OKLAHOMA CITY — The Nets have the most future draft picks in the NBA.
The team with the second-most: Oklahoma City.
The 127-101 beating the Nets took from the Thunder at Paycom Center — and the way OKC has run through the entire league — is a scary reminder of just how well-poised Sunday’s foe is to dominate the NBA both today and tomorrow.
The Nets (14-29) watched them lead by 27 in the first quarter and 28 in the fourth, shooting a red-hot .552 and 19 of 43 from deep.
Cam Johnson returned from a sprained right ankle with 15 points, but the Nets were at a talent deficit in losing for the eighth time in nine games.
It’s why they’re essentially looking to emulate OKC’s model. It’s also why they’ve made the hard but necessary decisions to trade away talent that could help them win today — Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith — for players who, in some cases, will never suit up — De’Anthony Melton — because it will help them build long-term sustainable success.
They can only hope to attain the success OKC has, but that’s far off. Right now, after Sunday, they’ll limp home with just one lone win on this six-game Western Conference swing, with a back-to-back looming against the Knicks and Suns.
“You can never get tired of this, how the NBA and the schedule is. I know it’s the end of the trip, but being excited to play an NBA game is very important,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “Obviously, it felt like we were in L.A. forever; we played two games. But the games keep coming.
“Then we have a tough back-to-back at home. So not just to get ahead of things, but the most important game is the game in front of you. And it doesn’t matter if you come from a long trip or you’ve been at home; you have to have that energy and you’ve got to do it together with your teammates. That’s my main takeaway.”
The Nets have more projected cap space this summer ($65 million) and more future picks (15 firsts, 16 seconds) than anybody in the league.
The Thunder are right on their heels with 13 and 16, respectively. The difference: While very few of these Nets are likely to be around in two years, the West-leading Thunder are led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander returned after missing Friday’s 106-98 loss to Dallas, one of just two defeats in OKC’s last 21 games. His sprained right wrist looked fine, as he torched the Nets for 27 points and 10 assists.
Fernandez coached both Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort on Team Canada and said the OKC starters helped him far more than he helped them.
“I learned a lot,” Fernandez said. “They made me better as a coach. They made me understand what a team needs to be very good.
“Their human quality is, to me, the most important thing. Those two guys are obviously great basketball players, but the reality is they’re even better humans: their work ethic, family people, people that care about the right things, always [a] smile on their face, always positive energy. And that’s the reason why I enjoyed my time with them. And like I said, they made me a better coach.”
Fernandez has a long road ahead of him in building these Nets. But the road should get a little less rocky after this tough rookie season.
The Thunder (34-7) have won nine of their last 21.
The Nets stumbled out of the gate Sunday, missing their first seven shots and falling behind 13-2. Things just got worse from there.
The score quickly swelled to 34-7 on a Gilgeous-Alexander layup. There was 2:25 left in the first, but the game was over.
The Nets answered with a 20-7 run to pull within two touchdowns, starting to pass the ball inside against withering OKC defense.
Day’Ron Sharpe, who’d been questionable with an eye injury, found Ziaire Williams on a kickout for a 3-pointer that cut it to 51-39 midway through the second quarter. But the Nets never got any closer the rest of the night.
