Getty Iman Shumpert brings the ball up the court at Barclays Center.
The short-handed Brooklyn Nets will be getting some much-needed help soon. The Nets announced the signing of defensive irritant Iman Shumpert yesterday. Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first person to report the news. This will be Shumpert’s second stint with the Nets. The one-time New York Knick was on the Nets’ roster for 13 games last season. During that time he averaged 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 0.9 assists per game in 18.5 minutes of play. The Nets now have filled 14 of their 16 roster spots as they officially signed big man Norvel Pelle to the roster earlier this week.
Free agent Iman Shumpert is finalizing a deal with the Brooklyn Nets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
Shumpert Has Familiarity With Nets Roster
Shumpert has close ties with many members of the Brooklyn Nets. He went to three NBA Finals with Kyrie Irving (2015-2017) when they were members of the Cleveland Cavaliers. This included the historic 3-1 comeback over the Golden State Warriors in 2016. Shumpert was also a member of the Houston Rockets with the newest Net James Harden in 2019. The Rockets made it to the Western Conference Semi-Finals that year but lost to Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors in six games.
Steve Nash Is Addressing Brooklyn’s Poor Defense
With the signings of Pelle and Shumpert, it is clear that the Nets are trying to fill in the holes that they have on defense. Brooklyn is in the bottom half of the league as it pertains to points allowed. On average they are giving up 111.8 points per game to opponents. Nets head coach Steve Nash has previously noted that defense was Brooklyn’s biggest problem that needed to be addressed. “I think we’re last in the league in 50-50 balls, contested shots, and hustle plays,” he told reporters over Zoom via USA Today. “We’re just got to find a way to play harder, dig deeper. We’re not a defensive roster. We have to take more pride in it, and we have to win more ’50-’50s, contest more shots, fight, scrap, claw — that’s what I think is missing as much as anything schematic that we’re breaking down.”
Maybe the only downside of building a super team is that you usually have to gut your entire roster to do so. This has been the case with the Brooklyn Nets. As a result, Nash has had to plug and play a lot of guys at different positions this season after losing Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert via the Harden trade. While the chemistry of the Nets as a whole may not be there yet Brooklyn’s “Big 3” is starting to put it all together as they combined for 89 points in their last game. One of the questions surrounding this team was their ability to share the basketball. Harden believes that he, Irving, and Durant are finally finding their balance. “We just got to find that balance of when to be aggressive and when to make plays,” Harden said on a Zoom call with reporters via Nets Wire “I think even with our aggressiveness, we’re still playmakers. I think over the course of the game we did a really good job of getting guys involved, but scoring the ball, as well. And nothing really changes even when KD is in the lineup, as well.”
The Nets will have an opportunity to win their fifth straight game when they take on the Washington Wizards on Sunday.
READ NEXT: Kevin Durant on Being MVP Frontrunner: ‘Stop the Gas’