JULY 26: Gardner’s deal will be an Exhibit 10 contract, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who suggests that the rookie center will likely end up on Brooklyn’s G League team in Long Island.
JULY 25: The Nets and free agent center Patrick Gardner have agreed to a deal, sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). Gardner went undrafted out of Marist in June.
Scotto doesn’t specify the terms of the agreement, so a non-guaranteed training camp contract seems likely, though that’s not yet confirmed.
Gardner, who transferred to Marist for his final year of college ball, averaged 19.1 points and 6.6 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game (33 games) in 2022/23. He also had a three-point percentage of 38.3%, an impressive mark for a 6’11” frontcourt player.
Gardner suited up for the Heat in Summer League play, scoring 23 points on 8-of-19 shooting (6-of-12 threes) and grabbing 13 rebounds in 47 total minutes across four appearances in Las Vegas and Sacramento.
Gardner is expected to play for Egypt’s national team at the World Cup in Asia next month, Scotto notes.
The Nets currently have 16 players under contract — 13 on guaranteed deals, one on a non-guaranteed pact, and a pair on two-way contracts. They can carry up to 21 players during the offseason, so they have plenty of room to continue making roster additions.
I think this is the 3rd straight year they grabbed a heat summer league guy
I’m still catchup on stuff, so I may have him confused with 1 other guy, but if I am recalling correctly, this guy moved well, and competed. I liked him on the boards. Forced a couple of moments, but was interesting as someone I would like to see again after this season
Obviously as a floor spacing big, that should get him opportunities
I don’t know that Gardner’s shooting will translate. His 67% FT isn’t promising, and it’s a more reliable indicator than college 3pt percentage. He’s also already 24, and faced weak competition in his one year in DI schooling (and they had a 13-20 record in regular season play against that weak competition). Maybe he can make something of himself. But I’d have to see him in the G-League first. The Summer League barely tells you anything outside of fundamentals and basic athleticism.
Alot of undrafted centers but GS didn’t grab one