LAS VEGAS — At this point last year, Trendon Watford had no job.
Now, the Nets wing has a team — even if it is a tanking one.
Watford signed his qualifying offer to ensure his return to Brooklyn.
And while their offseason moves may signal a rebuild, they also signal opportunity.
“Oh yeah, it’s good. I picked up the offer, so yeah, we got it taken care of,” Watford said during the Nets’ summer league opener against Indiana on Friday night. “A year ago, I was in a whole different position, so I’m just blessed to still have some stability coming into this year.”
Watford was on the waiver wire during summer league a season ago, cut loose by Portland.
But after the Nets picked him up, he showed enough for the team to extend him a qualifying offer.
After signing, he is set to make $2.7 million next season.
“The way it seems like it’s going, I feel like it’s going to benefit us with opportunities,” said Watford, referring to himself as well as young teammates Cam Thomas, Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney.
Trading away Mikal Bridges — who sat next to Watford on Friday — means there will be plenty of opportunities for the 23-year-old to shine.
Watford averaged 6.9 points and 3.1 rebounds over 13.6 minutes in 63 games.
But he seized his opportunity when interim coach Kevin Ollie went with a youth movement down the stretch.
“It’s like the end of last year, like the last 15, 20 games of last year and just getting an opportunity to show what I can do and sort of see what direction it’s going in,” Watford said.
Thomas, Watford’s ex-LSU teammate, had already cemented his starting job.
But playing alongside Clowney and Wilson, Watford scored in double figures eight times in the last 11 games.
Over that final stretch, he averaged 12.9 points and 5.7 boards in 25.4 minutes, shooting .541 overall and .440 from 3-point range.
“Just getting comfortable with playing on the ball, being sort of the hybrid point forward I’d been playing,” Watford noted as keys to his improved production. “So just being able to get comfortable playing the last 20 games, trying to carry that momentum into this year and get comfortable and playing within myself and just keeping better than last season.”
With Ben Simmons having been shut down for the season, the Nets used Watford as a secondary playmaker and even as a backup point guard down the stretch despite his 6-foot-9, 241-pound frame.
It’s unclear how he’ll be used by new head coach Jordi Fernandez.
“It’s been good. We talked and, obviously, [Fernandez is] a defensive-minded coach, and I look forward to being coached by him,” Watford said. “And I know this is his first year. It’s my second time having a first-year coach, so I’m looking forward to going with him, and it’s gonna be fun.”
