The Brooklyn Nets wrap up their Summer League slate after a thrilling 102-100 victory over the Orland Magic. Unfortunately for the Nets, their 3-1 record won’t be enough to get them into the Summer League playoffs, however, there were ample bright spots throughout the action.
Perhaps chief among them was the performance of second-year forward Jalen Wilson, who had another outstanding game against Orlando on Thursday. The 2023 second-round pick posted 33 points and 10 rebounds while shooting an incredible 6 of 7 from three and 11 of 20 overall while also going 5 for 5 from the charity stripe.
Jalen Wilson will be a major rotation piece this season
After an uneven rookie season that started with some red-hot outside shooting before fizzling later in the year, Wilson will have a bigger role this year. The Kansas product played 43 games while averaging 15.4 minutes per contest during the 2023-2024 season.
Wilson wraps up Summer League as the fourth leading scorer, averaging 24.3 points per game while shooting an eye-popping 55.6% from downtown. The impressive showing confirms his NBA value as a 3-and-D wing who can grow alongside the rest of Brooklyn’s young core.
At times during Summer League we saw Wilson get more aggressive with the ball in his hands, attempting to take defenders off the dribble and drive to the basket with marginal success. In real-game action, that will not be part of his game, however, his ability to attack closeouts will be important in terms of earning a spot as a key rotation player going forward.
Brooklyn’s forward depth chart is crowded with a number of veterans on the roster and young players being added seemingly by the day, however getting Wilson his minutes should be a priority this season. The Nets may still move one or both of Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith before the start of the regular season, alleviating the logjam.
In any event, while Wilson may never be a star, he looks to be a key building block for the Nets as they develop their core for their next run as a contender. As a second-round pick, being drafted 51st overall, Wilson becoming an upper-echelon role player is a huge draft steal. Finding talent on late picks like that will be crucial for quickly rebuilding the roster.
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Other notes and reactions from the Nets’ Summer League finale
Noah Clowney proved all he needed to at Summer League. The second-year power forward didn’t light the world on fire, but he put together 4 relatively consistent games where he showed flashes of incredible defensive potential and a developing three-point stroke that make him a very intriguing stretch-4 and key young cog in the rebuilding effort.
In the Summer League finale, he dropped 18 points while draining 5 of 8 three-point attempts ending his run with double-figure scoring in each of the four games. Overall he averaged 14.3 points per game while shooting 52.4% overall and 38.1% from beyond the arc.
The Summer League nightmare is over for Dariq Whitehead who was held out of the finale. The promising young wing has a long way to go to regain trust in his body after a litany of lower leg injuries. It’s going to be a long process to see if he can get his career on track, but the fortunate thing is both the Nets and Whitehead have time.
Point guard Jacob Gilyard left the team to pursue other opportunities as interest around the league grew. The Nets are dangerously thin at the point guard spot, but Gilyard’s 5-foot-9 stature made his chances of being an actual contributor at the NBA level a long shot.
