Joey Hauser is headed back into an NBA Summer League setting, only this time he’ll be drawing up the action instead of trying to score in it.
The Brooklyn Nets’ Summer League roster lists the former Michigan State forward on the coaching staff, where he’ll work alongside a group that includes former players such as Foster Loyer and Oakland’s Travis Bader. Hauser, who finished his playing career a year ago, is now taking another step in what looks like an early coaching path.
For Hauser, this is the kind of break that can matter. He’s moving up after serving as a video assistant, and a strong showing in this role could help him make a case for a longer look with Brooklyn or somewhere else in the league. Getting a first coaching job in the NBA usually means someone in the building believes you see the game at a high level.
He’ll likely be back in that video assistant role for the upcoming season with the Nets, but the chance to prove he can coach on the floor gives him a real opening. The next test comes July 10, when Brooklyn faces Jaden Akins and the New York Knicks’ Summer League team.
Joey Hauser’s path at Michigan State was a lot more complicated before it finished on a high note.
After transferring from Marquette and sitting out a season, he arrived in East Lansing looking like a player who could turn into a star. He had the shooting touch and the confidence to match, but that edge seemed to fade partway through his first year and into his second.
In his first season with Michigan State, Hauser averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. The next year, those numbers dipped to 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Even so, his outside shot kept improving, jumping from 34 percent to 41 percent from three-point range.
Then came 2022-23, the season that changed everything.
Hauser put it together in his final year with the Spartans, becoming a confident, reliable scorer and one of the team’s most popular players. He averaged 14.4 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 50.6% from the floor and 46.1% from three. He also led the conference by making 87.6% of his free throws.
Not many players go from being heavily criticized to widely embraced in such a short stretch at Michigan State, but Hauser did exactly that. Fans still remember him fondly, and now the Nets are betting that same sharp shooting eye can translate to the coaching side.
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Part of the delay comes from the fine print. Guskiewiczs contract gives him six months notice before he has to depart, which could push his exit well into the fall, and Batts arrangement includes a buyout clause tied to Guskiewiczs status. The result is an awkward overlap for Michigan State, where the top two leadership roles are in limbo at the same time and the timeline for any clean handoff still feels murky. [Read more 🡒]