One of many extra encouraging facets of the Nets’ 10-14 begin has been organizational camaraderie. Guys within the locker room appear to genuinely care about one another. As do the coaches, who established a transparent imaginative and prescient for the staff from Day 1 beneath Jordi Fernandez.
Brooklyn’s early-season success isn’t any fluke. It has been a product of the tradition Fernandez has created simply seven or so months into the job. It’s the kind of tradition that may result in nice issues going ahead. However these Nets are approach forward of schedule. Many assume that it is just a matter of time earlier than the entrance workplace pulls the rug out from beneath them in service of a grand plan.
The tank that many anticipated the Nets to decide to coming into the season is sort of upon us. Cap house should be cleared. Powerful selections might be made. And that might be a troublesome capsule to swallow for a close-knit group that created a lot momentum for itself by way of 24 video games. Brooklyn may look utterly completely different by the league’s Feb. 6 commerce deadline. If that occurs, for the fellows who truly compete not less than, it would really feel like beginning over from scratch.
“We love our group. I love my group,” Fernandez mentioned. “So, I keep working with them every day going into the game like they are our group, and they will be our group. Whatever happens that I cannot control, I cannot be talking about it or worrying about it because that’s not my job.”
The NBA will all the time be a enterprise first. Trades occur and all the time will. Nonetheless, that doesn’t make issues any simpler for the lads who need to reside by way of it. Veteran guard Shake Milton has performed for 4 groups because the begin of the 2023-24 season. He has extra expertise than most on Brooklyn’s roster in terms of getting moved round, and the sense of uncertainty that comes with it.
“You have to realize that some of it is out of your control,” Milton mentioned. “It doesn’t really make any sense to worry about it or overthink it or anything like that. You have to think about what you can do to make sure your situation is good. Continue to put in the work. Be the best version of yourself. Every day, show up, and just be grateful. When you think about it, we get to play basketball. It’s not like we have a real job or anything like that. We’re not outside doing construction. We get to play ball. Being grateful for that makes it easier.”
In easier phrases, it’s what it’s. Worrying about trades is not going to stop them. Gamers and coaches nonetheless have jobs to do. For the sake of sustaining sanity, it’s higher for the Nets to deal with that.
“Just the nature of the business. It’s a part of the league,” Nic Claxton mentioned. “Happens every year, all around the league. Of course, I’ve seen it a lot, but just you have to keep the main thing, the main thing. We all have a job to do here as long as everybody’s here. We all just got to lock in and take it, game by game, practice by practice.”
