Nets sign guard Caris LeVert to contract extension

FILE – Caris LeVert #22 of the Brooklyn Nets reacts in the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on April 20, 2019 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

NEW YORK— The Brooklyn Nets have signed guard Caris LeVert to a contract extension after his remarkable recovery from injury last season.

The 2016 first-round pick was averaging a team-best 18.4 points in his first 13 games before sustaining a dislocated right foot, a gruesome-looking injury that had players in prayer as he was taken off the court on a stretcher.

But it was quickly determined that he wouldn’t need surgery and would be able to return during the season, which he did after missing about three months. He helped the Nets make the playoffs, where he averaged 21 points in a first-round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Terms of the deal announced Monday were not disclosed.

The Nets respect the way LeVert has overcome injuries dating to college at Michigan, and view him as an important piece of a team that signed superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in July.

General manager Sean Marks says “Caris personifies what it means to be a Brooklyn Net, and we firmly believe his best basketball is in front of him.”

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