With the trade deadline behind them, the Nets introduced Ochai Agbaji and Josh Minott on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center and beat the Washington Wizards 127-113, improving to 14-37 while snapping a three-game skid. The turnover that made their arrivals possible was still fresh.
Cam Thomas, Haywood Highsmith and Tyrese Martin were waived to open the door. Hunter Tyson, briefly part of the picture after a deal with the Denver Nuggets, was gone soon after he arrived. Before tipoff, Agbaji and Minott met the media, offering an early glimpse of two wings Brooklyn believes align with where it wants to go.
“We know they’re very good players, that’s why they’re here,” head coach Jordi Fernández said. “They’re good people and good players, so they fit what we’re trying to build. For me, it’s about getting to know them and giving them the opportunity without putting limitations on who I think they are. Show me what you can bring to the group, and if you can be part of this group, you can be a future Net.”
Opportunity is one thing. Identity is another. Both newcomers arrived with a clear sense of what they believe travels from team to team, and for Agbaji, it starts on the defensive end. The 25-year-old appeared in 42 games for the Toronto Raptors this season, averaging 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. After shooting 39.9% from 3-point range last year, he entered the afternoon at 18.5% this season on 65 attempts.
Fernández believes Agbaji can return to being the outside threat he once was.
“The conversations have been good, brief,” Agbaji said. “There’s been a lot going on, but [Jordi] told me he wants me here, that he sees a lot more in me and what I can bring to this team. For me it’s about getting back to myself and who I know I can be. That’s super important in this league and it’s what I work for and what I’m trying to show again.”
And there’s at least one built-in comfort for Agbaji. He’s reunited with Jalen Wilson, a former college teammate from Kansas’ national championship run, and said being back in a locker room with him makes Brooklyn “feel even more like home.”
“We played three years together and went through ups and downs, and we ended my career there winning a national championship, which was great,” Agbaji said. “I actually knew him before he came to Kansas. I hosted him on his recruiting visit. I’ve known him a long time and seen him grow. Ending up teammates with him again is great.
Minott’s journey was different, but the foundation sounds familiar. Originally drafted in 2022, he comes over from the Boston Celtics after appearing in 33 games and averaging 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds. The opportunities he carved out there, he said, were rooted in “hunger” and “desperation,” traits he believes translate no matter the jersey.
The 23-year-old said the defensive identity in Brooklyn already mirrors what he values, with an emphasis on pressure and disruption. He added that his shooting has progressed to the point where he trusts it as a real strength and believes in taking the right, open looks when they’re there. What he sees in the Nets is a young group wired to play that way. And the reset, in his mind, doesn’t change his personal standard.
“For me it’s about staying true to the values I’ve learned over my three and a half years in the league, especially the work ethic,” Minott said. “I’ve been around some winning organizations. Understanding what we did right and what it takes to make those playoff pushes, it’s about bringing that over.”
Defense is the entry point for Agbaji and Minott. It’s what stands out on both résumés and what Brooklyn keeps insisting it wants to be about. For Fernández, that shows up immediately in how you defend at the point of attack.
“Ball pressure is our first staple,” Fernández said. “Every time you can apply ball pressure, full court or half court, you can create turnovers and deflections and make the other team uncomfortable and late in the clock. We believe those guys can do that and I’m excited to watch them play.”
Agbaji and Minott, still learning the system, didn’t play against the Wizards, but the Nets didn’t need much depth in a matchup between two teams expected to slide down the stretch in pursuit of draft position. Brooklyn entered the afternoon with a clean injury report, but Washington had just eight available players and a lengthy list of absences that included Kyshawn George, Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, Cam Whitmore and Tre Johnson.
The Nets’ 46 points in the first quarter were their most in any period this season and their highest-scoring quarter since 2003. Brooklyn’s 80 points in the first half were also a season high and their most in a half since 2022, and they led by as many as 34. While the Wizards won the second half 66-47 and trimmed the deficit to 12 with 2:10 left, Brooklyn had done enough early to hold on for the win.
Michael Porter Jr. led seven Brooklyn players in double figures with 23 points, while Will Riley fueled Washington’s comeback attempt with 27.
The Nets return to action Monday when they host the Chicago Bulls.
