to be overlooked, particularly since 84 early entries opted to remain in the draft pool, as well as the collegiate seniors who had finished their eligibility.

For those undrafted players, the Summer League provides them another opportunity to show teams what they can contribute, with the goal being to land an Exhibit 10 contract with the hopes of either making a roster outright, earning a two-way contract or, at worst, being allocated to a G-League affiliate.

The Brooklyn Nets have four undrafted rookies on their Summer League roster this year. Last year, three undrafted rookies from Brooklyn’s Las Vegas entry landed two-way deals in the NBA — Tyler Davis, Theo Pinson and Yuta Watanabe.

Jon Davis, SG: Davis went undrafted out of Charlotte after a four-year collegiate career with the 49ers.

Davis was named to the All-Conference USA second team last season after finishing second in CUSA in scoring, free-throw percentage and minutes per game last season.

The Hornets finished just 8-21 and were an afterthought in the conference, going just 5-13 and finishing 13th in the 14-team league.

But Davis did what he could, averaging 21.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 37.1 minutes per game, while shooting 43.3 percent overall and 33.8 percent on 7.4 3-point attempts a game.

He did lead the conference with 4.2 turnovers per game, but he’s a proven scorer who put up 19.6 points per game over his final three collegiate seasons.

Ahmed Hill, SG: Hill capped off a solid four-year career at Virginia Tech with a run to the Sweet 16 as a senior while averaging 13.1 points and 3.9 rebounds in 35.3 minutes per game. Hill shot 44.3 percent overall and 39.1 percent on 5.5 3-point tries per game.

Hill started 115 of his 134 games for the Hokies, spending five years in Blacksburg after sitting out his sophomore campaign following offseason knee surgery.

As a redshirt junior in 2017-18, Hill shot 41.0 percent from deep before sliding back a bit as a senior, but his free-throw shooting improved from 69.0 percent as a freshman to 81.2 percent last season.

Kaleb Johnson, SF: Johnson is a wing prospect who landed a Summer League shot with the Nets despite getting limited run at Georgetown as a senior after he was a full-time starter as a junior.

Johnson is in a somewhat similar situation as Theo Pinson was last summer, because he is a throwback player as a wing who does not possess much of a long-range game.

He averaged 4.4 points and 2,9 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game with the Hoyas last season, shooting 59.8 percent overall while going just 3-for-6 from 3-point range in 31 games.

As a junior, Johnson shot just 34.0 percent on 1.6 triple tries per game. He’s a slasher, which can be a useful skill, but he’ll have to show he has to at least be guarded on the perimeter if he’s to have a chance to make it in the league.

C.J. Massinburg, SG: Massinburg was the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year last season after leading Buffalo to a school-record 32 wins, a 32-4 finish and their second straight trip to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Buffalo was 59-13 over Massinburg’s final two seasons with the Bulls. Last season, he led the MAC in 3-point makes and was fourth in 3-point shooting and scoring.

As a senior, Massinburg averaged 18.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 steals in 32.1 minutes per game, shooting 46.4 percent overall and 39.9 percent on 6.7 3-point attempts per game.

The Dallas native is 6-foot-3 and 194 pounds, so his flexibility on the wing is limited and he’s smallish as a defender against bigger 2s. He’s out to prove he should have at least earned an invitation to the draft combine as he tries to stick in the league.