Getty James Ennis of the Perth Wildcats celebrates after shooting a basket during the round 16 NBL match between the Melbourne Tigers and the Perth Wildcats at Hisense Arena on February 2, 2014 in Melbourne, Australia.
Only a few short hours after signing guard Langston Galloway from the G League, the Brooklyn Nets have dipped back into the free agent market. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports that, to bolster a roster depleted by health and safety protocols, the Nets will be signing free agent James Ennis.
The Brooklyn Nets are planning to sign free agent James Ennis via hardship exemption, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
With seven players not with the team for CoVid-related protocols, Kyrie Irving not with the team for other CoVid-related reasons and with starting swingman Joe Harris still hobbled with an ankle injury, the Nets are at risk of falling below the minimum number of healthy players required (eight) to not have to forfeit games.
Accordingly, the NBA has granted the team six hardship exemptions, allowing them to sign extra players to make up a roster and avoid having to do that. Galloway was the first and Ennis will be the second, but all will come at a price.
Even Short-Term Deals Do Not Come Cheap
Charania did not specify whether the deal will be for ten days or the remainder of the season, but it seems likely to be a ten-day contract. But even that is expensive for them. The Nets have five games coming up in those ten days (after which, they will be hoping, everyone will be back from protocols), and due to their payroll position and the resultant luxury tax, every ten-day signing they make in this way will cost over $630,000.
Between Ennis and Galloway, then, the Nets will be paying more than one and a quarter million dollars for a week of bench minutes. So both will need to arrive ready to contribute.
Who Is James Ennis?
Now a veteran of seven NBA seasons along with a year in Australia immediately after being drafted, Ennis has spent time with the Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Houston Rockets, Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic. Seven teams in seven seasons perhaps speaks to a journeyman level of play, but also to the fact that there has been a clearly defined role for Ennis in the league.
Last season with the Magic, Ennis averaged 8.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, both career-bests for a full season for the oft-travelled swingman. He shot close to his career-best from three-point range, too, hitting 43.3% from outside on a respectable number of attempts, compared to a 36.0% career average.
In the era of the three-and-D perimeter role player, Ennis somewhat fits the profile. Notwithstanding last season’s uptick, the shooting comes and goes, and he shoots almost entirely off the catch rather than the dribble. And while he has the 6’7 frame and length to be a multi-positional defensive player, it is not an area he has consistently shone in over those past seven years.
As with the shooting, the defense also comes and goes. Ennis does however generally make good efforts on that end, and while his lateral quickness is not the best, he has the size to be a factor.
Ennis’s speed going the other way combines with his long stride to make him a useful transition threat, too, and although he has always been prone to some wildness with his handle and decision-making when trying to create with the ball in his hands, there should not be a need for him to much do that in Brooklyn. Last season, Ennis ranked in the 91st percentile in spot-up possessions last season, per Synergy Sports, by far his most common play type. The Nets will be wanting him to do more of the same.
James Ennis is solid, and solid will do. Solid shooting and solid defense in a small and fleeting role as filler for the far superior Harris will do for now, as the Nets look to ride out their own wave of coronavirus. The union may only last a few days, but in them, Ennis will know what to do.
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