The Nets experienced their worst defeat in franchise history with a 59-point loss to the Los Angeles Clippers (126-67). This loss comes amid trade rumors and the February 6th trade deadline. The team’s record is now 14-27.
Nets Worst Loss In Franchise History Amid Rebuild And Rumors
After the loss, Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez did not make any excuses.
“When you see a loss like this, a lot of things went wrong,” Fernandez said. “The energy and competitive spirit was not there, plain and simple. But right now, the only thing I can do is support my guys. It’s never a good experience to go through this, but analyzing the whole season, none of our guys work for this, and they’ve competed the whole time. So all I can do is support them, obviously own this myself as well, and show up the next day and try to be better.”
Nets Center, Nic Claxton took the loss personally.
“You just feel like you’re not doing your job, honestly,” Claxton said. We’ve all got a lot of pride, so we’ve just got to be better. And we can’t lose like this, though. Definitely can’t happen.”
He continued, “Damn, I don’t know if I ever lost by this much. It’s frustrating. It’s definitely frustrating. And I feel like we’ve been getting beat by a lot lately, if I’m being honest,” Claxton said. “But we’re getting some guys back, and we’ve just got to keep fighting. Have short-term memory.”
Rumors and Rebuild
The recent trades of Dennis Schroder to the Golden State Warriors and Dorian Finney-Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers have placed the Nets in rebuild mode. As the February 6th trade deadline approaches, rumors are building that Nets’ forward Cam Johnson is the main target for teams in both conferences. Johnson is averaging 19.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.0 assists this season.
The Nets are currently in a good position to land in the top 5 of the 2025 draft. They could potentially draft key players like Cooper Flagg from Duke University, Ace Bailey, and Dylan Harper from Rutgers University.
The team acquired 31 draft picks over the next seven years after trading for D’Angelo Russell. This includes 15 first-round picks and 16 second-round picks.
In addition, the team has yet to decide whether they will buy out Ben Simmons‘ contract, which would cost $40 million in the final year of his five-year, $170 million contract.
Nets Experienced Their Worst Defeat
October 18, 1978 was the last time the Nets were blown out by over 50 points. They lost to the Houston Rockets, 139-87. Not a great team to compare to!
The Nets players want to forget their worst defeat. While the loss was embarrassing, Coach Fernandez has not lost faith in his team’s ability to win.
“We’ve always fought through the end, cut leads, competed, and I am proud of this group of guys, and I know they’ll show up and work the next day,” he said. “So, it’s all we can do right now is have a positive but also a competitive mindset where this has to hurt and you don’t want to be in this situation again.”
What’s Next
Fans are eager for a new and improved team that can compete with the top teams in the Eastern Conference. For now, they must wait to see what moves management will make next. It seems certain the Nets look different in just over 2 weeks after the NBA trade deadline.
The Nets will play on Friday against the Lakers at 10:30 pm. EST. Hopefully, their loss to the Clippers will serve as motivation for a win.
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