Nets can use upstart Magic as blueprint for a successful rebuild
Nets forward Jalen Wilson (22) plays defense against Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Jason Allen
ORLANDO — The Nets’ focus after their season-opening loss to Atlanta was on better defensive technique. Lead with chests, not with hands after committing 32 fouls.
Friday’s opponent, the Magic, offered a better glimpse of that, as they were one of the NBA’s best defenses last season. But the Magic also offered the Nets something more important - a roadmap to rebuild.
In 2021-22, the Magic finished a 22-win season under a first-time coach, Jamahl Mosley. They had the NBA’s second-worst record and, after the draft lottery, they got the No. 1 overall pick and drafted Paolo Banchero.
Banchero’s now an All-Star and the cornerstone of the Magic’s revival. They returned to the playoffs last season and the young Nets, with their own first-time coach in Jordi Fernandez, have taken note of that trajectory.
“Everybody wants to be in a position where they can play for a championship,” Jalen Wilson said Friday at shootaround. “Orlando was at a point in time where they were young and they lost a lot of games, and the same guys came back, and they're just getting better.”
The Magic don’t just have Banchero, but quality players like Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony. All but Anthony are top-10 picks selected by the Magic between 2020-22, with Anthony taken No. 15 in 2020.
Add in last year’s rookies Anthony Black, taken sixth overall, and Jett Howard (No. 11) and the Magic have stockpiled young talent, while matching them with veterans to build around. They went from 21 wins in 2020-21 to 47 last season.
The Magic, with an average age of just over 25years old, are slightly older than the Nets . So, the Nets are hoping for a similar path after missing the playoffs last season.
Their rebuild starts now, with gambling sites setting their average win total for this year at 19.5. But they have promising young talent like Wilson, Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton, along with slew of first-round draft picks the next few years, including four in 2025 and their own first-rounder in 2026.
The tradeoff is that the losses could come often this season, and possibly next. If it leads to a high draft pick in the 2025 draft, the front office won’t mind if that player turns out to have Banchero’s impact.
The Nets’ long-term bet, however, is that developing the players they have now, along with future draft picks, will pay off eventually - just like they did in Orlando.
“They’re going to be great for the next couple of years, what they've been building on,” said Dennis Schroder. “It's great to see and we're trying to build something right now. And I think we’re creating good habits. We’ve just gotta keep going and then we're going to reach our goal one day.”
There are promising signs with the Nets’ young players after one game. Wilson had 16 points off the bench and fellow second-year pro Noah Clowney looked comfortable defending and playing on the perimeter.
Thomas, of course, lit up the Hawks for 36 points. Ziaire Williams showed promise as a perimeter defender. But there will be growing pains, as the young team has its stumbles facing more experienced teams, or teams with better chemistry .
Still, the Nets can take comfort that the Magic were in their shoes two years ago. Now they’re a playoff contender built around physical defense and a rising star in Banchero.
For the Nets, it’s a model to aim for.
“You see the process,” Wilson said of the Magic. “We just got to buy into it, continue to grind, continue to show up, even when days may be tough. And that’s part of the process really."
Notes & Quotes: For Schroder, facing the Magic means facing German national teammates Franz and Moritz Wagner along with Tristan da Silva. The quartet was part of Germany's fourth-place finish at the Olympics this summer, the highest finish in their country’s history. “They’ve got three German guys. Really great to see,” Schroder said. “German basketball is rising and just gotta keep going. They’re family to me. But at the end of the day, today is Brooklyn against Orlando. And we want to be competitive and win the game.”
Evan Barnes covers the Nets for Newsday. He previously covered Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.
