The Brooklyn Nets are in the midst of their worst start (2-12) to a season in 16 years. However, after the team made an NBA-record five first-round picks in June's draft, this season is about laying the foundation for future success. Second-year head coach Jordi Fernandez, who has compiled a 28-58 record across two tanking seasons to begin his career, is taking wins wherever he can find them.
“A lot of you guys [in the media] will not see [our] wins in the standings,” Fernandez said after Tuesday's 113-99 loss to the Boston Celtics. “We have high standards. Obviously, we want to win. We play to win, we compete to win. But also, the wins are [that] the future Nets that will play in a few years on a winning team are getting their minutes and getting better. We're figuring out how to make our players better.”
The Nets have seen victories on the court early this season.
Third-year forward Noah Clowney has emerged as a nightly contributor, averaging 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 41/38/69 shooting splits over the team's last eight games. Rookies Egor Demin and Drake Powell have been bright spots as featured members of the rotation. Meanwhile, Ben Saraf, Nolan Traore and Danny Wolf have shown flashes during their G League appearances.
But while Fernandez alluded to rookie minutes as a main positive of this season, the Nets' draft picks haven't seen the floor as much as expected.
Nets' rookies fighting to earn playing time after historic draft
Demin, the No. 8 pick in June's draft and the Nets' starting point guard, ranks 11th among rookies at 20.7 minutes per game. Powell has played 22.8 minutes per game over his last six appearances but taken a backseat to veterans down the stretch most nights. Meanwhile, Saraf started the Nets' first five games before the team assigned him to the G League alongside Traore and Wolf.
Despite being in tanking season, the Nets' five rookies have played a combined 557 minutes. That's the fifth-most in the league, behind the Charlotte Hornets (1,383), New Orleans Pelicans (881), Dallas Mavericks (700) and Philadelphia 76ers (573). Philadelphia first-round pick V.J. Edgecombe has played more minutes than all five of Brooklyn's rookies combined.
“[We'll] see how [the rookies] grow. Obviously, minutes are very important, but accountability is very important, too,” Fernandez said. “I wasn't happy with the way we were competing a few games ago. And now for four straight games, we've played a respectable brand of basketball, a competitive brand of basketball. And if that's the case… we will live with the results.”
Despite their limited playing time out of the gate, Brooklyn's rookies should see their minutes increase as the season progresses. Fernandez has made it a point that the draft picks' playing time will be earned, not given. The coach has also said that the Nets are aiming for each of their rookies to play at least 60 games this season between the NBA and the G League.
