Here are three Nets players with the most to prove during the NBA restart.
Perhaps no team in the NBA bubble for the restart project faces lower stakes than the Nets. While the majority of the teams invited will be competing for a championship, Brooklyn can sleep at night knowing that its most important players — like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan Spencer Dinwiddie and Wilson Chandler, to name a few — didn’t make the trip.
So long as the Nets escape unscathed and don’t have to pull themselves out of Orlando, fans should be content with a first-round exit in the playoffs.
However, just because their expectations don’t align with other teams doesn’t mean that Brooklyn traveled to Disney World without its own ambitions.
The team is clearly preparing for next season, and some of its players should thereby treat the remainder of this campaign as an audition for a roster spot. With this in mind, let’s highlight a few Nets that should play like their future contract depends on it.
3. Jeremiah Martin
Jeremiah Martin has a lot to prove with the Nets.
Signed to a two-way contract by the Nets in January, guard Jeremiah Martin appeared in just three games for Brooklyn over the next several weeks.
The former Memphis Tiger spent most of his time playing for the Long Island Nets of the G League, where he logged 16.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.3 steals across 16 contests. Luckily for him, two-way players were declared eligible for the resumption of the NBA season, so he figures to play heavy minutes at point guard next to projected starter Chris Chiozza, who was playing surprisingly well before play was halted in March.
If there’s a singular player on the Nets with the least data available and the largest opportunity, it’s Martin. Expect the 24-year-old to play with boundless energy whenever he takes the floor in Orlando.
2. Donta Hall
Donta Hall is another Nets G League fixture who could make a splash.
The signing of Donta Hall couldn’t have come at a better time for Nets fans, as it followed the uninspiring string of agreements with veterans Jamal Crawford, Michael Beasley and Tyler Johnson, who hold no future with the team.
The former Alabama big man wasn’t selected in the 2019 NBA Draft, but went on to become one of the G League’s most productive players.
In 30 games for the Grand Rapids Drive, he averaged 15.4 points and 10.6 rebounds on 66.9% shooting, which resulted in the Detroit Pistons calling him up for a four-game stretch in the middle of the season.
If Hall shines in Orlando, Brooklyn might have no choice but to extend his contract. There’s bound to be a few substitute signings that take the restart by storm, and we wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Hall was one of them.
1. Justin Anderson
Justin Anderson can take back what he lost when the Nets season was paused.
Nets interim head coach Jacque Vaughn clearly has lofty expectations for Justin Anderson at Disney World, as he revealed this week that the wants the former No. 21 overall pick to defend the three positions in the front court.
Though there was a long layoff since the last time he played, Anderson was lighting up the G League with the Long Island Nets before play was suspended due to the pandemic.
In 14 starts, he posted a team-high 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists. If he can build off that momentum, there’s no reason to think the 26-year-old won’t impress.
Brooklyn inked Anderson to a 10-day contract back in January and recently decided to sign him as a substitute player until the team is eliminated from the playoffs. Taking two separate chances on him proves that general manager Sean Marks likes what he brings to the table, so the Virginia product should feel the pressure to produce in the restart.