Brooklyn Nets To Guarantee Contracts Of Three Key Players

The Brooklyn Nets are expected to guarantee the contracts of Yuta Watanabe, Edmond Sumner and Markieff Morris.

Early on in the season, many were writing off the Brooklyn Nets as being championship contenders, especially since they were 2-6 through their first eight games.

After moving on from Steve Nash as their head coach and having Jacque Vaughn take over, the Nets have been one of the best teams in the entire NBA.

Now, Brooklyn finds themselves just 1.5 games out of first-place in the Eastern Conference with a 25-13 record and prior to losing on the road to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, the Nets were riding a 12-game win streak!

Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have been getting the job done for the Nets, proving that they are one of the best duos in the entire league, but the Nets’ overall depth has really begun to prove themselves.

T.J. Warren is proving to be a valuable addition, Seth Curry and Joe Harris are both elite-level three-point shooting threats and the Nets have some key role players on their bench in Yuta Watanabe, Edmond Sumner and Markieff Morris, all of which don’t have fully-guaranteed deals.

Well, that is about to change, as the Nets are expected to guarantee the contracts of all three players according to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto.

The Brooklyn Nets will guarantee the contracts of Yuta Watanabe, Edmond Sumner and Markieff Morris, league sources told @hoopshype. Watanabe has become one of the top 3-point shooters in the NBA. Sumner has played solid backup point guard minutes. Morris is shooting 48.7% on 3s.

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) January 6, 2023

Starting with Watanabe, he came to Brooklyn this season after spending the last two seasons with the Toronto Raptors and he is having a career-year off-the-bench. In 25 games, all of which he has come off-the-bench for, Watanabe has averaged 7.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4 percent from three-point range, the top three-point shooting percentage in the league right now.

Sumner has played in 33 games for the Nets this season and his balance as a playmaker and point guard who can play off-the-ball makes him very serviceable behind Irving in the team’s rotation.

As for Morris, he is an experienced veteran player who knows what it takes to win in this league. From being a valuable defender to shooting 48.7 percent from three-point range, Morris is a great locker room player for this team to have.

The Nets will be looking to continue their recent hot streak on Friday night in New Orleans when they take on the New Orleans Pelicans, a game that will be televised on ESPN. 

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