Even though the Brooklyn Nets desperately wanted to get rid of Deron Williams this offseason his departure leaves them with a massive void at the point guard position. The Nets are expected to start Jarrett Jack at point guard and he is more of a backup point guard that comes off the bench and provides scoring punch. The Nets know point guard might be a weak spot for them next season so they have reportedly brought in Donald Sloan, according to NetsDaily.com.
Sloan confirmed on Instagram that he had reached a deal with the Nets.
A photo posted by Donald Sloan (@donsloan15) on Aug 10, 2015 at 10:05am PDT
The reported deal between Sloan and the Nets is for one year and the league minimum. The deal is partially guaranteed according to reports but the part that is guaranteed is small. The Nets will be Sloan's fifth different team in the past five seasons.
Sloan is now a 27 year old 6 foot-3 point guard who is coming off his best season in the NBA with the Indiana Pacers. Sloan was forced to start 21 games last year as George Hill was down with an injury and he filled in admirably. In 53 games last season Sloan averaged 7.4 points and 3.6 assists in 20.9 minutes per game while making 41 percent of his field goals and 31 percent of his three pointers.
Sloan has shown so far to be a slightly below average NBA player but he did have his moments last year where he showed he can play at the NBA level and play well. With the Nets weak at the point guard position it is a wise move for them to bring Sloan in and let him compete for a roster spot. Behind Jack the Nets have Shane Larkin who is likely to be the backup point guard and undrafted rookie Ryan Boatright. Boatright and Sloan will likely be competing for the third point guard job and a roster spot but Sloan is more likely to make the team, according to Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
Sloan is not a lock to make the team as his contract is non-guaranteed so if he is outplayed in training camp by Boatright there is a chance he can be cut. Having said that, Sloan will be the favorite to win the third point guard spot due to the fact that he is coming off his best season and has shown that he can compete at a high level against NBA competition.
