The Brooklyn Nets are still early in their offseason, but they have taken care off one of their most important matters by hiring Jordi Fernandez as the head coach. One of the main issues that Brooklyn has to address this offseason is which players will be on the team next season.
In a recent episode of the HoopsHype podcast, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Brian Lewis of the New York Post discussed plenty of topics related to the Nets’ offseason. One of those topics was about who will be on the roster going into next season, including forward Keita Bates-Diop.
Bates-Diop, 28, is one of the players that came to Brooklyn in the trade deadline trade this past season that sent forward Royce O’Neale to the Phoenix Suns. Bates-Diop was part of a package that including him, guard Jordan Goodwin (who was later waived), and second-round picks in 2026, 2028, and 2029.
As things stand right now, Bates-Diop is virtually guaranteed to be on the team next season given that he has a player option worth $2.654 million as part of a two-year, $5 million deal that he signed with the Suns last summer. While there is a possibility that Bates-Diop could decline his player option if he wants to go to another team or get more money, Scotto and Lewis agreed that they could see Bates-Diop exercising his option.
After coming to Brooklyn, Bates-Diop played in just 14 of 30 games as he was only seeing playing time when the Nets were missing enough players to have to dig deep into the rotation. Bates-Diop did not have much of a role for Brooklyn as he averaged just 1.6 points and 0.6 rebounds per game while shooting 50.0% from the field and 20.0% from three-point range in 4.8 minutes per contest.
Bates-Diop, the 48th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, has only averaged 6.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game for his career, but his time with the San Antonio Spurs could give a glimpse into what he can do on the floor. During the 2022-23 season with the Spurs, Bates-Diop averaged 9.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game while shooting 50.8% from the field and 39.4% from three-point land in 67 games played (42 starts).
Depending on what the Nets do in free-agency this offseason, Bates-Diop could find himself in a position for more minutes and more opportunity to bring his three-point shooting and rebounding to the floor. He has a very low cap hit and could be more productive next season than he was this past season, assuming that there is a role for him.
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