With the Brooklyn Nets’ most recent signing of Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, the team fortifies the tail-end of the rotation and adds a trade chip.
In the midst of a rather disappointing, underwhelming campaign such as this for the Brooklyn Nets, bright spots such as Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot can help numb the pain. He plays with high intensity, has no problem getting up in the grill of premier offensive talents such as James Harden or Luka Doncic, and has shot the three-ball with impressive efficiency.
Locking him up to a multi-year deal makes sense for two main reasons.
Firstly, it’s never a bad thing to have a lengthy, three-and-D type stowed away on your depth chart. And secondly, the deal aids the logistics of any possible trade this summer. It’s a win-win scenario for the organization.
If they deem him a worthy complementary piece with aspirations of playing into the middle of June next year, he’s proven that he can be a sparkplug off the bench for spurts. Will he see playing time when the rotation inevitably shortens come playoff time? That’s debatable, but he has shown signs that he can contribute to winning basketball during the regular season.
The Nets are signing Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot to a multi-year deal, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 7, 2020
For the season, TLC is shooting 43.1% from distance on 2.0 attempts per game. Being able to shoot from the perimeter efficiently in head coach Kenny Atkinson‘s analytically-inclined motion-spread offense will get you on his good side.
It should be noted that the volume of his attempts makes it a little difficult to base judgment off of. The shooting stroke looks fundamentally sound, and the results have been in favor thus far, so a significant decrease in efficiency on more attempts shouldn’t be expected.
Offensively, he does not bring much else to the table if his jumper isn’t falling. More than half of his looks come from beyond the perimeter, meaning he’s relatively one-dimensional. On 2.4 drives per game, TLC is shooting 30.6% and is averaging more turnovers than assists.
However, he’s not going to be put in scenarios that require a polished, multi-faceted offensive dynamic—all that’s really is going to be asked of him is to spread the floor. Likewise, if he continues to bring defensive intensity and learns from previous mistakes when it comes to being a little too overzealous, he’ll see consistency in his minutes.
Now, to play devil’s advocate to those who have become fond of the 24-year-old native of France. This contract could help make the money work if a significant trade is made this offseason, which looks to be the case.
At the end of the day, it’s a business. And with the Nets’ declaration to the NBA spectrum that they mean such when they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they’ll make deals to improve the complementary pieces around their stars.
Will TLC be one of those complementary pieces? That still remains to be seen. Until then, this new contract, in which he earned, gives the organization a little versatility.
