Breaking Down the Nets’ Decisions on David Muoka and Dre Davis

Some may be confused by the Brooklyn Nets recent transactions.

Both David Muoka and Dre Davis were waived mere hours after the Brooklyn Nets signed them. Why is this? What's the point of signing someone just to cut ties with them the next day?

Anyone who paid attention to how Brooklyn operates last season will quickly understand the goal. The Nets have utilized their G League Affiliate, the Long Island Nets, as an integral tool for developing young talent.

Many of Brooklyn's most important contributors in 2024-25 came through the Long Island pipeline, including Tyrese Martin, Drew Timme and the recently waived Keon Johnson. Throughout the regular season, the Nets consistently made changes to the Long Island roster, utilizing it as intended: for player development.

That appears to be the plan here with Muoka and Davis.

The former, already a Long Island vet, will return to the affiliate he spent the 2023-24 season with. He played 38 games for Long Island, averaging 4.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 14.7 minutes of action. But his familiarity with the franchise transcends the G League, as he joined Brooklyn for the NBA2K25 Summer League a year ago.

The latter, an addition to the Nets' summer league roster this year, will likely also receive a shot on Long Island. Davis, 24, enjoyed a five-year collegiate career, including stops with Louisville, Seton Hall and Ole Miss. He built a reputation of being a high-effort, scrappy guard, so Brooklyn's interest in the development of Davis does make logical sense.

With any other franchise, these types of moves likely carry far less weight. But the Nets are different from any other franchise. Amid their rebuild, Brooklyn is constantly on the prowl for young talent, and tactics like these resulted in genuine rotational pieces due to the systems it has in place.

Does this mean Muoka and Davis will emerge as cornerstones? Well, likely not, but there's reason to believe they'll—eventually—be able to contribute. As previously mentioned, Timme and Martin, two players still on the Nets' roster, are Long Island alumni, as is Tyson Etienne, who also has a roster spot for now.

The Nets are exercising all possible avenues toward success, which is smart. These moves are low-risk, high-reward, and with a little bit of luck, Brooklyn may just stumble across the next Pascal Siakam/Fred VanVleet-esque player by extending its scouting and development skills across the G League.