After a tumultuous offseason in which he was dealing with issues off the court, Rodions Kurucs has struggled on the floor for the Brooklyn Nets to start the 2019-20 season. The forward was part of the Nets rotation throughout the first seven games, but did not play when Brooklyn made the trip to Portland.
Over the course of the five-game road trip, Kurucs only saw time in the blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns.
With Kurucs not seeing the floor for Brooklyn, the team has assigned Kurucs to its G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, ahead of their game against the Windy City Bulls on Sunday.
Last year, Kurucs appeared in 63 games for Brooklyn, averaging 8.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game on 20.5 minutes a night. He started in 46 of the games he played in for Brooklyn.
Along with Kurucs’ slow start, the emergence of Nets rookie Nic Claxton throughout the road trip may have had an impact on the second-year forward losing time. While Claxton first received minutes as a result of DeAndre Jordan’s sprained ankle, the rookie continues to receive time even though the veteran big man has returned to the floor.
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