The last time the Nets were a young team trying to claw their way up from the NBA cellar, they had grown-ups in the room to show them how to make that climb.
With one of the youngest NBA rosters in the past 50 years and guidance more important than ever, do they have the teachers to provide it?
That remains to be seen.
“It’s very important, especially your first couple years in the league,” Jalen Wilson told The Post. “Everything’s moving fast, everything’s different from college. To have guys who’ve been through your shoes … it’s good to have.”
But do they have it?
DeMarre Carroll, Jared Dudley and Ed Davis played that role for D’Angelo Russell, Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert, with Carroll and Dudley being current NBA assistants. Now with five rookies — three of them teens — it’s vital that the franchise finds them the right teachers.
“I’m just out here trying to show them what I’ve learned over my seven years in the NBA, what helped me get to where I’m at, and they can take it or leave it,” Terance Mann told The Post.
“Yeah definitely, there’s a lot of [guidance]. There’s a lot of that. But I do it naturally. I don’t really think about it. I just kind of see something and I see a hole, I just try to patch it.”
A quartet of Mann, Nic Claxton, Michael Porter Jr. and Haywood Highsmith are the prime candidates because of age, accomplishments and tenure. But even Nets legends are looking on and calling that lineup of leaders questionable.
“[You need] older, mature veterans that I see the Nets don’t have. They don’t have no veterans,” Kenny Anderson warned on the “Nets Fan You Know” podcast. “It’s very good to be thrown into the fire [as a rookie]; but once again, I don’t see that many forceful veterans to say, ‘Hey, this is how you do it.’ … They just don’t have it.
“So it’s just not a good mix.”
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Claxton is the longest-tenured Net, while Porter has a ring, Highsmith has Finals experience and Mann has started in a Western Conference finals. But Mann is likely the leader with the fewest question marks, either health or maturity.
“I’d definitely say T-Mann [is a leader],” Wilson said. “Nic’s been here his whole career. T-Mann has played on playoff teams, Mike’s won a Finals. Those three guys have seen the playoffs, seen what we’ve never seen. We all just pick the brain on those experiences.”
But Porter was essentially muzzled by the Nets for his propensity to court controversy, Highsmith had a knee injury setback and hasn’t played yet, while Claxton got so many ejections (NBA-high three) and flagrants (second with four) he joked that he needed to see a psychiatrist.
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“The guys that have more years in the league, they’ve done a good job,” Jordi Fernández told The Post. “Haywood hasn’t been able to play [but] he’s had a nice impact because he shows he’s a pro, talks to everybody, talks about what he sees, and it’s positive. Everybody from Clax to Michael to Terance to Zaire [Williams] to Tyrese Martin, all those guys, everybody’s done a good job. And it’s important.”
The need for leadership is so great, sources said it was key in the Nets keeping Highsmith over Kobe Bufkin, even though the former — who’d hoped to be ready for Opening Night —. now won’t even be re-evaluated until mid-December.
“I’m not going to discuss the decision, but … Haywood is an excellent professional,” Fernández said. “Since he came here, he’s had a tremendous impact on our culture. That’s what we want. … He’s been positive. It’s unfortunate he cannot play, yes. We feel for him. He’s working hard. But he’s having a positive impact on the group, and that’s what we value from him.”
Cam Thomas suffered a left hamstring strain on Nov. 5 and two days later the Nets announced he’d be reevaluated in 3-4 weeks. Fernández said Wednesday there was no update.
“No. We’ll give you an update whenever that timeline is up. We count those days,” Fernández said.
