Speedy Nets rookie Nolan Traore off to fast start in summer league

Yahoo

2 days ago

LAS VEGAS — The Nets added an NBA-record five first-round picks last month, four of whom suited up and made their summer league debuts Thursday.
It's no surprise the one who adjusted the quickest is the one who plays the quickest: lightning-fast Nolan Traoré, one of the highlights in an opening 90-81 loss to OKC.
The French point guard was the only Nets rookie to crack double figures with 13 points, three assists, three rebounds and several quick bursts into the lane.
He was even fighting through an early ankle injury while shaking off first-game jitters.
'That was a little bit hard because I rolled my ankle really early. … It took awhile. You've got to go into it quickly and be ready. So it wasn't that long,' Traoré said. 'I was a little bit [sore] on the break with the ankle. But it's all right. I'll be right back on Sunday.'
Traoré twisted his ankle and gave way to Ben Saraf with 6:22 remaining in the first quarter and the Nets down 8-4. By the time he came back in for the Israeli guard, they trailed 24-18 with 8:20 left in the half.
The speedster finished as the only Net with a positive plus-minus.
'I think his speed translates very well,' said Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, who is coaching summer league.
'We definitely put him in some actions where he could throw it and get it back and try to attack the rim. I thought he handled himself well with the physicality. I think, for all of our rookies, that's something that's gonna come over time. Getting in the weight room and their bodies maturing. So I look forward to that.'
While Egor Demin was the Nets' first lottery pick since 2010 and played point guard at BYU, it was Traoré who found himself largely shouldering lead guard duties.
'It was just game flow. So whoever gets the ball, whoever is the closest is going to get it,' Traoré said. 'And we don't mind if it's me or him. We just play.
'I don't care who brings the ball up. We just want to play because, as you say, there's multiple guys who can handle the ball, so we don't care who. We just play through it.'
Dariq Whitehead isn't playing in summer league.
He told The Post it was the result of a discussion that his agents at Excel Sports had with general manager Sean Marks in an effort to get him through his injuries and 100 percent ready for the regular season.
'Absolutely, me coming to play, obviously at the end of last season I was getting ready to prepare for summer league,' Whitehead said. 'And then with the way I finished last season, it was just something that I guess my agent talked to Sean about and they were [thinking] more so get my body ready and prepare for training camp and next season.'
The Nets renounced the free agent rights to Day'Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, per Spotrac.
They'll be re-signed, either both via cap space or one via the room exception.
The Nets have $22.3 million in cap space and could create more by using the room exception, or waiving non-guaranteed players.