The Brooklyn Nets have locked in their third and final two-way spot, bringing back Grant Nelson after a season that saw him bounce between Long Island and Brooklyn.
Nelson, 7-foot and 24 years old, joins Chaney Johnson and second-round pick Tyler Bilodeau on a roster that now carries the full 15 players on standard contracts plus all three two-way players.
For Nelson, the path back was already pretty familiar. Brooklyn signed him to an Exhibit 10 deal a year ago after he went undrafted in 2025 out of Alabama, then sent him to Long Island. He spent time with both the G League club and the NBA team before patellar tendinitis - better known as “jumper’s knee” - shut his season down.
That knee issue wasn’t new. It had bothered him since his freshman year at North Dakota State, and during the season it forced him onto a minutes restriction with Long Island.
Even with that limitation, he still produced. In 15 starts in the G League, he averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds per 36 minutes after a seven-week rehab program with Long Island’s player performance staff.
That stretch eventually earned him a 10-day contract with Brooklyn. In four games, he logged 35 total minutes and posted 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocks.
It surprised some observers when he didn’t get another 10-day deal, but the later injury news made the situation clearer.
Nelson underwent treatment in the offseason, then spent time recovering and did not play in Summer League, though he traveled with the Nets to both Sacramento and Las Vegas. He had long been viewed as a likely candidate for Brooklyn’s final two-way opening, and now that expectation has become reality.
In Other News...
Ben Simmons Is Back With A Chance Nets Fans Never Saw
Ben Simmons has resurfaced in a place plenty of Nets fans probably never expected to see him again. After sitting out the 2025-26 season, the former Brooklyn guard has signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, and his path back to an NBA rotation has already included medical exams and workouts that reportedly went well enough to show he is in strong health.
For Brooklyn fans, the move is a reminder of how quickly Simmons career has shifted since his Nets stint ended. He spent his time away from basketball on other pursuits too, including owning a sport fishing team, but the real intrigue now is whether he can turn this fresh start into something meaningful with a new franchise. The chance to see Simmons rediscover himself came later than many expected, and it comes with a new setting that once would have seemed hard to imagine. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Suddenly Have A Real Decision To Make With Porter Jr
Michael Porter Jr. and the Nets have been talking extension for more than three months now, and the lack of a deal has turned a straightforward offseason priority into something a lot murkier. Porter is reportedly seeking about $40 million a year, a number that puts Brooklyn in the kind of position teams rarely enjoy: either pay up for a high-end scorer or start considering whether the best value is elsewhere.
That uncertainty has already pushed Porter into trade chatter, with Orlando mentioned as a possible landing spot in a deal that would bring back Franz Wagner and draft picks. The Magic have their own cap constraints to work around, and any serious pursuit would likely require roster shuffling as well as a hard look at draft capital, which is why this situation feels bigger than a simple extension dispute. For the Nets, the next move could shape not just Porters future, but the way the rest of the roster is built. [Read more 🡒]
Michael Porter Jr. Gave Nets Fans A Glimpse Of Team Chemistry
Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin popped up on Deflected for a light, offbeat look at life inside the Nets locker room, using NBA 2K27 questions to steer the conversation toward teammates, rookie growing pains and the sort of banter that can only come from a group still learning one another. Porter joked about which teammate might struggle with a 9-to-5 routine by naming Danny Wolf, then added a little personal texture by talking about his own time working at a snow cone stand.
Demin also used the appearance to reflect on his rookie season, including a memorable night against Luka Doncic, while Porter looked back on his first season in Brooklyn after arriving in a trade from the Denver Nuggets. For a team still building chemistry, it was the kind of casual media stop that says as much about the roster's personality as any serious postgame answer, even if the bigger basketball questions around this group are still waiting to be answered. [Read more 🡒]