After making history by becoming the first team ever to select five players in the first round of a draft, the Nets will begin the challenge of integrating all those new faces into the program when training camp opens this week, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). Egor Demin, Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf provide a young infusion of talent that offers hope to a rebuilding franchise.
“This is great. It was a unique opportunity for us, to be quite frank,” general Sean Marks said this summer. “We’ve never had five picks in one draft. To be able to draft all of them in a draft class we just saw, that was unique. That was something we want to take advantage of, especially in our build, where we see these young men fitting into our group and into our roster. So, it was about us capitalizing on the hand we were dealt.”
The top prospect in that group is Demin, a 6’9″ guard out of BYU who was chosen with the No. 8 pick. The 19-year-old Russian native provided a pleasant surprise with his shooting during Summer League, but his play-making was limited because he wasn’t featured exclusively in an on-ball role due to the number of lead guards on Brooklyn’s team in Las Vegas.
Traoré, Powell, Saraf and Wolf may see limited minutes as rookies, and it’s possible that all of them could spend time with the team’s G League affiliate in Long Island.
“The preseason with the team, getting to know everyone and making sure to know (everyone) basketball-wise (is huge),” Traoré said. “As a point guard, I’d say that it’s important to know these guys and know what they like and just start to build the team right way.”
Depending on how the final roster shakes out, Lewis notes that the Nets have a chance to eclipse the 2022/23 Rockets as the youngest team in NBA history. In addition to the five first-rounders, Brooklyn recently traded for 2023 first-round pick Kobe Bufkin, who turns 22 today. Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney are both 21, while Fanbo Zeng, who is expected to sign soon, is 22.
It presents another challenge for second-year head coach Jordi Fernandez, who had the third-youngest team in the league last season.
“That’s definitely on me. Player development is going to be important. We’ve been very diligent,” Fernandez said. “The coaching staff has done a great job making our guys work, and those guys have improved. And we believe (the rookies) will do the same thing.”