The only way for this all to be worth it for the Nets is if they hit on the majority of their picks.
The second half of the season provides an important opportunity for Nets rookies to take another step forward in their development.
For a team that is clearly tanking, it is really the only thing worth monitoring as they come out of the All-Star break — other than ping-pong balls.
“Each one of them has gotten better with the things that we’re looking for,” coach Jordi Fernández said after practice Wednesday. “Obviously, you want them to play as efficient as they can to help the team compete. Sometimes, that efficiency doesn’t come right away — whether it’s shooting, playmaking, whatever it is. But all of them have done good things in stretches. … Each one of them has a plan, each one of them understands that we have our touch points every 10 games, and they’re making the right strides.”
Egor Dëmin is at the top of the class of these five first-round picks.
There have been more mixed results for Nolan Traore, Danny Wolf, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf. And Saraf, who has bounced between the G-League and NBA this year, was sent down to the Long Island Nets on Wednesday.
“Just more games and a higher athleticism and higher physicality,” Traore said of his adjustment to the NBA. “It’s more demanding.”
Traore has shown some promise as the season progressed — he surpassed 20 points three times over the last nine games before the break — and Wolf seemed to hit a stride right before the break. Across the last four games before the break, Wolf averaged 14.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and 41.2 percent shooting from 3-point range.
“I think I finally found where my spots were gonna be,” Wolf said. “I was playing with confidence. Just gotta build game after game. Before, I would have a good game, then a stretch of games where I didn’t play up to my standard.
“I just wanna keep improving in all aspects of my game. I wanna find more consistency from 3[-point range], I wanna keep making plays for my teammates and continue not turning the ball over, which I think I’ve done a pretty good job of. And then just continuing to find my spots. Find where I’m gonna get my looks, learn when to attack, when not to.”
One thing these rookies will have to deal with is a workload they aren’t used to, entering the second half of a season that is longer than both college seasons and overseas professional leagues.
“You don’t know until you know,” Fernández said. “Experience is extremely important. Some of these guys that have played professionally, it’s still not the same because the frequency of the games is still not the same, playing three to four games a week. Right now, I think we’ve played four games a week for five straight weeks, and we’re gonna go to a similar thing soon. Pretty dense schedule. Taking care of your body, working [at] a certain level — not just physically, but mentally — is something you have to adjust to.”
The question for Fernández will now be how to best aid the rookies in their development. Should he maximize their minutes on the court together, or be more selective?
“Playing with each other is important, but also the right combinations that are on the court that may help them develop,” Fernández said. “Put them in the best situation to be successful, surrounded by the right guys. It’s not just about them, it’s about the group competing. They’re doing a good job getting to know each other, understanding their strengths and then helping each other.”