Trendon Watford has gone from forgotten man to sixth man.
On a Nets team that hasn’t enjoyed many bright spots over the course of a disappointing season, Watford has been one of the precious few.
He had 21 points in Monday’s loss at Indiana on solid 8-of-11 shooting.
The young point forward began the year with no role on this roster, and has carved out one as not only a secondary ball-handler and point forward but also as a reliable bench piece that interim Kevin Ollie can count on.
“T-Wat did a great job getting to the rim,” Ollie said.
“I just take advantage of the work I’ve been putting in in the dark,” Watford said of his emergence over the past week. “And I felt like even early in the year when I felt like I should have been playing, even when I wasn’t, I was still just putting in the work, knowing opportunities were going to come.
“So, now it’s just showing. And just trying to get wins on top of it; that’s the most important thing, is trying to finish off this season with as many wins as we can.”
For the Nets, those wins have been all too few and far between. Monday’s loss — along with Atlanta’s win at Chicago — saw the Nets’ tragic number cut to one. But Watford is taking advantage of his opportunities.
“He’s just coming in being really aggressive, taking advantage of the minutes that he’s getting,” Nic Claxton said. “He’s playing a big role these last few games, and he’s been really solid coming off the bench.
“He’s always ready. He’s always real positive whenever he’s on the bench or whether he’s on the court just giving us good energy. And you see now he’s getting his opportunity and he’s making the best of his reps.”
Watford is averaging 15.6 points over his last five games, shooting 67 percent overall and 50 percent from 3.
At 23, he’s actually younger than rookie Jalen Wilson, and also a pending free agent.
Playing on a $2 million minimum contract, the Nets can extend him a qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent. Might they even give him part of the mid-level exception? These are the calls GM Sean Marks has to make.
Cam Johnson stayed back in Brooklyn for injury maintenance of his left big toe sprain. Dennis Smith Jr. woke up with right hip soreness and sat out.
Asked if the latter could nag the rest of the season, Ollie said: “I’m not for sure. We’ve got to lean on our doctors and medical team. But with inflammation, it comes and goes. There’s different things that you have to work through with the ejection, and hopefully we can get him back. If not, we’re going to make sure we take very good care of him and get him ready for the offseason.”
