OKLAHOMA CITY — The Nets have the most future draft picks in the NBA.
The team with the second-most: Oklahoma City.
The way the Thunder have run through the league — including the Nets 127-101 at Paycom Center — shows just how well-poised the Western Conference leaders are to dominate the NBA both today and tomorrow.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander dribbles during the Thunder-Nets game on Jan. 19, 2025. AP
While the Nets’ cap room cache and plethora of draft picks could — emphasis on could — bode well in the future, OKC already is a team of the present.
The Nets (14-29) trailed by 27 in the first quarter and by as much as 29, getting torched by .552 shooting and 19 of 43 from behind the arc.
“You’ve got to give them credit. You can tell the way they developed their system, the way they developed their talent and that camaraderie they have as a group where they’re able to keep you on your heels, keep you guessing,” Cam Johnson said. “And that’s everything we strive to get to. We’ll get there eventually.”
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shoots during the Thunder-Nets game on Jan. 19, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
Johnson returned from a sprained ankle with 15 points to match Tyrese Martin for the team high.
But the Nets lost for the eighth time in nine games, at a talent deficit against a powerhouse led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The guard — who played under Nets coach Jordi Fernandez on Team Canada — had 27 points and 10 assists.
“[The Thunder] have trusted the process,” Fernandez said. “You can see they’re a group that believe in what they do, and they trust what they do. And this is because, along a period of time, even if things go one way or the other and there’s adversity, there’s no second-guessing. There’s just the willingness to work and get better and compete. And obviously, they are in a very good spot.
“We have to focus on our own process. And that’s a good thing. Sustaining success takes understanding how things go, and when there is adversity is when it’s most important. And that’s right there when our guys have been very good, working hard to just being successful along the process. We just started at this point, and we know we will be very good soon enough.”
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It’s why the Nets are essentially looking to emulate OKC’s model. It’s why they’ve made the hard-but-necessary decisions to trade away talent that could help today — like Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith — for players who, in some cases, will never suit up — like De’Anthony Melton — because the draft picks they got in return will help them build long-term sustainable success.
The Nets will suffer through a lean season, but they’ve played hard for Fernandez. Their lone win on the six-game Western trip came at Portland, a rival in the lottery standings. Even outmatched Sunday, they cut what had been a 27-point first-quarter deficit down to 51-39 midway through the second, but got no closer.
Thanks to general manager Sean Marks’ maneuvering, the Nets now have more projected cap space this summer ($65 million) and more future picks (15 firsts, 16 seconds) than any team in the league.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks on during the Thunder-Nets game on Jan. 19, 2025. NBAE via Getty Images
The Thunder are right on their heels with 13 and 16, respectively. But the difference is OKC (35-7) leads the West and is led by Gilgeous-Alexander, having won 20 of their past 22 league games.
The Nets stumbled right out of the gate Sunday night, missing their first seven shots.
They fell behind 34-7 on a Gilgeous-Alexander layup. There was 2:25 left in the first, but the game was over.
The Nets answered with a 20-7 run. And Day’Ron Sharpe found Ziaire Williams on a kickout for a 3 that cut it to 51-39 midway through the second quarter.
They lost Isaiah Joe all too often in the pick-and-roll, watching him score 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting from deep.
“That first quarter, it felt like the 3s were raining,” Fernandez said. “We made some mistakes in defending the smalls, small pick-and-roll. Obviously, we have to work at it and be better.”
At least they’ll do that at home, with this brutal road trek behind them.
