The mantra the Nets have adopted this season is “getting one percent better each day”. For these thinking about studying extra about it, it’s an idea highlighted within the e book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear.
By that logic, Jordi Fernandez ought to’ve gotten no less than 79% higher this season, given the Nets simply accomplished their 79th regular-season sport Tuesday night time, a 119-114 defeat of the New Orleans Pelicans at Barclays Heart.
It’s powerful for the first-year head coach to calculate how a lot he’s grown since being employed final summer time. He understands perfection is an unrealistic expectation, and there have been loads of ups and downs sprinkled all through this 26-53 marketing campaign. However even by way of the struggles, his fellow coaches and Brooklyn’s entrance workplace proceed to follow grace. And organizational help issues, particularly within the midst of a rebuild.
“That’s what I care about most,” Fernandez mentioned. “And I believe I’m a different coach than I was Day 1 because I’ve learned every single day, and I believe all these steps will just make me better, so I’m looking forward to continuing to grow through the summer and excited about what’s coming.”
The Nets have a particularly essential summer time on the horizon. The NBA Draft lottery is on Could 12 and the draft itself is on June 25. Not like final yr, Brooklyn owns its first-round choose in a loaded draft class. Its picks are at present projected to be No. 6 general, No. 18, No. 26 and No. 27 — and it additionally owns a second-round choose.
“We’re not going to know where the lottery is going to fall because that’s part of the odds and so forth,” Fernandez mentioned. “So, you can only control what you can control, and right now that’s what we know for sure.”
Whether or not all these picks are used stays to be seen, however Brooklyn’s roster will look a lot completely different in 2025-26 both means. The workforce additionally has 4 restricted free brokers in Ziaire Williams, Cam Thomas, Day’Ron Sharpe and Reece Beekman to resolve on, in addition to two unrestricted free brokers in D’Angelo Russell and Trendon Watford.
Drafted rookies will want improvement. And whoever sticks round should discover methods to carry out higher than they did in 2024-25.
“We’ll structure a summer where the guys are going to do a great job developing and getting better,” Fernandez mentioned. “We’re going to put in place everything they need to continue to work and get better. We have an important summer league with a lot of the guys who will likely get drafted. But the best thing is, we’re in a very good situation, from flexibility to assets to the big, great market we have here. So, it’s just getting one percent better each day.”
Till then, the Nets nonetheless have three regular-season video games left in opposition to the Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and Knicks. Brooklyn has sat its veterans down the stretch, which suggests younger gamers combating to show they belong within the league — similar to Beekman, Drew Timmie and Tyson Etienne — will proceed to obtain ample alternatives.
For them, there’s nonetheless lots to play for.
“I think the opportunities are extremely important, you still have a job to do,” Fernandez mentioned. “You need to have the suitable intentions and making errors, it’s not what issues essentially the most [nor] is it a foul factor so long as you’ve the suitable intentions. What we wish to accomplish as a gaggle, in the event you take the suitable shot and the shot doesn’t go in, so be it.
“This is not the end of anything. This is not the end of the season. This is just the next game, the next game going into the most important summer of our lives, into a very important summer to train, to get better and to be able to play the next game. So, nothing stops here. Winning development, winning habits, everything continues for us and that’s how we approach it.”
