The Brooklyn Nets announced they officially signed former Los Angeles Lakers big man Devontae Cacok to a training camp contract.
Cacok was last seen with the Lakers during Summer League and spent the last two seasons with the Purple and Gold on a two-way contract. Hailing from UNC Wilmington, Cacok went undrafted in 2019 but ended dominating with the South Bay Lakers.
Cacok finished third in G-League Rookie of the Year voting but was named to the All NBA G-League First and All-Rookie teams. During his stint, he averaged 19.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks.
However, Cacok saw little time with the parent team Lakers who had several frontcourt options under head coach Frank Vogel. Cacok played sparingly during the 2020-21 season, appearing in only 20 games for the Lakers where he averaged 2.0 points and 1.6 rebounds.
Now with the Nets, Cacok will look to make the 15-man roster and it seems as though he is excited about the opportunity, via his personal Twitter account:
???????? https://t.co/jKFNi184M6
— Devontae Cacok (@Vontae__15) September 17, 2021
Like the Lakers, the Nets decided to supplement their superstar trio with a swath of veteran talent including Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge. Brooklyn also has talented young big man in Nic Claxton on the roster, making Cacok’s path to a roster spot a difficult one.
Even though it is a long shot for Cacok, he certainly should be in the mix for one of their two-way spots as he has legitimate rebounding ability and has flashed some touch around the rim. However, working against him is his size as he is a bit too small to be a traditional five in the NBA and does not shoot the ball well enough from beyond the arc to play as a power forward.
Cacok looked willing to launch from deep during Summer League, but the results were mixed and it remains to be seen whether or not he can improve enough in that area to make it a weapon in his arsenal.
As far as his development goes, Cacok admitted that his process with the Lakers was all over the place but hopefully he finds a home in Brooklyn and continues to grow and develop.
Cacok appreciative of Montrezl Harrell’s tutelage
During his second season with the Lakers, Cacok got the honor of learning under fellow undersized big man Montrezl Harrell. Cacok acknowledged he was appreciative of Harrell taking him under his wing and he should be a better player because of it.
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