Have Nets Put Too Much Pressure on Jordi Fernandez Amid Rebuild?

The Brooklyn Nets hired the right coach, but his workload might be a bit too much as he heads into year two.

For any coach, being in a situation where losing is the expectation is tough, and Brooklyn’s situation is no different. While every coach wants to put their team in the best situation to win, sometimes during a rebuild, that comes at the detriment of the team.

With Jordi Fernandez earning respect throughout the league with his impressive work in year one at the helm in Brooklyn, he has an opportunity to build on that this season. Of course, it won’t be easy for him to truly add to his resume this season, given that Brooklyn is projected to be among the league’s worst units.

With winning not being a priority next season, the Nets can simply focus on development, which adds some incredibly important duties to Fernandez’s job description. While he has already played a role in some of Brooklyn’s development last season, having the responsibility of ensuring five first-round picks are in the best position to succeed is certainly a different animal.

The Nets are banking on at least some of their five rookies panning out over the next several years, and Fernandez’s ability to put this rookie class in a spot to succeed could have a significant impact on how the rest of his tenure goes. Balancing the need for live game reps with ensuring that these young players are ready is simply going to be more difficult than it would be for most coaches, considering that Fernandez will be expected to find that perfect balance with five highly touted rookies.

On the other hand, Fernandez will also need to find ways to properly incorporate the veterans that Sean Marks and company added throughout the offseason. With Michael Porter Jr., Terance Mann and Haywood Highsmith all expecting to play sizeable roles throughout the season, there could be some difficulty in keeping them happy while still prioritizing the development of the young guys, particularly later in the season.

Beyond that, Brooklyn has also shown that it’s more than willing to make significant midseason moves. Considering those alone added stress to Fernandez’s first season, a somewhat busy midseason again could disrupt his plans and give him even more new pieces to incorporate.

While there will be plenty of work for Fernandez to do this season, the Nets hired him for a reason, and they understand that even if he is tasked with a bit more than a typical coach, this is a perfect time to test him.