At this point in their rebuild, the rest of this Nets season is about next season.
It’s about development.
And youth.
And developing players like Maxwell Lewis, who has gone from forgotten man to pleasant surprise in a matter of days.
The youngest Net on the floor this past weekend was also among the best.
In a weekend back-to-back against the Celtics and Hawks, Lewis had 25 points on 5-for-7 shooting from behind the arc in 38 minutes, posting a team-leading plus-28.
This from a player who’d scored just 21 points in his career entering the weekend.
In just three months, Lewis has gone from being traded to being injured, from a broken leg to a career breakthrough.
And all the while, the 22-year-old Pepperdine product has brought an infectious energy, first in the locker room and now on the court.
“I like what I saw,” Jordi Fernández said of Lewis, who scored three points in the Nets’ 104-96 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday night in Boston. “Max has been unbelievable those last two games. … So, happy for him. His energy is contagious. And you can tell his teammates on the bench every time he does something positive, they celebrate. That’s the most important thing. You see that chemistry.”
First came 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and 3-for-3 from deep in 16 minutes Saturday against Boston.
Then Lewis followed with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting — and 2-for-4 from deep — in 22 minutes of a win over Atlanta on Sunday.
Considering he’d logged just 22 minutes total for Brooklyn before that, it was a surprising turn of events — one he was looking to continue Tuesday in Boston.
“I’ve got to give him a lot of credit,” Cam Johnson said. “He comes in and gets traded — it’s not easy, first time being traded — first game he plays with us, hits a 3 and gets hurt on the same play. So now you just get traded, you’re out a month and he don’t complain. He shows up, he works every day, works hard.
“He’s just a funny guy overall, too. He’s become known throughout the team as just bringing that fun energy, sometimes a little crazy at times but we love it, and we love him for it. And seeing his success on the court, you can see how excited everybody gets for that, because everybody knows the work you put in behind the scenes and just how good of a teammate he is day in and day out.”
That trade was Dec. 29, part of the return for Dorian Finney-Smith.
The Lakers had thought enough of Lewis in the 2023 draft that they paid Indiana $4 million to move up just seven spots to take him No. 40 overall in the second round.
Then L.A. handed him a four-year, $7 million deal, the first two years guaranteed.
After spending most of his rookie campaign with the South Bay Lakers, Lewis was averaging 18.4 points and 6.9 boards in the G-League when Nets general manager Sean Marks wanted him included along with D’Angelo Russell and three second-round picks.
But one minute into his New Year’s Day debut, Lewis broke his left tibia.
The 6-foot-7 wing returned to the court Feb. 12, but made just five short cameos — until this past weekend. Lewis got his chance, and aggressively seized it.
“I was thinking, just catch and shoot, be ready. I’m so used to hesitating and putting the ball on the ground, just doing too much. And I felt like [keep it] short and simple, and I felt like I belong in the league. So it felt good to me,” Lewis said. “I just feel normal.”
Lewis is out to prove he belongs. He’s younger than every Net other than Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead.
He’s vying with young wings Jalen Wilson and Ziaire Williams, the latter a restricted free agent with a hefty qualifying offer of at least $7.98 million.
Meanwhile, Lewis has team options of just $2.2 million and $2.4 million the next two years, with only $100,000 guaranteed for 2025-26.
He’ll use these final 13 games after Tuesday in TD Garden to prove he’s worth that.
