{"id":317609,"date":"2025-10-20T03:38:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/317609\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T03:38:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T03:38:11","slug":"nets-point-guard-plan-remains-murky-ahead-season-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/317609\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets’ point guard plan remains murky ahead season opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

The preseason is over for the Nets, but for their three rookie point guards, so much has yet to be determined.<\/p>\n

It is uncertain who will start the regular-season opener against the Hornets, who will serve as the backup and who will have to wait his turn.<\/p>\n

Coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez declined to reveal a depth chart for Egor D\u00ebmin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf after practice Sunday. Anyway, it can change game to game. Nothing is set in stone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very happy with all three,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cAll three have played in preseason, all three have done good things, and all three have things to work on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they can take advantage of their minutes, they\u2019re going to survive with their roles, whether they are starting or at backup. If somebody cannot sustain production or what we\u2019re asking [from them], then [it will create an] opportunity for another one, and that\u2019s why I want that healthy competition to work on our team, where they\u2019re all pushing each other and they all have minutes and experience and they can grow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"NolanNolan Traore #88 of the Brooklyn Nets looks to pass the ball during the game against the Toronto Raptors on October 17, 2025 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In the team\u2019s four exhibition games, Saraf and Traore started twice apiece. But that was partly due to D\u00ebmin, the highest pick of the three, only being available for the final contest due to a plantar fascia tear dating back to the spring. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Saraf averaged 6.3 points and 5.5 assists in 20.3 minutes, while Traore produced 4.5 points and 1.8 assists in 14.7 minutes. Both players struggled with turnovers, combining for 5.5 per game in the preseason.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-8 D\u00ebmin was impressive in his debut, producing 14 points and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench with two turnovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe did a great job. He looked composed. He helped us,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cIt\u2019s good that you see the ball go in, but basketball is not just about seeing the ball go in. He made the simple play. We didn\u2019t turn it over as much [with him]. He got his teammates involved, and he had very good positional defensive possessions, where he was the low man, he went vertical, he protected the rim. Those things are very good to see at this point, but we\u2019re going to ask him to keep getting better because we believe the sky is the limit for him and for the other two point guards, as well. Very exciting going into his first game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nets'Nets\u2019 Egor Demin (8) drives past Toronto Raptors\u2019 Scottie Barnes, left, during second-half preseason NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025. AP<\/p>\n

The three rookies all know one another from their time in the EuroLeague, and while they are battling one another for minutes, the three are all going through the same process together.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFollow all the basketball buzz in Brooklyn\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Inside the Nets by Brian Lewis, exclusively on Sports+.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cI think everybody is trying to get better and everybody is trying to help everybody to get better,\u201d D\u00ebmin, the eighth pick in this year\u2019s draft, said. \u201cI think that\u2019s where we\u2019re going to be successful this year. Every practice, there\u2019s going to be competition. It\u2019s not about just me, Nolan and Ben. It\u2019s about everything. As soon as we step off the court, we\u2019re best friends. I think that\u2019s how it should be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The preseason is over for the Nets, but for their three rookie point guards, so much has yet…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":317610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[3124,52487,1260,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-317609","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-brooklyn-nets","9":"tag-jordi-fernandez","10":"tag-nba","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115404414453477875","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}