The Western Conference this upcoming season is looking very strong. Teams like the Phoenix Suns are continuing to rebuild next season by acquiring and holding on to valuable assets. In the East, the Brooklyn Nets are also rebuilding after they traded away Brook Lopez to the Los Angeles Lakers for D'Angelo Russell. Now the Nets focus on acquiring valuable assets so that they can attract big NBA names in the near future. Here a few more updates on the Phoenix Suns and the Brooklyn Nets.
Phoenix Suns hold on to TJ Warren
The Phoenix Suns have not made noise this offseason and have only added rookie Josh Jackson.
The Suns are committed to sticking to their young core in Tj Warren and Devin Booker. Adrian Wojnarowski of NBA ESPN has reported that the Phoenix Suns and TJ Warren have agreed to a four-year, $50 million dollar deal this offseason.
TJ Warren entered the NBA in the offseason of 2014 where he was drafted with the 14th overall pick by the Phoenix Suns. He had a great rookie season but was sidelined for a few months after suffering a small crack in a bone in his left thumb. The next season TJ Warren once again played great but was once again sidelined for the rest of the season on February 2 due to a broken right foot. Entering his third season he played his best basketball in his career by averaging career highs in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and field goal percentage.
He averaged 14.4 points, 0.6 blocks, 1.2 steals, 1.1 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game. TJ Warren shot 49.5 percent from the field, 26.3 percent from the three-point line, and 77.3 percent from the charity stripe. Although he missed a few NBA games last season, he did end up appearing in a career-high 66 contests. If he can remain healthy, he should be set to have a breakout season.
He will have a lot of minutes to work with next season if he can stay on the court.
Akil Mitchell headed to the NBA
Nets Daily has reported that the Brooklyn Nets have signed Akil Mitchell to a minimum contract this offseason. Mitchell entered the NBA when he went undrafted in the 2014 NBA draft. He first played for the Houston Rockets summer camp later that year.
The year after he joined the Brooklyn Nets summer camp and earlier this February he played for the G-League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets. Mitchell played four years in college for the Virginia Cavaliers, where he averaged 6.9 points, 0.4 blocks, 0.8 steals, 1.1 assists, and six rebounds per game.