Nets, Jordi Fernandez keeping NBA draft strategy close to the vest

New York Post

24-04-2025

When the NBA hosts its annual draft lottery on May 12 in Chicago, the Nets contingent there is assured of its first lottery pick since 2010.
And coach Jordi Fernández is going to be on hand and ready for some franchise-changing fortune, hoping the pingpong balls will bounce Brooklyn's way.
'I will be in Chicago,' Fernández said. 'I will be with a group and as you guys know, there's a lot going on there. And we're just ready to be lucky.'
If there was ever a time for the Nets to get lucky, this might be it.
There are few inflection points this pivotal.
The Nets have the sixth-best odds in the lottery, meaning they'll have a nine percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick and Cooper Flagg.
The Nets have a 37.2 percent chance at getting a pick somewhere in the top 4. They have 50.3 percent odds of landing either seventh (29.7) or eighth (20.6).
'Obviously, we have a very important summer here,' said Fernández, who was at P.S. 1 in honor of Sant Jordi's Day, distributing roses and books in the customary tradition of the Catalonian holiday. 'And we'll be working and organized and excited because obviously with the draft and everything we have going on.'
3 Jordi Fernández played coy when asked if the Nets would trade any of their picks.
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The Nets have five picks in June — four first-rounders and their own second. Beyond the lottery, Brooklyn will select 19th, 26th, 27th and 36th.
They also have 20-year-olds Dariq Whitehead and Noah Clowney, both younger than a third of this incoming class.
It begs the question of whether the Nets would trade a pick. And how many prospects can they develop at the same time?
3 Nets general manager Sean Marks will have a busy offseason.
Jason Szenes / New York Post
'Yeah, it's a good question, probably a question more for [general manager] Sean [Marks] than it is for me,' Fernández demurred. 'I'll be ready to coach whatever group we put together. And the coaches, as we always try to do, [will] help them get better and show them the way and the habits … and be connected and do all those things we've been preaching and build the identity we want to build.'
Whoever Brooklyn does end up taking, Fernández will have an active role.
'There's going to be no surprises at the draft, who we draft, because he would've had a say in it,' Marks said. 'His staff is empowered to voice an opinion and we truly collaborate on this stuff. We have a year under our belts of understanding Jordi's system and how he wants to play and what sort of talent he's looking for, what attributes he's looking for. What's important to him is super important.'
3 Dariq Whitehead is one of the players the Nets can build around.
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Fernández was coy about what attributes are important to add in this draft — shooting, length, defense, etc.
But whatever the case, his input will carry weight.
'Yeah, obviously this is my first time as a head coach going through this process, so it's going to be nothing like I've done before,' Fernández said. 'Sean always talks about collaboration, and that's what I'm ready for; I'm ready to help, and do whatever I can, to give my opinion.
'But at the end of the day, Sean and his group, what they do is they watch these kids live [and] on tape. They've been watching them for a while, so they're the experts. Me and the coaches will be there to support and help. So it's an exciting summer.'