Noah Clowney started 60 games for the Nets last season. Two days before Brooklyn\u2019s home opener, he\u2019s bracing for a smaller role.<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old forward said Monday he expects fewer minutes and touches following the arrivals of Julius Randle. His challenge is to make the most of those opportunities as Brooklyn enters the season with different expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI play less minutes more than likely,\u201d Clowney said. \u201cOther than that, I think my role is not too much different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clowney averaged career highs of 12.3 points and 27 minutes per game in 66 appearances last season. The former first-round pick is now adjusting to a bench role behind Randle, with multiple ball handlers in the rotation limiting his chances to create offense.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing in with two ball handlers, the ball would be in my hands a lot less, 100%, but pick your spots, create chaos. That\u2019s the goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Clowney described the adjustment as part of being a professional. He acknowledged it could take several games to settle into his new responsibilities but expressed little concern about the transition.<\/p>\n
The team\u2019s changing priorities have brought renewed excitement, Clowney said. With draft positioning no longer driving the conversation, the Nets enter Wednesday\u2019s opener against the Charlotte Hornets focused on winning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no benefit from losing. Nothing,\u201d Clowney said.<\/p>\n
Head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez has made clear where Clowney can help. He praised the forward\u2019s consistency after a preseason in which he made nine of 15 3-point attempts. He also wants more on the glass.<\/p>\n
The Nets finished last in the NBA with 39.3 rebounds per game last season. Clowney averaged 4.1 in 27 minutes a night.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can be better and he will be better,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cWe brought those points to him, and we know he can impact not just the defensive glass but also the offensive glass and there\u2019s no excuses.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monday also marked the deadline for Clowney to sign a rookie-scale extension. If he and Brooklyn don\u2019t reach an agreement, he\u2019ll enter restricted free agency next summer. This season, his defense, rebounding and timely shooting will help determine how much he plays.<\/p>\n
ROOKIE AVAILABILITY UPDATE<\/p>\n
The Nets will open the season Wednesday without rookie forward Tyler Bilodeau, who has a sprained shoulder, Fern\u00e1ndez said Monday.<\/p>\n
Fern\u00e1ndez expressed little concern about the injury and expects Bilodeau to return soon.<\/p>\n
Bilodeau, the No. 43 overall pick in June\u2019s NBA draft, appeared in two preseason games for Brooklyn. He averaged 17.6 points and 5.6 rebounds during his senior season at UCLA, leading the Big Ten in 3-point shooting at 46.4%.<\/p>\n
Fellow rookie forward Joshua Jefferson is available after missing the entire preseason with back stiffness. The No. 28 overall pick participated in contact practice Monday and worked with the rest of the group.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just practiced, contact practice, did a great job,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cHappy to see him back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jefferson averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists during his final season at Iowa State. His availability gives Brooklyn another frontcourt option, though Fern\u00e1ndez didn\u2019t indicate whether he\u2019ll play against Charlotte.<\/p>\n
LEARNING FROM PEP<\/p>\n
Fern\u00e1ndez spent part of his summer exchanging coaching ideas with Pep Guardiola.<\/p>\n
Guardiola, who left Manchester City this summer after a decade as manager, visited Brooklyn\u2019s gym to watch players work out and spend time with Fern\u00e1ndez.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves basketball, so he wanted to see the gym and the players and watch them work out,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said.<\/p>\n
Their conversations touched on leadership, navigating difficult situations and bringing different personalities together. Fern\u00e1ndez has emphasized connectivity and selflessness throughout training camp with Brooklyn\u2019s reshaped roster, and Guardiola\u2019s approach to managing people stood out to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe embraces people and makes them work together and win championships,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cAnd the human quality is very important, and you can tell why he brought groups together, not just in Spain, but also in Germany and in Manchester.\u201d<\/p>\n
Guardiola\u2019s success across three countries left a lasting impression on Fern\u00e1ndez, who believes he still has more to accomplish.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure he\u2019ll do it again. We just don\u2019t know when,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Noah Clowney started 60 games for the Nets last season. Two days before Brooklyn\u2019s home opener, he\u2019s bracing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,138820,63],"class_list":["post-377657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-noah-clowney-nets","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}