Chaney Johnson believes the Nets have the right kind of edge heading into the new season, and he’s not shy about saying where it comes from.
In an interview with Connor Long of Yahoo Sports, the two-way player said Brooklyn is coming off a “terrible” 20-win season, but sees that as fuel. Johnson spent most of his rookie year in the G League, yet he’s trying to carve out a bigger role now after turning heads in Summer League, where he averaged 13 points and eight rebounds and led all players in Las Vegas with 3.3 steals per game.
“I just feel like we’re hungry,” he said. “They know - we realize how terrible of a team we were last year, or how terrible we did.
I know ‘terrible’ is a strong word, so I don’t want to - but we weren’t the best team last year. So I feel like we’ve got that chip on our shoulder now, and we’re ready to prove some people wrong.”
Johnson also pointed to the offseason addition of Julius Randle as a major reason for optimism. Brooklyn landed Randle from Minnesota in a four-team trade that sent out Nic Claxton, and Johnson sees the veteran forward as another established scorer to pair with Michael Porter Jr. He also emphasized Randle’s playoff background as part of the appeal.
“Julius Randle, for sure, just brings a grit that I’m not going to say we don’t have, but just a grit that we need,” Johnson said. “He brings - like, Jordi (Fernandez) is a hard-nosed, dive-on-the-floor, play-hard, but at the same time make sure we take care of the basics type of coach.
I feel like Julius brings that. He just brings an added benefit on top of what Jordi already wants out of his players.
… He brings a toughness that I feel like is going to pay off this year.”
Johnson also singled out second-year guard Nolan Traore as the Nets player who has made the biggest leap this offseason. Traore missed Summer League while recovering from a knee scope, but he has still spent plenty of time working in the gym and weight room.
“All the guys have improved, but I feel like Nolan … he’s a different guy now,” Johnson said. “He done put on some mass.
He’s walking around with a sleeveless hoodie on, looking at the biceps, you know what I’m saying? He done put on some strength.”
Across town, the Knicks may be heading into the season with a different kind of challenge: how to balance winning now with keeping an eye on development. Zach Braziller of The New York Post suggests the defending champs may need to accept fewer regular-season wins and a lower seed if that helps them stay in position to defend their title. The starters were already on reduced minutes last season, and coach Mike Brown is expected to keep using that approach, which could open the door for Mohamed Diawara, Tyler Kolek and other young players.
Rafael Canton of SNY.tv says that development piece will be essential if the Knicks want to stay in the title mix. The team lost Mitchell Robinson in free agency this summer because owner James Dolan Karl-Anthony Towns, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby all eligible for extensions over the next 12 months.
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What makes the decision harder to ignore now is the profile of the player who went off the board in that spot. Cameron Carr looks like the sort of wing this roster can always use, a promising 3-and-D type with the physical tools to matter on both ends. With key players heading toward free agency, a cost-cutting call at one of the games most valuable positions may be the kind of small move the Knicks end up measuring against a much bigger need. [Read more 🡒]