Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez knows his team is rebuilding. That’s good for the franchise in the long-term. But Fernandez also knows that having traded away veteran players has cost his team in the short-term. On Sunday, Fernandez lamented the loss of players, as the Nets melted down in the fourth quarter during a loss in Orlando.
“I’ll miss toughness, leadership, day-to-day happiness and about being about the right things and all that stuff. It’s just very simple that if we were to have that maturity and that toughness, we close this game,” Fernandez said.
Over the last two weeks, Brooklyn traded away their starting point guard in Dennis Schroder, a starting forward in Dorian Finney-Smith and a valuable veteran backup guard in Shake Milton. Those are losses on the court and in the locker room that the Nets are still processing.
“We all have emotions. When you spend time with somebody you build relationships. When you see those people go, it’s tough,” Fernandez said. “I love those guys. They’ve been part of our family. We’ve seen them day to day, we know their families, what they’re about, and they’ve been amazing for us. Now they’re gone. … If you keep telling yourself this is part of the business, emotionally it’s not that easy.”