With the season over, it’s time to look back at the inaugural Brooklyn campaign for the Nets. To do so, I’m going to take a look at each player on the roster, examining how they got here, what happened this season, and what their future holds. Next up is Tyshawn Taylor.
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2012-13 Regular season statistics:
Averaged 2.2 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.0 blocks in 5.8 minutes per game in 38 games (no starts). Shot 36.8 percent from the field, 46.2 (6-for-13) percent from 3-point range and 55.6 (15-for-27) percent from the foul line.
2012-13 Playoff statistics:
Played in two playoff games, taking (and missing) one shot in two minutes. Recorded no other stats.
How he got here:
Taylor was drafted by the Nets with the 41st overall selection in the 2012 Draft, a pick the Nets bought from the Trail Blazers for $2 million.
Season in review:
Taylor was projected by many to go late in the first round of the draft last year. So when he slipped into the middle portion of the second round on draft night, it wasn’t surprising to see a team like the Nets pounce on an available pick to snag him.
The Hoboken native, who helped lead the Kansas Jayhawks to the national championship game, where they lost to Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the Kentucky Wildcats, had long been touted as a possible NBA prospect, thanks to the combination of his length and athleticism at the point. And, in the brief stretches he got to play this season for the Nets, he showed off what he is capable of doing.
No moment was bigger proof of that than on Feb. 11 in Indianapolis against the Pacers, who the Nets faced without Deron Williams after he stayed in New York to begin his platelet rich plasma treatment. It turned out to be the highlight of Taylor’s rookie season, as he finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two assists in 34 minutes in an 89-84 overtime win over Indiana.
That was one of the few extended moments of playing time that Taylor received all year, however, as he understandably spent much of the season planted to the bench behind Williams and experienced backup C.J. Watson.
Where does he go from here?
With Watson expected to enter free agency rather than pick up his player option for a little over $1 million for next season after playing well for the Nets this past season – and with the Nets already expected to use their mini mid-level exception to sign former second round pick Bojan Bogdanovic this summer – there’s a good chance he won’t be back with the Nets next season.
And, if he’s not, the question of who will be the primary backup to Deron Williams will quickly become one of the big questions that will need to be answered both this offseason and in training camp this fall. And, heading into his second year in the league, Taylor will undoubtedly hope to become a part of that conversation if, indeed, it does happen.
Taylor showed, in that Indiana performance, what he’s capable of doing. In many ways, he plays a similar game to Watson, in that he’s an athletic point that’s capable of giving opposing guards trouble defensively (though he’s got the advantage of being a couple inches taller than Watson), and can shoot it from the outside, as well.
Along with Tornike Shengelia, Kris Joseph, whoever the Nets take in the first round of the draft and possibly MarShon Brooks, Taylor will be with the Nets Summer League team in Orlando, where he’ll get a chance to show how much he improved this season, and potentially move himself to the front of the line of any competition for Williams’ backup, one that will likely come down to, if Watson leaves, Taylor and a veteran the Nets sign for the minimum this summer.