The Nets intend to waive big man Darius Bazley, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
A former first-round pick (23rd overall in 2019), Bazley signed a one-year deal with Brooklyn this summer as an unrestricted free agent after he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from Phoenix. However, his contract was non-guaranteed, and he was trying to make the opening night roster.
With Bazley set to hit the waiver wire, it appears as though Harry Giles and Trendon Watford might have beaten him out for the Nets’ regular season roster. The three players — all of whom are on non-guaranteed deals — appeared to be competing for the final two spots on the 15-man roster, with Brooklyn having 13 players on guaranteed standard contracts.
A 6’8″ forward/center, Bazley holds career averages of 9.1 PPG and 5.3 RPG on .411/.310/.673 shooting in 228 regular season games (118 starts, 23.6 MPG) with the Thunder and Suns. He averaged 5.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG and 1.0 SPG while shooting 42.9% from deep in three preseason contests with the Nets and is expected to draw interest as a free agent, according to Charania.
The Nets will have 19 players under contract once Bazley is officially released. They have one two-way slot open.
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