As Lucas Kaplan had put it to you yesterday, the Brooklyn Nets hosted an official end of the season private press conference on Monday to share the takeaways everyone gathered from this season.
Despite the traditional setting of the atmosphere with members of the organization on the dias and various journalists sitting in seats waiting to ask questions, there was a sense of camaraderie Monday among the group. They may have had different jobs, questioned each other, set an debated strategy, etc, but
overall one thing united them … It was a LONG season. Losing games is not fun, and it can take a toll on everyone.
Nevertheless, Sean Mark, Jordi Fernandez, MPJ, Noah Clowney, and Sean Marks still doled out some smiles, and answered key questions, some in more detail, others in less. There were Q. and A.’s on their approach during the season and what we can look forward to for this summer and the 2026-2027 — starting with a crucial draft, NBA Season. Here are some of the quotes that stood out. Lucas already handled MPJ’s answers in Monday’s report.
Jordi Fernandez: In the Moment
The life of an NBA coach is hard, especially when you’re in Jordi’s shoes. Not only is he responsible for developing young NBA talent, but he is in the middle of a rebuild where losing has become the norm in such a great city.
Fernandez started out with some humor, detailing that he should’ve been more considerate toward his family when they told him that being a head coach would be hard.
“You don’t know how to deal with your emotions until you have to do it. It’s really hard. Because you want to go out there and win games like the Boston game or Orlando when you’re right there.”
As he often does, Fernandez thanked a long list of people who had helped in development of the youngest team in the last 20 years.
“Between Long Island, the coaching staff, and the front office, the exposure that these guys had to the real games I thought was great. I think we led the league in minutes played by rookies [they did], and I thought that tells you that the best player development coaches are real live minutes. Those are the wins that don’t; show up in the standings, but the wins that we believe in.”
“I feel I’m supported, I also feel like whenever I make a mistake, I’m going to be challenged. When all of those things happen, it is all positive.”
Sean Marks: Fresh New Start/ Development
“Our rookie class specifically played more minutes than anyone else in the league from a rookie class standpoint. That’s something we’re certainly proud of. There’s excitement about the next 3-4 months of this summer. Talking to the coaching staff, I know they need to get away but they are all excited about what lies ahead of them.”
“One of the biggest lessons from an on-the-court perspective is that they got to feel what a real NBA athlete and game feels like and the preparation that is involved. Sometimes that takes a year or two, or maybe even three to get 40 games under their belt. A lot of our guys were exposed to it early to what that feels like.”
“We always look at the best available. As opposed to taking a guy and making him into your roster and what you already have. I think number one we’re looking for a competitive guy. You gotta fit, have that “Brooklyn Fit.” We always look at the upside, and that can be a tricky game to play, but we’re excited to see wherever this pick falls and there the opportunity will be for us.”
As for free agency and trades, Marks was cagey, as one might expect:
“It depends a little on what becomes available. You just never know,” said Marks. “We’ve put this Nets team and franchise in a place to be able to be opportunistic. Does that fit our timeline? Does this particular trade work for us right now?
“You can always add talent, but does that talent fit our approach and for the development of these young guys, fit in with the group we have? So, those are discussions I look forward to having with Jordi [Fernández] and the rest of the coaching staff, front office, mostly Joe [Tsai] — when we want to add and how we want to add.”
Marks also pointed out that Josh Minott’s performance might have even been better if he had been healthy.
“The shooting is something that probably surprised me slightly, but I look forward to seeing him healthy,” Marks said. “He was playing on one leg with us for most of the time here, so it is nice to get that ankle taken care of and then again have another big summer. … But he’s excited and incredibly motivated. And as we said before, I love the competitive nature and competitive fire that he has.”
Marks wouldn’t commit, at least not yet, to picking up Minott’s $2.5 million team option.
Noah Clowney: Correction
When it was Noah Clowney’s turn to sit to talk to the media on Monday morning, his body language said exhausted. That mixture of an 82-game season along with all that losing, Clowney had good reason. He spoke of his development which in his mind was mediocre.
“I think I progressed this year, maybe not as much as I wanted to, but I got better at a few different things and I got more experience, so I’m going to take that for what it is. I also got to gel more with the group that will be around for a while.
Clowney gave more in detail as the questions started to roll in.
“I think I had a really strong summer. I think you can ask anybody around here they can tell you the same. And when the season first started, it wasn’t translating how I wanted it too, and that led to frustration.”
During the season Clowney had upped his scoring average to 12.3 while playing in the most games of his young career.
“I think I got a lot better at getting to the rim. I think my handles have to get a lot better, that’ll prevent turnovers and things of that nature. Defensively it’s always been consistency. I can do it at times, and other times I just don’t.”
Other than being disappointed with himself, Clowney also mentioned about his unawareness of what next year can potentially look like. After all, he will be a restricted free agent this summer.
“I don’t know what the roster will be next year. I’m not looking forward to nobody specifically. I hope everybody still here, but we all know that’s not realistic. I’m looking for another opportunity to play, though.”
