Nets Add G League's Top Passer: Will He Stay in Brooklyn?

Overall, he averaged 14.5 points. 10.8 rebounds and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting 41.2% from the field and 26.4% from beyond the arc for Santa Cruz.

Collins' impressive assist totals from last season aren’t just a fluke or a product of a favorable offensive system, he also led the NCAA in assists twice (2021, 2022) during his time at Saint Louis University. While playing for the Phoenix Suns' Las Vegas Summer League team, Collins finished among the Summer League's top ten passers while averaging six assists per game.

During his collegiate days, Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford explained that Collins' feel for the game is what separates him from other point guards.

“Everybody wants to score. And if he wanted to, Yuri could average 20 points per game. He can get to his spots so easy and he can score the ball,” Ford said. “What I love about him is he gets a feel for the game as the game is going on, which games he needs to score, which games he needs to run the offense and set everybody up. And it’s usually all based on how teams are playing him.”

While he may not have an NBA resume under his belt, most of Brooklyn's potential point guards don't have much NBA experience either. Recent trade acquisition Kobe Bufkin appears to be a candidate to be Brooklyn's top distributor, but he's only appeared in 34 career NBA games, and his stats aren’t impressive enough to assume that the role will be handed over to him.

Earlier in the month, the Long Island Nets acquired Collins' returning rights from Santa Cruz before he was eventually signed by Brooklyn. If he ends up being a training camp casualty, it's entirely possible that he will be stashed in the G League and could come in as a contributor later in the season.

For a team that is already thin and inexperienced at the position, they wouldn't be taking much of a risk by giving Collins the shot to prove himself at the NBA level.