Jordi Fernández has shown he’s willing to tweak his rotation, and the Brooklyn Nets may need another adjustment after a rough offensive skid has put the bench under the microscope.
The bigger issue isn’t just that Brooklyn has been losing ground offensively. The Nets have averaged 92.6 points over their last three games, and the second unit’s shooting has been a major drag on that stretch. Chaney Johnson, Keon Ellis and Noah Clowney have combined to shoot 12-for-41 from the field and 4-for-23 from three, while also piling up seven assists against 10 turnovers.
Ellis, in particular, has been a tough fit so far. He’s sitting at 28.6% on catch-and-shoot looks, which ranks fifth-worst, according to Basketball University on X.
Brooklyn brought him in on a two-year, $18 million deal because of what he’s supposed to bring as a 3-and-D guard. Over five seasons, he’s been a 40.2% shooter from deep and has averaged 1.2 steals per game.
Fernández initially gave Ellis the starting job in preseason while rookie Mikal Brown Jr. dealt with a left ankle sprain. The idea was simple: Ellis could handle point-of-attack defense and hit shots off the ball, easing Egor Dëmin’s defensive load and fitting alongside Julius Randle’s playmaking. But the offense never found a clean rhythm in Brooklyn’s 0-3 start, and Fernández eventually turned to second-year guard Nolan Traoré, whom he described as a “true point guard.”
Clowney has also had a quiet start in a contract year ahead of restricted free agency. He’s averaging 5.4 points while shooting 28.8% from three in 21.6 minutes per game.
The Nets’ 2023 first-round pick has had to adapt to a new bench role after the four-team June deal that brought in Randle shut the door on a return to the starting lineup he held last season. Clowney accepted the move, but the transition has taken longer than Brooklyn likely wanted.
The one thing the Nets’ bench has done is score in volume. Brooklyn is averaging 39.1 points per game from its reserves, ninth-best in the league this season, according to Statmuse. The problem is the efficiency, especially from long range.
That’s where Josh Minott could enter the picture. Fernández could turn to him as a way to shake up a clunky second unit and squeeze more offense out of the group. Minott scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds in last Sunday’s 136-109 loss to the Indiana Pacers, and it was the only game in which he played more than 10 minutes.
He’s shooting 23.1% from three in a limited sample, but he has shown more than enough to keep him in the conversation. Minott averaged 10.8 points on 39.5% from three and 1.3 steals while dealing with a left ankle injury he sustained with the Boston Celtics. With so much young talent on the roster and a crowded rotation to manage, Fernández has options - and the bench may be the next place he looks.
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