The Nets assigned Ben Saraf, Nolan Traoré and Danny Wolf to their G League affiliate on Long Island on Tuesday, leaving Egor Demin as the lone active rookie on Brooklyn’s roster heading into Wednesday’s road matchup against the Indiana Pacers.
Drake Powell also remains out with a right ankle sprain sustained in Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. However, Michael Porter Jr. is expected to return after missing Monday’s game for personal reasons.
After starting the first five games of the season at point guard, Ben Saraf was replaced by Tyrese Martin on Sunday and didn’t play, then saw only garbage-time minutes in Monday’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Traoré has played in only three of Brooklyn’s first seven games, totaling 34 minutes, while Wolf’s NBA debut was delayed until Monday as he recovered from his own ankle injury.
Outside of Demin, who’s averaged 6.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 19.8 minutes over six games, Saraf, Traore and Wolf have struggled to find consistent minutes in Jordi Fernández’s rotation. The G League should give them the game reps and development opportunities they’ve been missing. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see Powell assigned there once he’s healthy.
Long Island opens its season Friday at Nassau Coliseum.
“It’s huge, because we’re not different teams, we’re the same team, and we’re the same club,” Fernández said. “All the coaches are coaches for the same club. We’ve had great communication; we have a system in place… It’s more important for the players to see what their path is to get better. Obviously, the work that you put in day to day is important, but there’s no more important thing than playing real minutes. And real minutes are in the NBA, real minutes are in Long Island.”
Porter’s return should also ease some of the scoring burden on Thomas, who led Brooklyn with 25 points on 9-for-20 shooting against Minnesota. Together, the duo has posted a 108.5 offensive rating and a concerning 123.3 defensive rating through six games.
“Obviously losing Mike [Monday] was a big loss, because he’s one of our focal points on offense, our second-leading scorer,” Thomas said. “So, obviously losing him, that means a lot for our team. But at the end of the day, it’s always next-man up, so play your role and do your part.”
