LAS VEGAS — This time last year, Trendon Watford didn’t have a job.
Now, the Nets have a team on the wing — even if it’s a struggling team.
Watford signed a qualifying offer to secure a return to Brooklyn.
Their offseason moves may signal a rebuild, but they also signal opportunity.
“Yeah, it’s great. I got the offer, so that’s good,” Watford said during the Nets’ summer league opener against Indiana on Friday night. “A year ago, I was in a totally different position, so I’m really fortunate going into this year to still be consistent.”
Watford was placed on waivers during last season’s summer league and was released by Portland.
But after the Nets acquired him, he showed enough that the team extended a qualifying offer.
After signing, he is set to make $2.7 million next season.
“I feel like with this going on, opportunities are going to arise and benefit us,” Watford said, referring to himself and young teammates Cam Thomas, Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney.
The trade away of Watford’s sitting next to him, Mikal Bridges, on Friday means the 23-year-old will have plenty of opportunities to flourish.
Watford averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds in 13.6 minutes in 63 games.
But when interim coach Kevin Ollie decided to use a young player in the closing stages, he seized his opportunity.
“It just felt like the end of last year, the last 15, 20 games of last year, I just got a chance to show what I can do and see what the direction is going to be,” Watford said.
Thomas, Watford’s former LSU teammate, had already locked down a starting spot.
But playing alongside Clowney and Wilson, Watford has scored in double figures eight times in his past 11 games.
In the final stretch, he averaged 12.9 points and 5.7 rebounds in 25.4 minutes per game with a .541 overall shooting percentage and a .440 3-point shooting percentage.
“I’ve gotten more comfortable with the ball in my hands and become more of a hybrid point-forward, which is what I’ve always played,” Watford said of the key to his improved performance. “So I’ve been able to get comfortable in the last 20 games. I’ve just tried to carry that momentum into this year, get comfortable and play on my own terms and be better than I was last season.”
With Ben Simmons suspended for the season, the Nets have used the 6-foot-9, 241-pound Watford as a secondary playmaker and even a backup point guard down the stretch.
It is unclear how new head coach Jordi Fernandez will use him.
“It was great. We talked and, of course, [Fernandez is] “He’s a defensive-minded coach and I’m looking forward to having him coach me,” Watford said. “I know this is his first year, and it’s my second time being coached by a first-year coach, so I’m looking forward to playing with him and it’s going to be fun.”
