Nets: A Farewell to Brooklyn Spark Plug Theo Pinson

Nets forward Theo Pinson was a casualty of the Tyler Johnson signing.

Ever since arriving as an undrafted free agent prior to the 2018-19 season, Theo Pinson’s singular goal seemed to be placing his joyful stamp on the Nets’ black-and-white franchise.

By the end of his nearly two-year bench tenure, mostly spent attempting to improve the mood and find his shot that the NBA level, the lanky forward has found himself on the outs, losing his roster spot in the maneuver that brought Tyler Johnson to Brooklyn.

While Johnson may be a solid bucket-getter, he’s a short-term fit, essentially meant for the Orlando bubble only. It feels…quite bad that Pinson’s indelible spark was extinguished for such a quick fix maneuver, and his farewell to Brooklyn was certainly touching.

In just under two seasons with the Nets, Pinson was mostly known for his bench celebrations and dance GIFs, sure — but as Bill Simmons will tell you, every good NBA team has an exceptional chemist, and Pinson would’ve been an elite one during Brooklyn’s rise through the east.

Unfortunately, in order to stay in the rotation, he needed to develop and harness his 3-point stroke, something he could never find during his collegiate career at UNC, but which briefly arrived during his time in the G League with the Long Island Nets.

However, in his 33 games played this past season (and in 11.1 minutes per game), Pinson dovetailed, shooting just 18.8%, which isn’t in the ballpark of what the position necessitates.

I can’t lie — even though the numbers indicate he had to be on the chopping block, I’m depressed. I’m also a Tar Heel who was thrilled to have Pinson in the same borough for the foreseeable future — his double-Final-Four collegiate tenure, marked with a ring, will never be forgotten.

https://twitter.com/UNC_Basketball/status/1245384679139803141?s=20

Here’s hoping Pinson finds his stroke, magnifies his explosiveness, and ends up on the team that deserves him.

It’s just a shame it wasn’t here.