HORSHAM basketball product Mitch Creek faces a tough battle in his bid to step onto an NBA court in America with the Brooklyn Nets.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Creek, who is in America attending a pre-season training camp with the Nets, was vying for one of two two-way contracts.
A two-way contract would have seen Creek spend time with the Nets’ G-League affiliate, Long Island, and the NBA team.
The Nets already have power forward Alan Williams under a deal and Nets general manager Sean Marks told media on Wednesday swingman Theo Pinson would fill the second of their two-way contracts.
The Pinson deal has not been formally confirmed but Marks makes that decision so it appears done.
But all hope is not lost for Creek, who is believed to be assessing his options, as the Nets could still promote either Williams or Pinson to their roster, especially Williams, who has performed well for Phoenix Suns up until last season when knee problems resulted in his exit from the club.
The Nets enter training camp with a full roster but if they moved a player to make room to promote Williams to a full contract, it would again offer hope for Creek to take up the vacated position.
If that doesn’t happen Creek could still play out the NBA pre-season with the Nets as he has signed an Exhibit 10 contract, which is a non-guaranteed deal to cover the pre-season with his NBA rights then moving to the Long Island Nets, the team’s G-League affiliate.
The Horsham-raised swingman won’t be giving up his NBA dreams in a hurry and NBA teams often make changes to their rosters during pre-season and even during the season so he could still have a chance to make the league for this season.
With questions surrounding Creek’s future, some pundits have suggested Creek could return to the Adelaide 36ers, should his NBA bid fail.
Creek shut down that possibility, posting on Facebook last week that a bridge had been burnt with Adelaide.
The 36ers had filed for compensation following Creek’s move to the Nets, which potentially could have jeopardised Creek’s deal with the Nets.
Creek said on Facebook: “There is no water under the bridge for me, as for when you burn something, it cannot be repaired to how it once was. Myself nor my agents have had no communications regarding a return (to Adelaide), either verbally or in writing. To the fans, I’m sorry but I will not be returning to Adelaide to play.”
– with The Age
