Camp signings, quick waivers are way for Nets to stock Long Island roster, reward players

Oct 2, 2022 - 4:35 AM

So what’s all this roster movement at the end of the training camp bench?

Over the past week, the Nets have signed Marcus Zegarowski, RaiQuan Gray, Kaiser Gates and Brandan Rachal. After a few hours or a day or two, all but Rachal have been waived and he’s also likely be waived.

Each signed an Exhibit 10 deal and it works for both the team and the player. The Nets will be able to assign all of them to the Long Island Nets who open early next month. There’s two advantages for the players.

Each gets a year of NBA service no matter how short of a time they’re on the roster. If and when they are signed to an NBA vets minimum deal, they’ll get more money — six figures more — because of that extra year of service. If they stick with the G League team for 60 days, they’ll get up to a $50,000 bonus. It’s also a way to reward players who have spent time on G League or Summer League rosters. All four players signed so far have played for either or both over last two years.

Gray tweeted this after he was waived...

So it’s basically bookkeeping that many teams engage in. Don’t look for any of them in preseason games. The training camp contracts don’t count on the salary cap. Nor does the bonus. The players’ next game is likely to be November 4 when Long Island plays the College Park Skyhawks in Georgia.