Goodwin proves good enough to get deal

Former Kentucky Star Inks Multi-Year Pact to Remain in Brooklyn

April 4, 2017 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Archie Goodwin’s ability to drive to the net intrigued the Nets enough to sign him to a multiyear deal on Tuesday. AP Photo by John Amis

Share this:

First-year Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is aching to see more of Archie Goodwin.

He’ll get his chance in 2017-’18 and beyond as Brooklyn announced Tuesday that the former Kentucky star and first-round draft pick has been signed to a multiyear deal by the league-worst Nets.

Though the Nets are not in the habit of releasing specific contract information, the pact figures to be for at least two years.

General manager Sean Marks, who struck Developmental League gold last by picking up Sean Kilpatrick, now one of Brooklyn’s most consistent contributors, is hoping to do the same with Goodwin, who is coming off signing back-to-back 10-day contracts with the Nets.

The 22-year-old Arkansas native, who was selected 29th overall by Oklahoma City in the 2013 NBA Draft at the tender age of 19, has lived a nomadic professional existence over the past several years.

After having his rights traded twice on draft night, first to Golden State and then to Phoenix, Goodwin found himself spending most of the next two seasons in the D-League at Bakersfield.

Goodwin was eventually released by the Suns just prior to this season, and after playing three games for New Orleans he was once again relegated to the D-League, where he played for Greensboro.

Marks, who has been scouring Europe and the NBA’s minor league franchises for talent, was enthused by Goodwin’s unquestionable athleticism, determination and rim-attacking style.

So much so that he gave the 6-foot-5 guard consecutive 10-day contracts beginning on March 15.

On Tuesday, the Nets decided to keep Goodwin around for the foreseeable future, providing stability to a player who hasn’t seen any since departing college as a teenage hopeful.

“I would say it’s trending very positive,” Atkinson said of Goodwin’s progress in the Nets’ system.

“I’m intrigued by the athlete. That’s always been his [modus operandi], like this guy is an athletic guy. We can definitely upgrade our athleticism. I love how easy he moves to spaces.”

Goodwin made the most of his first seven games with Brooklyn, averaging 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists despite averaging just over 12 minutes of court time per contest.

“If you watch me play, you’ll see that’s how I play,” Goodwin said of his aggressiveness. “I’m a hard worker.”

He’s also a part of Mark’s grand design for a better Nets future going forward.

Kilpatrick came off the same D-League scrap heap as Goodwin, and is thriving in his role as the Nets’ fourth-leading scorer (13.1 points per game) despite playing less minutes than any of the three players in front of him.

The former University of Cincinnati standout went undrafted in 2014, then bounced around the NBA and D-League until Marks grabbed him with an initial 10-day deal in February 2016.

In his first 23 games with Brooklyn last season, Kilpatrick averaged 13.8 points, prompting Marks to give him a multiyear deal before his first full month was up here in Brooklyn.

Trade-deadline acquisition K.J. McDaniels, Spencer Dinwiddie, Andrew Nicholson and Quincy Acy are also pick-ups Marks made this season in the hopes of bolstering his roster without sacrificing major dollars as the Nets prepare for what they hope will be a successful offseason in free agency.

Brooklyn is enjoying by far its best stretch of the season since bottoming out with a season-high, 16-game losing streak on Feb. 25 at Golden State.

The Nets have rebounded to go a respectable 9-10 since, including Sunday’s 91-82 victory over playoff-hopeful Atlanta.

However, Atkinson revealed following the contest that Joe Harris, one of Marks’ offseason acquisitions, would miss the remainder of this year with a sprained left shoulder.

Harris, who averaged 8.2 points per contests and hit 38 percent of his 3-point attempts, is expected to be a part of the Nets’ plans for 2017-18.

“I’m very anxious to get him in the gym this summer and continue to work and get better,” Atkinson said of Harris. “He is a high-level worker and has high-level character. He’s had a pretty good season.”

The Nets certainly have not, but are getting better collectively as the campaign crawls toward its finish.

* * *

In local college sports news, LIU Brooklyn right-hander Nick Freijomil was named the Northeast Conference’s Pitcher of the Week Monday afternoon following his brilliant effort in the Blackbirds’ series-clinching 2-1 victory at Big East power Seton Hall last Sunday afternoon.

Freijomil, a native of Franklinville, New Jersey, improved to 3-3 on the season with his second straight win, limiting the Pirates to three hits while striking out four and walking one over six scoreless innings.

Sophomore Joe Mercadante made sure Freijomil got in line for the winning decision when he singled home Brooklyn native and Xaverian High School alum Charles Misiano in the top of the seventh inning to break the scoreless deadlock.

Junior Dom Paiotti swiped home on the back end of a double steal with Mercadante later in the frame to stake the Blackbirds to a 2-0 advantage.

Things got hairy in the ninth as sophomore closer Mike Kreiger yielded a run before slamming the door on Seton Hall for his sixth save of the season, and a well-deserved notch in the win column for Freijomil.

LIU, which has split a doubleheader with the Pirates on Saturday, left South Orange, N.J., with an 8-11 overall record, including 1-2 in NEC play, entering Wednesday’s visit the University of Albany.

Freijomil has surrendered one earned run or fewer in two of his last three outings.