LAS VEGAS — The Nets added an NBA-record 5 first-round picks final month, 4 of whom suited up and made their summer season league debuts Thursday.
It's no shock the one who adjusted the quickest is the one who performs the quickest: lightning-fast Nolan Traoré, one of many highlights in a gap 90-81 loss to OKC.
The French level guard was the one Nets rookie to crack double figures with 13 factors, three assists, three rebounds and a number of other fast bursts into the lane.
He was even preventing by means of an early ankle harm whereas shaking off first-game jitters.
“That was slightly bit onerous as a result of I rolled my ankle actually early. … It took awhile. You've bought to enter it shortly and be prepared. So it wasn't that lengthy,” Traoré stated. “I used to be slightly bit [sore] on the break with the ankle. Nevertheless it's all proper. I'll be proper again on Sunday.”
Traoré twisted his ankle and gave solution to Ben Saraf with 6:22 remaining within the first quarter and the Nets down 8-4. By the point he got here again in for the Israeli guard, they trailed 24-18 with 8:20 left within the half.
The speedster completed as the one Web with a optimistic plus-minus.
“I believe his pace interprets very nicely,” stated Nets assistant Steve Hetzel, who's teaching summer season league.
“We undoubtedly put him in some actions the place he may throw it and get it again and attempt to assault the rim. I believed he dealt with himself nicely with the physicality. I believe, for all of our rookies, that's one thing that's gonna come over time. Getting within the weight room and their our bodies maturing. So I look ahead to that.”
Whereas Egor Demin was the Nets' first lottery choose since 2010 and performed level guard at BYU, it was Traoré who discovered himself largely shouldering lead guard duties.
“It was simply sport movement. So whoever will get the ball, whoever is the closest goes to get it,” Traoré stated. “And we don't thoughts if it's me or him. We simply play.
“I don't care who brings the ball up. We simply need to play as a result of, as you say, there's a number of guys who can deal with the ball, so we don't care who. We simply play by means of it.”
Dariq Whitehead isn't enjoying in summer season league.
He informed The Put up it was the results of a dialogue that his brokers at Excel Sports activities had with normal supervisor Sean Marks in an effort to get him by means of his accidents and one hundred pc prepared for the common season.
“Completely, me coming to play, clearly on the finish of final season I used to be on the point of put together for summer season league,” Whitehead stated. “After which with the best way I completed final season, it was simply one thing that I suppose my agent talked to Sean about they usually had been [thinking] extra so get my physique prepared and put together for coaching camp and subsequent season.”
The Nets renounced the free agent rights to Day'Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams, per Spotrac.
They'll be re-signed, both each by way of cap house or one by way of the room exception.
The Nets have $22.3 million in cap house and will create extra through the use of the room exception, or waiving non-guaranteed gamers.
