NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford is heading into an important summer for his career given that he is hitting unrestricted free-agency after coming off another solid season for the Nets. Watford had the best season of his career in Brooklyn so he could stand to come back to the team that gave him more responsibilities, but he is also looking to get his worth in free-agency.
“Obviously, you want to get what you feel like you deserve. Just having a consistent role these past two years, I think I’ve been able to show, not only my organization, but other organizations, putting my name out there, and earn respect on my name,” Watford said during his exit interview on Monday. Watford heads into free-agency for the second time in as many season and this time around, he is entering the open market with a better resume.
“I think I’ve been able to do that with the opportunity that I’ve been given here,” Watford continued. “I think this is my second time coming around free agency. I know how it goes, and I know it’s a business, but I enjoyed this. I enjoyed the group, and I enjoy being here. I know we gotta have some talks or whatever coming up soon. But, I enjoy being here. I like what we got going on.”
Watford, 24, is coming off the best season of his career as he averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field and 33.0% from three-point range. Not only did Watford put up better numbers than he did last season, but he was also tasked with being more of a creator for himself and others as evidenced by his usage rate increasing from 21.1% last season to 23.3% this year.
Watford also saw more playing time this season as he averaged a career-high 20.8 minutes per game, but this campaign also came with him dealing with injuries causing him to play in just 44 games, the lowest games played figure in a season for him. However, with all of that in mind heading into the offseason, Watford is happy to have made it on the other side of those injuries as he learned many lessons along the way.
“Just with injuries and stuff, just taking my time and trusting my body, and just being professional about my body. Just taking time with that, I think just dealing with the hamstring injury that I had, obviously just doing it twice. It was just tough at first, but I just got through it. And, just (my) mental toughness,” Watford explained. The Nets are expected to have the most cap space available this summer so Watford could be back in Brooklyn with a new mindset towards remaining healthy and maximizing his opportunities.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Trendon Watford seeks to get what he deserves in free-agency
NEW YORK — Brooklyn Nets forward Trendon Watford is heading into an important summer for his career given that he is hitting unrestricted free-agency after coming off another solid season for the Nets. Watford had the best season of his career in Brooklyn so he could stand to come back to the team that gave him more responsibilities, but he is also looking to get his worth in free-agency.
“Obviously, you want to get what you feel like you deserve. Just having a consistent role these past two years, I think I’ve been able to show, not only my organization, but other organizations, putting my name out there, and earn respect on my name,” Watford said during his exit interview on Monday. Watford heads into free-agency for the second time in as many season and this time around, he is entering the open market with a better resume.
“I think I’ve been able to do that with the opportunity that I’ve been given here,” Watford continued. “I think this is my second time coming around free agency. I know how it goes, and I know it’s a business, but I enjoyed this. I enjoyed the group, and I enjoy being here. I know we gotta have some talks or whatever coming up soon. But, I enjoy being here. I like what we got going on.”
Watford, 24, is coming off the best season of his career as he averaged 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 46.9% from the field and 33.0% from three-point range. Not only did Watford put up better numbers than he did last season, but he was also tasked with being more of a creator for himself and others as evidenced by his usage rate increasing from 21.1% last season to 23.3% this year.
Watford also saw more playing time this season as he averaged a career-high 20.8 minutes per game, but this campaign also came with him dealing with injuries causing him to play in just 44 games, the lowest games played figure in a season for him. However, with all of that in mind heading into the offseason, Watford is happy to have made it on the other side of those injuries as he learned many lessons along the way.
“Just with injuries and stuff, just taking my time and trusting my body, and just being professional about my body. Just taking time with that, I think just dealing with the hamstring injury that I had, obviously just doing it twice. It was just tough at first, but I just got through it. And, just (my) mental toughness,” Watford explained. The Nets are expected to have the most cap space available this summer so Watford could be back in Brooklyn with a new mindset towards remaining healthy and maximizing his opportunities.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets’ Trendon Watford seeks to get what he deserves in free-agency
