Just a few months into his professional basketball career, former UVA basketball star Reece Beekman has been involved in his first trade. The Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors agreed to terms on a deal that sent star guard Dennis Shroder and a second-round draft pick to the Warriors in exchange for De’Anthony Melton, three second-round picks, and as reported by Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the two-way contract of Reece Beekman.
The #Nets will also get two-way guard Reece Beekman, 23, from the #Warriors in the deal. #nba
— Brian Lewis (@NYPost_Lewis) December 15, 2024
After a standout four-year career at Virginia that included two ACC Defensive Player of the Year awards, Beekman went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft and was signed by the Warriors to a two-way contract. Beekman played in just two games for the Warriors on back-to-back days in late October. He was on the floor for a little over three minutes combined in those two games, but he did score his first NBA basket on a layup late in the Warriors’ win over the New Orleans Pelicans on October 30th. That turned out to be the last time Beekman played for the Warriors.
Beekman has been a force in the NBA G League. In nine games and seven starts with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Beekman has averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 assists (to 2.3 turnovers), 5.2 rebounds, and, to no one’s surprise, 2.8 steals per game. He is shooting 51.5% from the floor and 34.5% from three-point range. Beekman ranks third in the G League in steals and ninth in assists.
From a team success standpoint, going from the Warriors to the Nets is certainly a downgrade, but this is a fantastic improvement for Beekman’s individual career. The Warriors have a surplus of guards and didn’t exactly give Beekman a real opportunity to prove himself, as shown by his three minutes of garbage time in two months with the team. The Nets, on the other hand, are hovering around 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings and they just traded their best point guard in Dennis Shroder. Ben Simmons will likely become the team’s starting point guard, but there isn’t another natural point guard option on the roster. This trade should result in immediate opportunities for Beekman to play real minutes at the NBA level.
But don’t just take my word for it. Take it from the man who made the trade that resulted in Beekman coming to Brooklyn.
“When you’re able to acquire a young guy that we’ve been studying for a while, going back to his college days, the group here has been focused on [Beekman] and bringing him in and taking a good close-up look at him,” said Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks, according to a report from the New York Post. “So from a defensive standpoint, we’re going to miss some of the things with Dennis leaving, and hopefully when Reece comes in here, he can pick up the slack. And he’ll have every opportunity like the rest of these guys to go out there and compete, earn minutes and be a part of this rotation, hopefully.”
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez echoed those sentiments, saying, “Yeah, excited to have him. Defensive-minded player, I think he led his conference in steals. A point guard that will help our ball pressure, our activity on defense, playmaking, running the team. So, excited to have him. He’ll get here soon, so we’ll get to work with him soon.”
