The Brooklyn Nets are neck-deep into their rebuilding process, and it hasn't gone smoothly at all for them to say the least. On Wednesday night, they were on the receiving end of a horrible beatdown from the Oklahoma City Thunder, 121-92, in a game that wasn't close from the get-go.
It did not help the Nets at all that they were missing a slew of key guys on the night, such as Michael Porter Jr. and Egor Demin. Nonetheless, Brooklyn did not look like they belonged on the same court as Oklahoma City on the night, with their entire young roster struggling all night long against the reigning champions.
Fernandez, however, loved the effort and fight he saw from the more unheralded players he called upon when the Thunder already had the win locked up.
“You have to be ready at all times. That's professional basketball,” Fernandez said in his postgame presser, via YES Network. “You always have to be ready. I'm very proud of those guys. It's extremely hard to be there sitting and then your number is called and then you play as hard as you can, you make an impact. Very grateful for those guys.”
Jordi Fernández gives an update on Noah Clowney's wrist and describes his process of making adjustments to the rotation.#NETSonYES pic.twitter.com/kzBBcVz72V
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) March 19, 2026
Nets are in the early stages of their rebuild
The Nets, at present, do not have their blue-chip prospect quite yet upon which they can build the franchise around. They have promising young players, such as Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf, but they haven't shown any signs of future superstardom quite yet.
Thus, Brooklyn is still searching for that franchise cornerstone, and considering how stacked the 2026 NBA Draft is at the top, getting a top pick is a must. Their current record is 17-52, which is the third-worst record in the NBA at the moment. Expect Brooklyn to try and juice their lottery odds even further as the regular season winds down.
