The Brooklyn Nets aren’t done adding potential pieces to the 2024-2025 roster. Yesterday, September 19th, the team announced that they had signed former 2023 second-round pick Amari Bailey to an Exhibit 10 deal. The Exhibit 10 contract is the same type of non-guaranteed tryout deal the team used last month to bring in former first-round pick Killian Hayes.
Amari Bailey provides another option on a team lacking point guard depth
The team only has two true point guards on the roster, Olympic hero Dennis Schroder and the oft-injured and hardly reliable Ben Simmons. While the team will look to give some looks to Cam Thomas and Summer League star Keon Johnson some looks running the point, the pair of young guards are better suited at the two than in a floor general role.
Brooklyn has a bevy of young talent in the front court, with young players like Nic Claxton, Noah Clowney, and Summer League MVP Jalen Wilson leading the way, and other intriguing young depth pieces behind them, the point guard talent pipeline is nowhere near as robust. Taking a flier on a player like Bailey who is just 20-years-old makes a ton of sense.
What can Bailey bring to the table?
Despite being a second-round pick, No. 41 overall, Bailey has considerable talent. ESPN ranked him the third overall high school prospect for the 2022 class when he committed to UCLA. In his lone season as a Bruin, he averaged 11.2 points and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 49.5% from the field and 38.9% from three. Unfortunately, a foot injury derailed his draft prospects leading him to fall to the second round.
A taller guard at 6-5, scouts noted that Bailey has an impressive mid-range game, impressive athleticism to play above the rim, and a soft touch as a spot-up three-point shooter while also displaying some ability to create shots for himself and others. Defensively, he isn’t a disaster but also won’t be relied on as a go-to stopper on the perimeter.
Last season with the Charlotte Hornets Bailey only played in 10 games and played solely in garbage time averaging 6.5 minutes per game. However, he put up a strong 19.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game line for Charlotte’s G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.
Bailey, like Hayes, is another intriguing dart throw for the Nets to build some depth and future potential at the point guard position. While nothing is guaranteed on an Exhibit 10 contract, it would not surprise for him to get some looks both in Long Island and Brooklyn, and could prove to be a potential steal for Brooklyn.