After completing the NBA blockbuster trade to land James Harden, the Brooklyn Nets had to part with a significant amount of their depth. Now, the focus has been to sign players to fill out the depth chart alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Andre Roberson has agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Roberson was being considered as a potential signing before they added Iman Shumpert, but they managed to clear an additional roster spot to add them both.
It’s clear the Nets have all of the offensive firepower they need with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and now, James Harden, leading the team. Instead, the focus for Brooklyn has been to find as many positive defensive contributors to fill key roles as possible.
Roberson carved out a reputation as being one of the NBA’s top perimeter defenders during his time with the OKC Thunder. He managed to earn 2016-17 All-Defensive honors, but the trajectory of his career soon was derailed after that achievement.
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After suffering a ruptured patellar tendon on Jan. 27, 2018, Roberson has been unable to return to regularly participating in NBA action. He went on to miss 30 months. Since the 2017-18 season, he has appeared in just seven games. He did not appear to be quite as quick laterally as he once was and his terrible offensive execution made him simply unplayable.
It will be fascinating to see where Roberson is at physically after making his debut with the Nets. If he’s able to recover most of his previous defensive impact, he could prove to be an important contributor for a potential championship team.
There’s little risk involved for the Brooklyn Nets. If Andre Roberson simply is unable to make an impact, they can move on and find a new vet minimum contributor from free agency to step-in and contribute.
