Former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson is confident that the team’s current rebuilding process will wind up being successful, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Atkinson offered his assessment after his Cavaliers barely escaped Brooklyn with a 106-102 win on Sunday. It was the eighth straight loss for the Nets, but Atkinson sees signs of progress for coach Jordi Fernandez and his young roster.
“No doubt, you definitely go through those moments. You’re going home and you’re taking that L after the game. It’s hard, especially when they start stacking up,” Atkinson said. “Of course you worry if you’re a competitor. But that’s part of it, part of going through a rebuild and part of being a young coach.
“And you see the development … It’ll happen here, because they drafted really good talent. They got really good coaching, good coaching staff, good front office. It’ll break through. You’re just waiting for that, ‘When is that gonna happen?’ I’m sure Jordi’s going. ‘Man, everyone is saying it’ll happen.’ But they play so hard, it’s eventually going to happen with their talent.”
The latest loss leaves the Nets at 15-45, half a game behind Indiana and 1 1/2 games away from Sacramento in the race for the league’s worst record.
There’s more from Brooklyn:
- In his first home game since signing a 10-day contract, Grant Nelson posted 11 points, four rebounds and three blocks on Sunday, Lewis states in a separate story. Nelson was playing his fourth game in four cities over five days between the NBA and the G League and said “adrenaline” helped him get through it. “It’s really been my dream my whole life. So it’s just fun to get out there, play with some of the best players in the world,” he added. “It’s just really a dream. But I know the work’s not done. I still got a lot to work on.”
- Terance Mann, who was acquired from Atlanta in July, has been an ideal example for his younger teammates to follow, according to C.J. Holmes of The New York Daily News (subscription required). Mann is the oldest player on the roster at 29 and he’s happy to accept his leadership responsibilities. “I had great vets in my day as a rookie, so they showed me how to be great vets,” he said. “They showed me how to be positive no matter what the role is. They showed me how to be able to take care of the young guys and that’s just really what I’m here to do.”
- After the Nets faced the Celtics on Friday, Jaylen Brown admitted that Josh Minott faced a “tough” situation in Boston before being traded to Brooklyn at the deadline, per Brian Robb of MassLive. Minott didn’t spend much time in the rotation before suffering an ankle injury in December that sidelined him for several weeks, but he said he can accept how things turned out. “I left on no bitter note,” Minott said. “You see it, I dapped everybody up. It’s always love with everybody here unless we play them, then it’s hate. After the game is over, those 48 minutes we’re enemies but I definitely had a great experience here for sure.”