The Brooklyn Nets exercised their team options for the 2017-18 season on forwards Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Chris McCullough.

Hollis-Jefferson, selected with the 23rd pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by Portland and acquired via trade by the Nets on draft night, has appeared in 32 career games (20 starts), averaging 5.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.4 minutes per game.

McCullough, the 29th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, has seen action in 25 career games (four starts), recording averages of 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.

Kenny Atkinson played 12 years overseas after leading the University of Richmond to the NCAA Tournament in 1988. He never played in the NBA and worked his way up to become head coach of the Brooklyn Nets as a longtime assistant coach.

Sean Marks believes Atkinson will help bring out the character of the Nets' roster.

“We’re going to have to be scrappy, and that’s Kenny’s makeup,” Marks said. “He sort of exemplifies what it means to be that Brooklyn grit that we talk about. He’s going to demand it from the players. The players respect him because he’s out there with the guys every day on the court. He means it. He cares for them, and I think that’s where you get that player buy-in.”

Atkinson said the past few months have been about name recognition.

“I’m sure LeBron [James] doesn’t know who the heck I am,” Atkinson said. “He looks over at the bench and says, ‘Who’s that guy?’ The good thing is I’ve been in the league long enough [since 2008] where it’s such a small circle that you cross paths with the players. I went to the NBA coaches’ meeting a couple of weeks ago and was surprised a few guys knew my name. Now the real challenge starts — to get their respect [every night].”

The Brooklyn Nets have requested waivers on Beau Beech, Chase Budinger, Jorge Gutierrez and Egidijus Mockevicius.

Beech, who originally signed with Brooklyn on August 5, appeared in one preseason game with the Nets, scoring three points in eight minutes.

Budinger saw action in four preseason games, averaging 3.0 points and 1.5 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He originally signed with the Nets on September 26.

Gutierrez, who originally signed with Brooklyn on September 26, appeared in three preseason games with the Nets, recording averages of 3.7 points and 2.0 assists in 9.3 minutes per game.

Mockevicius logged nine minutes of action in one preseason game with the Nets. He originally signed with Brooklyn on August 5.

Brooklyn's roster now stands at 16 players.

Jeremy Lin met with both the Brooklyn Nets and New Orleans Pelicans at the start of free agency in Palo Alto at 9:01 PM.

Lin was coming off an excellent season with the Charlotte Hornets in which he restored his value.

Lin announced his decision to sign with the Nets at 7:02 AM just a few hours later.

"This is where I want to be," said Lin, who signed a three-year, $36 million deal with Brooklyn that includes a player option in the final year. "I feel this is the best place for me to become the player I think I can become. I want to see how good I can become and be a big part of an organization, and that's what they gave me here."

The Houston Rockets also showed interest in Lin but talks never progressed.

While Lin was intrigued by the idea of playing with Anthony Davis, the Pelicans weren't willing to commit the type of contract he received from the Nets.

Carmelo Anthony is surprised to see Jeremy Lin as the face of the Brooklyn Nets.

Lin was a teammate of Anthony with the New York Knicks before he signed a multi-year deal with the Houston Rockets in 2012.

The Nets signed Lin to a three-year, $36 million deal in the offseason.

“He is the face of their franchise – believe it or not,’’ Anthony said after Friday’s practice. “He came up, they paid him. Now the ball is in his hands. Now he’s one of the franchise players over there. I don’t know what you want me to say about that. I’m happy for him, excited for him to see how it’s going to turn out over there.’’

Mike D’Antoni said on a Vertical podcast Anthony didn’t “adapt’’ well to Lin’s rise.

“That was five, six years ago, bro,’’ Anthony said. “I forgot about that.’’