Sean Marks and Jordi Fernández are sending the same signal from Las Vegas: Brooklyn is not rushing this thing, but it also isn’t leaving its young players to fend for themselves.
That’s been the shape of the Nets’ last two offseasons. They’ve kept adding youth through the draft, then layered in veterans who can steady the room and raise the standard.
This year’s No. 6 pick, Mikel Brown Jr., fits right into that plan. So do veteran additions like Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle.
During Summer League, both Marks and Fernández were asked about where the franchise is headed and what they’ve seen from the young core. The answers came separately, but the message lined up: development takes time, and the environment around these players matters just as much.
Speaking Tuesday during Brooklyn’s Summer League win over the Sacramento Kings, Marks put the patience piece front and center.
“I think it takes all of us to have a little bit of patience,” Marks said. “We all have to have patience here and realize when they’re 19 and 20 years old, what do they look like when they’re 23, 24, let alone 27 and so forth.”
For Marks, this is bigger than box scores and flashes in July. He framed development as a broader job, one that reaches beyond basketball skill.
“We’re trying to develop young men here,” Marks said.
That’s the heart of Brooklyn’s approach. The Nets want talent, sure, but they also want the habits, professionalism and competitiveness that help a player grow into the next version of himself. It’s been part of how they’ve tried to build this roster from the start.
Fernández made the same point from the coaching side.
“It’s about growing and getting better,” Fernández said. “We cannot just demand that from the players. It has to be also from the coaching staff and everybody.”
That’s a pretty clear window into how he sees accountability. Improvement, in his view, isn’t something that gets placed only on the young guys. It has to run through the whole organization.
Brooklyn’s offseason additions reflect that thinking. Porter and Randle give the Nets two established players who can bring stability to a roster still heavy on youth.
Marks called Randle “a pro’s pro” and pointed to the kind of games he’s played in over the course of his career. Fernández added that veterans can push younger players every day and create a higher level of internal competition.
“When you’re young, I can always say, ‘Hey, look at this other guy do it,’” Fernández said. “And I think that competition from within the group is important.”
That’s the point of bringing in experienced voices: the Nets are not asking their young players to figure out every part of the league on their own. They’ve got people in the building who know what the daily grind looks like and can show it.
Porter has already started doing that in his own way. Earlier this month, before Summer League got underway, he brought several young Nets players - including Danny Wolf and Egor Dëmin - to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks. It was a chance to build those relationships away from the gym before the season starts.
Those kinds of moments won’t show up in a stat line, but they’re part of the culture Brooklyn is trying to build.
The same goes for Brown, who has been one of the standouts of Summer League. The praise from Brooklyn’s leadership hasn’t stopped at his talent.
Marks has talked about his competitiveness, basketball IQ and the way he handles himself with teammates off the floor. Fernández highlighted Brown introducing himself to officials before games and the ease with which he connects with people around him.
“It’s not fake,” Fernández said. “That’s what he’s about.”
Brown backed up that trust again in Tuesday’s win over Sacramento, showing the confidence, communication and all-around impact that have stood out since draft night. Brooklyn liked the player, but it also clearly liked the person.
That’s why he went sixth overall. The Nets saw a prospect with talent, yes, but also the kind of leadership traits they believe can fit the group they’re building.
Summer League won’t decide how this rebuild turns out. There will be more growing pains ahead as these young players adjust to the NBA. But Brooklyn’s message this summer has been consistent: the future is being built around youth, and the veterans around them are there to help set the tone.
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