LOS ANGELES — Nothing good came from the historic 126-67 beating the Nets took from the Clippers; no positive from Wednesday night other than it was over by Thursday, like a bad dream.
More like a nightmare
But one from which they’ll move on, starting Friday at the Lakers.
It’ll hurt their pride but not their plan.
“When you see a loss like this, a lot of things went wrong. Obviously, the energy and the competitive spirit was not there,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “It’s never a good experience to go through this. But analyzing the whole season, none of our guys work for this. They’ve competed the whole time, so all I can do is support them. Obviously, own this myself as well and show up the next day and try to be better.
“I know we can be better. … I know our guys are competitors and fighters and working to get better, and that’s what we’re gonna do: just show up the next day.”
That 59-point loss wasn’t just the worst in franchise history, it was tied for the 10th-worst in NBA annals.
But it came with Cam Thomas, Cam Johnson, Ben Simmons and D’Angelo Russell all out. And it only helped their lottery positioning, which is at the core of this rebuild.
Some have asked if their record could impact the potential chase for a star like Giannis Antetokounmpo?
First, the Bucks star might be the Nets’ white whale, but he hasn’t demanded a trade, and it’s unknown if he’d want the franchise, anyway.
If a 30-something star wants to drop into a ready-made team like Kevin Durant going to Phoenix or Paul George going to Philadelphia — the jury is out on each, with both win-now teams having losing records — the Nets aren’t that.
But for a star that prefers to bring in teammates and have a blank canvas, the Nets fit the bill. They lead the NBA in cap space ($65 million) and assets (31 picks).
It’s unclear which suits Antetokounmpo.
Same for if De’Aaron Fox is off the table now that the Kings are winning again, or if the Nets and Durant — who always liked Brooklyn but lost faith it could win — would mull a reunion.
Sources have told The Post that the Nets aren’t eyeing Jimmy Butler but want enough space for not just a max salary, but a rookie max as well — Jonathan Kuminga, perhaps.
They want options and are buying them by suffering through a horrible, tanking season.
“It’s been frustrating. It’s been a frustrating year, personally and then with the team,” Nic Claxton said. “But you’ve just got to keep grinding.”
“We’ve got to put it behind us. We got a game [Friday] when we play the Lakers. We’ve just got to go out and compete and try to win,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “We’ve had guys [get hurt], lose guys from injuries, have different lineups. … So the second half of the season, I just feel like we got to find a way to keep playing hard, giving teams a tough matchup each night, but get some more Ws.”
Here’s the thing: Wins have been hard to come by. They’re going to get even harder.
While tank-happy fans bemoaned the Nets’ victory at Portland, they’re still just three games away from third in the lottery standings.
And since Dec. 27 — Dorian Finney-Smith’s pre-trade swan song — they’ve dropped nine of 11.
The Nets are starting to look like the team many expected at the start of the season.
Their top players may be in and out of the lineup going forward, and Johnson could be gone in less than three weeks, by the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Johnson has missed eight games this season. The Nets are 0-8 without him.
The impact of dealing away Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroder has been clear.
The impact of moving Johnson would be every bit as apparent.
But the impact of a lone loss in January, even if it was by 59 points?
It’ll hurt their pride but not their plan — whether that involves Antetokounmpo, Fox or anyone else.
