Brooklyn Nets: Why Being Patient Is Important During Summer League

The first night of the 2025 Summer League took place on Saturday, with games contested in Utah and California. The Brooklyn Nets are not in action until the Las Vegas Summer League starts on July 10, but there are always valuable — and perennial — lessons from the first slate of games of Summer League ball. 

For one, rookies will always stand out. More than that, they will be focused on. VJ Edgecombe had 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists on 13-for-27 shooting in his Philadelphia 76ers debut, for instance. That came against fellow first-year player Ace Bailey, who finished with eight points on 3-of-13 from the field. 

Looking at just the box score, Edgecombe had a much better game. He was definitely more productive; however, his 28 points came on 27 shots. That will not translate going forward, nor will it be his role in the Sixers’ rotation. On the flipside, Bailey played “worse,” but his on-court process was perhaps more similar to what it might look like with the Jazz.

As a whole, patience is needed. Rookies are entering a completely new environment with little time between the draft and their first batch of NBA games. As of now, all five of the Nets’ rookies — Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf — are scheduled to suit up in Vegas.

Another Summer League trend to monitor are the second- and third-year players who return. For the former, the summer is a good stage to either build on a strong rookie season (such as the Memphis Grizzlies’ Jaylen Wells) or to showcase your skills after a dormant initial year in the NBA (think of someone like Reed Sheppard from the Houston Rockets).

If a non-rookie is severely struggling in Summer League from an athleticism and process standpoint, then there is probably cause for some concern. Players should at least look like they belong next to their peers. If they don’t, their time in the league — or at least on their team — is probably limited.

Tosan Evbuomwan and Tyson Etienne are candidates to be considered ‘too good for Summer League’ on Brooklyn’s initial roster. Both received NBA minutes last season. Evbuomwan averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and two assists in 23.8 minutes per game over 28 contests. Etienne averaged 7.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in the seven games he played.