The Brooklyn Nets may have found a real late-game weapon in Jordi Fernández’s flexibility.
With a deeper, more versatile roster, Brooklyn has the kind of pieces that could let Fernández mix and match in fourth quarters instead of sticking to one look. That matters because he has already shown he can get more out of players by putting them in the right spots. Michael Porter Jr. is the clearest example: Fernández gave the 28-year-old more chances to initiate offense, something he rarely did with the Denver Nuggets, and Porter responded with a career-high 24.2 points per game while shooting 36.3% from three.
The next step is using that same approach on lineups, not just individuals.
That’s where the Nets’ versatility becomes such a useful tool. In tight games, matchups can decide everything, and teams that can shift from bigger groupings to smaller, faster ones are hard to guard. Brooklyn has that kind of flexibility, and Billy Reinhardt pointed to a few possible closing combinations.
"The Nets could sometimes opt to close games with big lineups/Egor Dëmin at the 1, or a traditional point guard alongside them," Reinhardt wrote on X. "They could opt to play smaller in the frontcourt with Julius Randle at the 5."
Reinhardt also flagged Moritz Wagner as a possible late-game wrinkle. Wagner could serve as a small-ball center because of his ability to space the floor.
The shot isn’t always pretty - he’s been around 31 to 36% from three over the last several seasons - but at 6-foot-11, he gives Brooklyn a kind of offensive flexibility it hasn’t had since Brook Lopez left in 2017.
Randle is the piece that can make those lineups really hum. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, he can bully smaller defenders, hit threes and create for others.
His playmaking has grown over five seasons with Brooklyn’s crosstown rival, the New York Knicks, where he handled the ball heavily before eventually sharing those duties with Jalen Brunson. He has averaged at least four assists in six straight seasons.
If Fernández can surround Randle with shooters and keep the spacing clean in the fourth quarter, Brooklyn’s offense could look very different from the one that finished last season dead last in the league in scoring at 105.9 points per game. The Nets also tied with the Sacramento Kings for last in three-point percentage at 34%.
That kind of turnaround is badly needed if Brooklyn wants to be competitive in a crowded Eastern Conference. The team has already made noise this offseason by trading for Randle and signing Wagner to a two-year deal, moves that give Fernández more options when games get tight.
In Other News...
Brook Lopez Reunion Would Put One Big Nets Question Front And Center
Brook Lopez is back in the conversation around Brooklyn, this time as a veteran who could potentially circle back for one last run. The 19th NBA season looms for Lopez, who is on the final year of his deal with the Los Angeles Clippers and still carries a special place in Nets history as the franchises all-time leading scorer after the team drafted him in the first place.
Any reunion would not just be a feel-good nod to the past. It would also put a bigger question squarely in front of the organization: what kind of role, if any, does Brooklyn want to carve out for an older center at this stage, especially one whose value would be measured as much by experience and fit as by production? For now, though, it remains only a speculative idea, with no concrete plans or announcements from either side. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Face A Big Call On Mikel Brown Jr. This Camp
The Nets are headed into training camp with one of their clearest competitions sitting right in the middle of the floor. Brooklyn still has to settle on a starting point guard for the 2026-27 season, and the mix includes rookie Mikel Brown Jr., fellow young guards Nolan Traor and Ben Saraf, plus more experienced options such as Keon Ellis and Terance Mann. Brown, taken sixth overall in the recent NBA Draft, gives the team the kind of upside that can quickly change the tone of the position battle.
Training camp is where this will get sorted out, and that is what makes Brown such a fascinating piece of the puzzle. He looks like a strong candidate to claim the job, but the Nets are not treating the spot as a formality, and he could begin the season coming off the bench if the staff decides that is the best fit. For a team still shaping its backcourt identity, the choice at point guard will say a lot about how quickly Brooklyn wants to lean into its young talent. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rebuild May Ride On One Young Backcourt Taking Off
The Nets offseason has been less about quick fixes and more about finding pieces that can grow together, and that puts Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Dmin at the center of the conversation. Brooklyn landed both as lottery picks, and the early signs have only sharpened the idea that the franchise may be trying to build its next core through the backcourt, especially after a disappointing last season left plenty of room for a reset.
Dmins summer has been about showing he can move forward after an injury, and he reportedly looked better as the offseason progressed into summer league. Brown, meanwhile, flashed the kind of two-way potential teams love to see from a young guard, giving Brooklyn a reason to believe these two can become more than just long-term projects. For a team still sorting out its direction, the real intrigue is whether this pair can take off fast enough to shape what comes next. [Read more 🡒]