ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday that the Brooklyn Nets and Tyler Zeller came to terms on a multi-year deal.
Tyler Zeller is the Brooklyn Nets latest offseason signing, and he’s joining the team on a two-year deal for an amount that Woj hasn’t yet reported.
Free agent center Tyler Zeller is finalizing a two-year deal with the Brooklyn Nets, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 11, 2017
Zeller, 27, spent last season with the Boston Celtics, his third overall with the franchise. Before that, he spent two years with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
With the Celtics, Zeller’s role was almost non-existent. He averaged 10.3 minutes a night and appeared in just 51 contests. When he did see time, he averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds while shooting 49.4 percent from the floor.
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If Kenny Atkinson allocates minutes to the seven-footer, most of his impact will come on the glass. Back in 2015, Zeller was Boston’s third-leading rebounder (5.7) behind Rajon Rondo (7.5) and Jared Sullinger (7.6).
As we inch closer to the season, it shouldn’t be a shock to see Zeller get some time behind Timofey Mozgov as the Nets plan their attack with Jarrett Allen. Being seven-feet and not very athletic, the former Tar Heel is limited to the center position exclusively, but Brooklyn’s shown that they’re not afraid to go small and ditch the conventional big.
At this point, the Nets are in the position to bring on some fringe guys and see how they perform. If they exceed all expectations, that’s great. If they flop, it’s not the end of the world because the organization is still doing their best to find the right pieces.