Notes From Nets Summer League
The Nets split their first two games at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, falling to the Clippers, 87-78, on Sunday after coming back to beat Indiana, 97-95, in overtime in Friday’s opener. Brooklyn’s offense has been absolute trash. Outside of Friday’s miraculous fourth quarter, where Jalen Wilson suddenly went nuts by draining four three-pointers to fuel a 15-point comeback, the games have been brutal to watch. So, in case you found other ways to enjoy the summer nights, I’m here to drill down on the material items from the “action” to date:
1) Yes or no on Keon?
One Nets player has opened some eyes over the first two games: Keon Johnson. Brooklyn had him on a two-way contract for almost all of last season, but now the 22-year old former first round pick (No. 21 overall) from the 2021 NBA Draft is an unrestricted free agent. He accepted the Nets’ Summer League invite and has been making the most of this opportunity, averaging 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game on a 57/40/87.5 shooting split. When the Nets needed a bucket to win Friday’s Elam Ending, the ball went to Johnson, who used Wilson as a decoy and moved to the right baseline before elevating for a jumper that was pure.
Obviously, two SL game stats aren’t a predictor of future success. He’s already suited up for 82 NBA games in his three-year pro career, including five garbage time runs for Brooklyn last season, and it hasn’t gone very well. He is glaringly lean at 6-foot 5 and 185 pounds, which makes it difficult for him to body up against bigger opponents.
Still, there’s no denying that his age and outrageous athleticism (he recorded the highest vertical leap ever at the NBA Combine with a 48-inch jump) allows him to maintain his status as an intriguing prospect. This league is about scoring efficiency, on both ends. If he can continue to showcase an improved three-point stroke and make himself at least a break-even defender, he’ll probably find a home.
The question, then, is whether that next address will be in Brooklyn. The Nets have an open roster spot, not to mention a pair of available two-way contracts that Johnson would undoubtedly prefer to circle back to only as a last resort. Should General Manager Sean Marks reward Johnson with a standard NBA contract?
Given that the Nets seem to be all in on the Tank Plank this season, it’s easy to just say, “Sure, why not?” It’s a mere 15th roster slot on a young player who might turn into a different version of Spencer Dinwiddie, one of Brooklyn’s picked-up-off-the-street poster children from their previous rebuild under Marks.
Eh, I’m still on the fence. Though there’s been much to admire, from Johnson’s growth as a playmaker under control with the ball in his hands to his defensive efforts around the basket, I have not gotten to the point where I trust that he can knock down open perimeter shots consistently enough, his 4-for-8 outing on Sunday notwithstanding. Sorry, but it’s my prerequisite for his position.
There are benefits of keeping that roster spot open through the trade deadline. Marks shouldn’t rush into filling it with Johnson.
2) Too soon for Dariq panic
In the irreverent college football film “Necessary Roughness”, the lead character quarterback was required to submit a homework assignment for his journalism class on his team’s blowout loss. The story wasn’t so much about the result, but that the team decimated by scandal actually played.
That’s how Nets fans have to view Whitehead’s erratic return to the court in the two games following nearly two years of adversity. That included three separate surgeries, the last one to fix the shin splits in his left knee that prematurely ended his rookie season. Ergo, no one should have expected Whithead, still a teenager for another two weeks, to regain the form that made him an elite prospect coming out of high school at this event.
And to be clear, he hasn’t come close to that standard. It’s been a rough watch, particularly the bricklaying (0-for-10 on three-pointers before drilling a pair in Sunday’s fourth quarter). On Friday, he blew a breakaway layup that the old confident Whitehead would have slammed with ease.
But unlike with Johnson, who is about 2.5 years older than Whitehead, the tools are there. Whithead, at 6-foot 6 and 220 pounds, has an NBA body, which he can use to bully his way towards the bucket. His shooting mechanics are fluid and he can create space with a simple jab step. That he’s had trouble finishing isn’t as much of a concern at this stage of his development.
Defensively, he’s been able to move his feet to stay with ballhandlers and has three blocked shots in the two games. The two versus Indiana came on perimeter jump shots.
I was among those who went a tad overboard with Noah Clowney’s underwhelming performances at last year's Summer League. I underestimated what a lengthy development program on Long Island could do for him. Whitehead, should he attack the program with the same vigor, still has the potential, in my opinion, to be a 2023 Draft steal.
3) Clowney Taking Charge(s)
The 2023-24 Nets were notorious for their aversion to sacrificing their bodies by taking charges. They recorded a league-low nine all season, seven fewer than 29th-place Denver, per NBA.com. It was the first time since the league began to keep track of the stat in 2016-17 that a team failed to reach double digits in taking charges.
Among Brooklyn’s big men, Day’Ron Sharpe drew one charge. That’s it. None for Nic Claxton in over 2,000 minutes and none for Clowney during his 23-game audition.
So color me shocked when I watched Clowney plant himself in the paint and take a charge in each of the two games in Las Vegas.
I should note that it’s common for shot blocking centers to go a whole season without taking a charge, as Jarrett Allen (Cleveland), Derrick Lively (Dallas), Kristaps Porzingis (Boston), and Brook Lopez (Milwaukee) just did. However, Clowney’s technique in those situations made me wonder whether this was going to be a point of emphasis for new Head Coach Jordy Fernandez. Instead of chasing blocks nilly-willy, Nets’ bigs might now be trained in a variety of ways to protect the rim. After Clowney was guilty of committing nine (9!) fouls on Friday, he made a concerted effort to be more discerning in his challenges in Game 2—sometimes he’d go after it; on others he’d go up vertical to the shooter. And then there was his help defense in the second quarter where he stayed outside the circle and took the blow without his arms coming down on Clippers ballhandler Cam Christie. If this were last year, Clowney would have likely tracked Christie to the rim to set up a block attempt.
It wasn’t the only noticeable variation in Brooklyn’s defense—this was a team that for years relied heavily on a switch everything foundation. Despite having a short training camp for this event—and Fernandez splitting his duties with his summer gig coaching Team Canada’s Olympic Team—the Nets have thrown multiple pick-and roll coverages at their SL opponents—drop, ice, hedge-and-recover, and yes, some switching, with the other Nets cognizant of diminutive guard Jacob Gilyard’s switches onto big men screeners. Summer League Coach Steve Hetzel even threw in some zone defenses.
Anchoring it all has been Clowney, who continues to mature at a rapid rate on both ends. In this rare case, Nets fans are hoping that what’s happening in Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas.