DECEMBER 21: Gabriel has officially signed his 10-day contract, the Nets announced today in a press release.
DECEMBER 18: The Nets are planning to sign big man Wenyen Gabriel to a 10-day contract, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Brooklyn will be using a hardship exception to sign him.
The Nets have already signed Langston Galloway, James Ennis and Shaquille Harrison to 10-day contracts using hardship exceptions this week. The team currently has nine players in the league’s health and safety protocols, including Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.
Gabriel, 24, went undrafted in 2018 after spending three seasons at Kentucky. He holds past NBA experience with the Kings, Blazers and Pelicans. In 12 games with the Wisconsin Herd this season, he’s averaged 13.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 25.6 minutes per game.
Despite being shorthanded, Brooklyn most recently won a 114-105 contest over the Sixers, led by Durant’s 34 points and 11 rebounds. The team will host the Magic (5-25) on Saturday night.
Tonight will be the Nets’ first test since this current outbreak began without KD. They’re still planning to rest Mills from what I understand and Claxton probably won’t play with a sore wrist. The signing of this guy isn’t official yet so he won’t be available either for tonight’s de facto Lakeland Magic @ Long Island Nets game.
WHAT?????!!!! How does Irving enter the protocols the day he joins the team? Unless he already had covid beforehand. Now what? A guy who averages 2.6 points per game for his career? I don’t think so.
Gabriel is fun to watch. He plays hard. Good luck to him.