Raul Neto

Neto finds himself in his third NBA home as the new season approaches, having signed a one-year pact with the Wizards after suiting up in 54 games during his sole 76ers campaign last season. The 28-year-old averaged 5.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.1 rebounds across 12.4 minutes, shooting 45.5 percent from the field, including 38.6 percent from behind the arc. The numbers essentially mirrored those of his first four NBA seasons in Utah, and with the returning John Wall and Ish Smith in front of him on the point guard depth chart in Washington, Neto projects for a very similar allotment of playing time in the 2020-21 campaign. In addition to his dependable offensive numbers relative to his modest amount of opportunity, Neto has also proven a dependable free-throw shooter over the last two seasons, posting 84.8 and 83.0 percent success rates from the charity stripe in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 campaigns, respectively.

Neto arrived in Philadelphia on a one-year, minimum contract this offseason to compete with the likes of Trey Burke and Shake Milton for minutes at point guard behind Ben Simmons. The 27-year-old spent first four seasons of his NBA career with the Jazz, seeing his greatest allotment of playing time back in his 81-game rookie season. Neto did average 12.8 minutes last season -- his most since that first campaign -- averaging 5.3 points (on 46.0 percent shooting), 2.5 assists and 1.7 rebounds across 37 contests. The 2013 second-round pick proved a capable three-point shooter throughout his Utah tenure, averaging between 32.3 percent and 40.4 percent from behind the arc over that span. Neto has also served as a relatively dependable free-throw shooter and drained a solid 84.8 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe last season, the second-best figure of his NBA career. Neto seemingly profiles as an ideal member of the backcourt rotation for a team with postseason aspirations. He's young but brings plenty of experience (199 games over four seasons), does a bit of everything, and has also logged time in 20 playoff games overall. Neto could thus make for a rock-solid replacement for the departed T.J. McConnell, although Milton and Burke will present formidable competition for minutes.

For the second straight season, Neto missed more than half the year with an assortment of injuries, this time coming in the form of a fractured wrist and a concussion. When he did take the court, the point guard averaged just 4.5 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists across 12.1 minutes. He made a promising 19-of-47 three-pointers (40.4 percent) and is still just 26-years-old, so the Jazz opted to bring him back this offseason and signed him to a two-year, $4.4 million extension. Despite the vote of faith by the organization, Neto will merely be a deep reserve in the backcourt, likely operating as the team's third point guard behind Ricky Rubio and Dante Exum. With Donovan Mitchell also handling lead guard duties at times, there's only going to be a few spot minutes available for Neto most nights.

Neto is making his NBA debut this season after agreeing on a multi-year deal with the Jazz in July. He was originally chosen by the Hawks with the 47th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft but was traded to the Jazz on draft night before ultimately electing to spend the past two years playing in Spain. Despite his inexperience in the NBA, the 23-year-old could be in store for significant minutes during his rookie season with fellow point guard Dante Exum (knee) ruled out for the entirety of 2015-16 following surgery to repair a torn ACL. The Brazilian will contend for playing time with Trey Burke over the course of the year, but it seems that Burke has the edge over Neto heading into the late-October season opener. Neto remains somewhat of an unknown, but previous scouting reports indicate that he's more of a traditional pass-first point guard who could fit in well in coach Quin Snyder's offensive dynamic in comparison to Burke who tends to shoot as if there are no consequences for missing. With playmakers like Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, and Alec Burks already in the starting five, Neto could serve as a nice compliment to those proven scorers if he's given an opportunity to start, which likely wouldn't occur until deeper into the season when the rookie gets a better feel for the gravitas of NBA competition.