Now officially eliminated, the Nets can turn their full attention to positioning for the lottery and playing the kids.
Prospects like Drew Timme.
Brooklyn brought the young center up from the G League and handed him his first-ever NBA action.
And even though it came in a 132-100 loss to the Clippers before 17,926 at Barclays Center, that won’t dampen his spirits.
“It’s dope. It’s a dream come true,” Timme said. “This is what I’ve been wanting ever since I could pick up a basketball.”
The Nets (23-51) got eliminated before they even tipped off, but the standings their fans are watching are the lottery odds.
Brooklyn moved ½ game ahead of idle Philadelphia for the fifth-best odds, and 3 ½ ahead of Toronto pending the seventh-place Raptors result later Friday.
That means it’s time for the full-on youth movement, like Timme who had a double-double (11 points, ten boards) in his debut.
The center — who went undrafted in 2023, then suffered a season-ending foot injury as a rookie — got traded to G League Long Island and found his footing.
Or more accurately, his shot, even hitting a 3-pointer on Friday.
“You gotta grab the bull by the horns. My first year I came in a little more passive. ‘Oh, let’s see what happens. I’m not gonna assert myself as much, I don’t wanna ruffle too many feathers,’” Timme said. “Not in a bad way, but everyone wants a piece of the pie and if you don’t step up to take your bite, you’re not gonna get one. Finding that balance between alpha but also being in the flow has helped me.”
Clearly the Nets are going to go younger the rest of the way.
“Obviously we’ll have some younger guys that we may have to make decisions throughout the summer, and it’s important to give them a look,” coach Jordi Fernandez said. “So if we find the opportunity while being competitive, for sure.”
Brooklyn was non-competitive Friday.
It wasn’t quite as bad as their Jan. 15 loss at the Clippers, the 126-67 rout the worst in team history.
But it was close.
