The Brooklyn Nets Need to Keep Finding Low-Risk, High-Reward Prospects

If a prospect is young and has NBA tools but no NBA home, the Nets should be there.

Apr 14, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Jalen Wilson (22) dribbles the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers during the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets are reportedly closing in on a new two-way signing in Chinese wing Yongxi “Jacky” Cui. 

With the team early on in its crescent rebuild, Brooklyn has an opportunity to keep finding low-risk, potentially high-reward prospects — and giving them a second chance in the NBA that would perhaps be tougher to obtain in a more competitive, playoff-geared environment.

Currently, every NBA team can have up to three players on two-way contracts. This is up from the two players that the previous CBA allowed until last season. Then, the Nets went into opening night with one of their two-way slots still open. That could once again be a strategy, but it’s worth pointing out that two-way contracts do not count towards luxury tax or the salary cap.

Last season’s success stories include Jalen Wilson and Keon Johnson, who are both on full-fledged contracts with Brooklyn this upcoming season. 

Wilson, the 2024 Summer League MVP, was on a two-way deal after getting drafted with the No. 51 pick in 2023. Last season, he played in 43 games and averaged 5 points. The hope is that Wilson can build on how he played in April when he saw an increase in playing time — 24 minutes per game for 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists a night — and over the summer.

Johnson had a less straightforward route to finding a home — at least for this season, seemingly — with the Nets. He joined the team on a two-way at the start of last November, impressed in the G League with the Long Island Nets after intermittent stops with the LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers and secured his spot that way.

Cui’s road to NBA permanency could be similar to Johnson’s. Like the former Tennessee prospect, Cui has strong positional size — he’s around 6-foot-7 and mostly plays the two or the three — and he has viable NBA tools in his arsenal with his three-point shooting and motor.

If Cui’s signing is confirmed, this would be his first full season of stateside basketball after experiences with the Guangzhou Loong Lions in China, as well as the NBA Global Academy in Australia. So far, the 21-year-old’s only NBA reps came in Summer League with the Portland Trail Blazers after he went undrafted.

As a result, the Chinese scorer logically faces an uphill climb — but it’s one that features very few drawbacks for the Nets. 

If Cui works out, it’s very unlikely that the Nets’ rebuild will only last a single season, so he could find his way back on what is essentially a one-year deal in a very fluid roster. That is the case with Wilson and Johnson, who have team options for 2025 despite signing new contracts recently, or also Jaylen Martin (the Nets' only confirmed two-way player).

Should Cui peter out, then the Nets took no financial hit, explored what a big shoot-first guard prospect looks like with the team’s current pieces and they can sign another two-way player to analyze. 

But be it as it may, and with the roster already featuring veteran voices in Dennis Schröder, Bojan Bogdanovic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cameron Johnson and others, the onus should be on finding low-value, high-reward punts.

A player’s value might be low through a combination of items: age (Wilson), injury (Dariq Whitehead), unconventional path (Martin and Overtime Elite, Cui and the Chinese league), or a lack of proven production (Johnson and Ziaire Williams).

But if they are young and flash NBA tools — meaning size and length, three-point shooting, glimpses of quick decision making and two-way versatility with a motor — the Nets should at the very least consider taking a look while they hope to “capture the Flagg.”

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