Nets Release G Iman Shumpert
Iman Shumpert's time with the Brooklyn Nets is over.
Per The Athletic's Shams Charania, the team has released Shumpert. The move will get the roster down to 15 players, making room for guard WIilson Chandler.
Chandler is returning from a 25-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
The team was 9-4 with Shumpert, who had 12 steals in those 13 games.
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In addition to his defensive tenacity, Shumpert's outgoing personality made him a fan favorite and beloved among his Nets teammates.
After the news broke, the former Georgia Tech Blue Jacket tweeted out his thanks to the Nets organization.
"The Brooklyn Nets are a first-class organization from top to bottom. It was great to be with you guys even for the short stay! I'm around."
He averaged 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Shumpert knows New York City well, having been drafted by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pick back in 2011, spending the first five years of his career there.
Back on April 28, 2012, during the Knicks first-round playoff game against LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat, Shumpert suffered a knee injury while dribbling the ball at midcourt and was immediately helped off by medical staff. He had an MRI that later revealed that Shumpert tore the ACL and meniscus in his left knee and would miss the rest of the season.
He ended up finishing 5th in the 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year voting. He received 33 total votes and one first-place vote from the 120 broadcasters/ writers that filled it out. He was also the only rookie to receive votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award.
In many ways, Shumpert never had the same explosiveness and pop in his step after the injury. Knicks and basketball fans can only wonder how his career trajectory might have changed had he not gotten hurt that afternoon at the American Airlines Arena.
He never averaged more than the 9.5 points per game he put up during his rookie campaign.
Best of. luck to Shump. Some team will get an instant boost from the defensive intensity and heart he brings every time he's on the hardwood.
