After rejecting the Nets’ two-way contract offer in the hope of a standard deal, Duke was banking on proving himself with his play.ĭuke Jr. Thomas, Kessler Edwards, Day’Ron Sharpe and Duke all came to Las Vegas for an encore, and Duke had the most on the line. leveled up in the offseasonĪfter Duke made the team as an undrafted rookie last year, the combo guard made strides this summer league. If the summer league showed anything, it’s that if Irving is dealt, Ben Simmons will have to be purely a point guard and in desperate need of backup help. His lack of a jumper let defenders sag off him, and the result was Williams shot just 32 percent overall and went 0-for-7 from 3-point range, dead last on the Nets in offensive rating and PER. Though Williams has an NBA-ready frame as a big guard and has some passing skills, he finished summer league averaging 4.6 points, 2.6 assists and 2.2 turnovers. But the fact is, he went undrafted, and just because the Nets could have a dire need of a backup point guard - if Irving gets traded - doesn’t mean Williams will be ready for that role because he’s clearly not. Sure, he’s the highest-rated of the Nets’ rookies, and they somewhat surprisingly handed him a two-way contract. In fairness, it was never fair to expect him to be. Cam Thomas NBAE via Getty Images Alondes Williams, on the other hand, is nowhere near ready But his playing time was slashed down the stretch last season, so if Thomas wants an increased role, he must continue to improve his playmaking and at least attempt to shore up his sieve-like defense. Thomas will always be a score-first guard, and - presuming Durant and Irving are back - he won’t have the kind of usage rate or control over the offense this season as he did in Las Vegas. He more than doubled his assists from a paltry 2.0 to 4.2 and nearly halved his turnovers from 3.8 to a more manageable 2.0. The more important numbers for Thomas’ growth are his playmaking. His scoring has never been in question, and he followed up his summer league-best 27.0 points per game average from last year with a 27.4 encore. No, we don’t mean him bumping up his average by a few tenths of a point. Can Cam Thomas’ summer league improvement carry over? Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving completely overshadowed all the other activities going on in Las Vegas, but with summer league now in the rearview mirror, after the Nets posted a 3-2 mark, it’s an appropriate time to go back and review the storylines that got pushed to the back burner for Brooklyn. Nets moving closer to signing veteran big man Nets add veteran big man, locker room presence Nets star, fiancée call off engagement: ‘It’s been a difficult time’ Boston Globe legend rips ‘s–t head’ Kevin Durant: ‘Screw him’

Donovan williams