The Brooklyn Nets sent three recent first-round picks to Long Island on Monday, moving Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Joshua Jefferson to their G League affiliate ahead of the Long Island Nets’ season opener on Nov. 6.
Powell and Saraf, taken No. 22 and No. 26 in the 2025 draft, have not broken into Brooklyn’s early-season guard rotation. That group has been occupied by Egor Demin, Keon Ellis, Mikel Brown Jr. and Nolan Traore, leaving the two rookies on the outside looking in.
Jefferson, selected No. 28 in the 2026 draft, has also been stuck behind established options at his spot. Julius Randle and Noah Clowney have been ahead of him at power forward, and Jefferson has not had a chance to make up ground after missing the preseason with a back ailment.
Nets coach Jordi Fernandez said recently that players in that position have to stay ready and make the most of whatever opportunity comes their way.
“Just to be ready when their number's called and do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Fernandez replied.
Brooklyn has opened the season 0-3, but that has not pushed Fernandez toward an immediate overhaul. After the Nets dropped their opener to the Charlotte Hornets, he made it clear that he wants more time with the current group before making changes.
“Nobody has guaranteed minutes. We see some good things.
We see some things that we have to be better at. We expect more from ourselves, but I've got to give them enough consistency and enough chance,” the coach replied when asked about potential rotation changes.
“As long as the attitude is good and the intentions are good, I've got to be a little bit patient with what I want to see. But then at the same time, if I feel I have to make changes for the benefit of the group, I will.
So it's a process. It's Game 1.
If I were changing things right now, it would be a sign that I'm freaking out, and I think that we're not there.
This group is great. The guys that are in rotation have done a great job.
The guys that are not in the rotation are working hard because when their number's called, they've got to take advantage of their minutes. And that's how competition within the group works.
Backups want to play starting minutes, starting [players] want to keep starting minutes and guys [not] in rotation want to get themselves in shape and ready to go. So when their number's called, they produce for the group.”
Powell’s rookie year was uneven. He averaged 6.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21.0 minutes over 63 games, shooting .402/.280/.896. His Summer League stretch did not help matters either, with Powell putting up 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist while shooting 8-of-44, or 18.2 percent, from the field and 4-of-25, or 16.0 percent, from three over six appearances.
Saraf’s first season also came with rough shooting numbers. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 20.8 minutes across 44 games, shooting .396/.211/.830. In Summer League, he averaged 10.0 points on 19-of-51 shooting, or 37.3 percent, from the field and 5-of-15 from three, while adding 3.3 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game.
Jefferson arrived with a stronger college résumé. He earned first-team All-Big 12 and consensus second-team All-American honors as a senior at Iowa State last season, but his immediate NBA path has been slowed by injuries. He missed last year’s postseason with an ankle injury and then sat out his first NBA preseason because of a back ailment.
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