Nets Waive Promising Young Wing Following NBA Draft

After a brief stint in which he played the best basketball of his young NBA career, basketball insider Michael Scotto reported that the Brooklyn Nets have waived forward Maxwell Lewis.

The move comes after the Nets made history in the first round of Wednesday’s NBA Draft by selecting five players, the most in league history. If Brooklyn plans to keep all five, they’ll need to adjust their roster accordingly.

Lewis played in 21 games for the Nets this season, making one start. Throughout his time with the team, he averaged 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while playing 14.2 minutes per game.

Although his time in Brooklyn was relatively short, Nets head coach Jordi Fernández credited Lewis for bringing a positive spark to the team.

"His energy is contagious. And you can tell his teammates on the bench every time he does something positive, they celebrate," said Fernandez. "That’s the most important thing. You see that chemistry.”

Although his offensive opportunities were limited with the Nets, he still managed to score at an efficient rate when given the opportunity to take more shots than usual. He scored 15 points on 85.7% shooting in a game against the then-defending champion Boston Celtics, and later in the season, he added 13 points on 50% shooting against the Toronto Raptors.

Lewis arrived in Brooklyn as part of a trade that sent Dorian Finney-Smith and Shake Milton to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Lewis, D’Angelo Russell, and three future second-round picks.

Shortly after being traded to the Nets, Lewis fractured his left tibia in his debut, sidelining him until April.

He appeared in 41 games with the Lakers, but played sparingly, averaging 3.6 minutes per game throughout his time in Los Angeles. He also spent time with the Lakers G-League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers. Throughout his time in the G-League, he has averaged 15 points, 8.5 rebounds and two assists per game over the course of 27 games.

He became a Laker in 2023, after the Denver Nuggets selected him with the 40th pick in the NBA Draft and traded him shortly after.