Nets to sign EuroLeague guard Mike James to 10-day contract after James Harden setback, per report
The injuries are piling up for the Brooklyn Nets after the team announced superstar guard James Harden suffered a setback from his hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for seven consecutive games. Couple that with Kevin Durant being injured once again, on top of the several guards who are out with various injuries and the Nets are in some serious need of some depth, especially in the backcourt.
Brooklyn might be filling that need with EuroLeague guard Mike James, who the team is reportedly planning on signing to a 10-day contract this week, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania. James has some NBA experience, playing 32 games for the Phoenix Suns during the 2017-18 season, as well as four games for the New Orleans Pelicans. In that lone NBA season, James averaged 9.3 points, 3.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds, but he’s been far more productive overseas.
James went undrafted after leaving Lamar University following his sophomore year in 2012 and has spent seven seasons playing overseas, most recently for CSKA Moscow in the EuroLeague. In 27 games for CSKA Moscow, James led the league in points per game (19.3), while ranking seventh in the league in assists per game (5.7). Back in March, he was suspended from the team for an altercation with his coach and has subsequently not played since March 25.
Prior to the suspension, he was shooting 35.4 percent from deep and 43 percent from the field. CSKA Moscow made the release of James official Wednesday morning, allowing him to sign with the Nets for the remainder of the season. He’ll provide Brooklyn with some much-needed backcourt depth in the short term, and depending on how he performs on his first 10-day contract, he could be signed for the remainder of the season by the team. He’s a speedy guard with a great handle, which allows him to get to the rim rather easily, and can shoot 3s at a high clip.
James may not get a ton of minutes, but he can be a spark plug off the bench for a Brooklyn team that is looking for some help while the rest of its players get healthy. Once he clears health and safety protocols by the league, he’ll be able to join the Nets who have three more games this week, starting with a Wednesday night matchup against the Toronto Raptors.
