Nets’ Two-Way Spots Open After Evbuomwan Waiver

The Brooklyn Nets began addressing their roster logjam yesterday with the surprising waiver of versatile wing Tosan Evbuomwan. The 24-year-old signed a two-way deal with Brooklyn on New Year's Day and became a consistent rotational piece almost instantly, yet he'll be searching for his next NBA home.

With Evbuomwan's departure, the Nets now have two two-way slots available. As NetsDaily pointed out on X following the transaction, CBA star Fanbo Zeng, Alabama product Grant Nelson and summer league standout Tyrese Samuel could all contend for those two slots.

Depending on how Brooklyn feels about the current roster, those guys could be great additions. Zeng could be the breakout piece no one saw coming, Nelson may begin showing shades of the star he was with the Crimson Tide and Samuel might finally make an NBA roster. These are all certainly possibilities.

Or, the Nets could use the openings to hang onto guys who may not eventually win an active roster spot. It would be a wild twist, but Brooklyn may consider looking into converting some of last season's two-way players back onto such contracts.

What is Drew Timme's role expected to look like? With Michael Porter Jr. now in the fold, how will that impact Tyrese Martin's touches? Both players earned multi-year deals based on their performances during the 2024-25 regular season, but if the roster spots get tight, perhaps the Nets try to return them to such contracts.

Although that does seem quite unlikely—just not impossible. The most realistic outcome is as NetsDaily laid out, with the spots going to two of Zeng, Nelson or Samuel.

In that case, the best options would likely be Zeng and Nelson, as Samuel is already 25 years old. Compare that to Zeng, 22, and Nelson, 23, and the choice seems fairly easy. Head coach Jordi Fernandez would get an extra two to three years of player development with the younger guys rather than trying to get Samuel to rush his own.

It will be quite interesting to see how this all shakes out, because Brooklyn could really use the two-way spots to its advantage. With some shrewd maneuvering, the franchise may be able to rectify the packed roster quite easily.

Fans will just have to wait on Marks' decision to see if the Nets will be going the prospect route with Zeng and Nelson, or attempt to get creative by stashing some of last year's big names on two-way deals.