Five rookies learning together: a unique challenge, but this Nets experiment promises unprecedented growth and chemistry.
The Brooklyn Nets' latest loss at home to the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night dropped their record to 15-43 and extended their losing skid to a 6th game.
In the present, Brooklyn's youngsters are just trying to hang on through what has been a nightmare-ish campaign riddled with tanking. However, their future could be extremely bright for a few, quantifiable reasons.
Prior to the Nets' meeting with the Spurs and third-year superstar center Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio's head coach Mitch Johnson was asked for his ideas on what Brooklyn is experiencing while navigating the tank, and his response highlighted the sheer number of young prospects they've attempted to develop to this juncture.
"It's challenging," Johnson told the New York Post's Brian Lewis before the bout Thursday evening.
"It's hard to ask a 19-year-old to help another 19-year-old. It's like asking a bunch of kids who are just learning how to swim to make sure the other one doesn't drown."
At face value, Johnson's view is correct. Navigating your first season in the NBA is no easy feat, regardless of the circumstances which allowed you to enter the league.
Egor Dëmin won't necessarily be able to go to Nolan Traoré or Danny Wolf or Drake Powell or Ben Saraf to seek tutelage or learn from their experiences, but the amount of rookie talent on the roster does present a unique situation for all five rookies mentioned.
Brooklyn made history by being the first NBA team ever to make five selections in the first round of the NBA Draft this past summer. They've since kept each of those talents and deployed all of them at certain stretches throughout this season. In fact, they became one of the few franchises to ever run a 5-man lineup consisting of all rookies during a game against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 5.
Each of the five first-year pros on the floor is certainly an uncommon sight in the NBA, but it could have its perks.
Traoré, Dëmin, Wolf, Powell and Saraf have been placed in a unique position, but every player being able to learn and grow alongside four others in the same position means that they'll all have ample time to learn each others strengths and weaknesses while developing plenty of chemistry along the way.
Coming up in the NBA with a fellow rookie creates a special bond, and that bond will be built by an entire unit of players each with their own special skills and traits.
All the while, each of the five will be able to absorb information from other veteran talents and pass along what they've learned amongst themselves.
Johnson's take on a bunch of 19-year-old's trying to get acclimated in the league is worth taking into account, but it's also going to be a worthwhile test run to find out if having five first-year players is positive from a team-building aspect.
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