Brooklyn Boro

Nets continue to fill out preseason roster

Reportedly invite forward Donovan Williams to training camp

September 7, 2022 John Torenli, Sports Editor
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Less than a month away from their exhibition opener, the Brooklyn Nets are filling out their preseason roster with the presumption that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will be with them for the upcoming season.

Last week, The Athletic reported that Brooklyn had signed veteran forward Markieff Morris to a one-year deal, adding depth to the frontcourt with a player that helped the Los Angeles Lakers grab the 2020-21 title before spending last season with Miami.

On Monday, 6-foot-6 University of Nevada-Las Vegas forward Donovan Williams revealed on YouTube that he was also headed to Downtown Brooklyn on a non-guaranteed contract, hoping to make the squad out of training camp and through the preseason.

“Donovan Williams is headed to Brooklyn,” the video displayed.

Williams played for the Nets during their Summer League participation in Las Vegas, impressing Brooklyn assistant coach Adam Caporn, who was at the helm of the team during its run through the annual tournament.

“He didn’t hesitate when he got out there. Great energy. Strength and communication will be big things for him to succeed in the NBA,” said Caporn.

While most of this turbulent offseason was spent wondering whether Durant and Irving would remain with the Nets, the team is now focused on surrounding their twin superstars with as much talent as possible for another run at the organization’s first-ever NBA title.

Kevin Durant is all in for Brooklyn again after making trade demands throughout this turbulent summer for the Nets. AP Photo by John Minchillo

The debut of a healthy Ben Simmons, who sat out all of last season while recovering from mental health issues and a bad back once he was dealt to Brooklyn from Philadelphia in February, would re-establish the Nets as a viable contender for the crown.

Simmons was supposed to be the final member of Brooklyn’s new Big Three after he was swapped for a disgruntled James Harden, but the Nets never saw him on the hardwood.

They remain enthused by his progress toward this campaign, and he told ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that he was ready to go this year.

Additions like Morris and Williams aren’t surefire solutions for the losses of veteran players like Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge, but they should vie for playing time alongside returning center Nic Claxton and other offseason additions like Edmond Summer, Yuta Watanabe and Alondes Williams.

Marks still has some spots to fill as the Oct. 3 preseason opener vs. Philadelphia approaches.

At least he knows that Durant and Irving will be on board for 2022-23, something that seemed almost impossible when Durant asked out and Irving was unable to land a long-term deal here.

Nets GM Sean Marks is loading up his roster for what he and the organization hopes will be a banner year here in Brooklyn. AP Photo by Matt Slocum

But the “partnership” between the Nets and Durant is continuing into this season, and that lets Marks build a team that Brooklyn can hope will achieve the one thing that these great players were brought here to do in the summer of 2019: win our borough’s first major pro sports title since 1955.

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