This is a good pick-up for a minimum contract third center/power forward.
The Brooklyn Nets have reached a one-year contract with the Nets, a story broken by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Free agent F Darius Bazley has agreed to a one-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and agent Brandon Cavanaugh tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 15, 2023
While the terms of the deal are not public and the Nets have their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions left, this deal is almost certainly for the minimum.
Bazley spent his first three-and-a-half seasons in Oklahoma City before being traded to Phoenix at the February deadline (in the Dario Saric deal). The Suns did not extend the qualifying offer ($6.2 million) and let him walk as a free agent.
Bazley, 6'8", is athletic and has shown flashes defensively — he seemed to take a step forward on that end last season — who averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds a game in his career but is just a 41.1% shooter. He’s not efficient on offense and that needs to improve, but he has shown he gets how to be a professional, handling his uneven minutes in OKC like a vet last season.
The Nets start Nic Claxton at center and bring Day’Ron Sharpe off the bench behind him. Dorian Finney-Smith starts at the four and there could be minutes behind him, but because Bazley does not space the floor the run he can get at the four is limited.
