The chance might be fleeting for Jalen Wilson.
His window to start out for the Nets — one which opened the final two video games — might final solely for so long as Cam Johnson stays out with a proper ankle sprain and an already shorthanded Brooklyn lineup wants to regulate.
However with Johnson the topic of commerce rumors and a candidate for the rebuilding Nets to deal away earlier than the Feb. 6 deadline, video games corresponding to Saturday’s might additionally present a glimpse of the long run.
The Nets’ second-round decide within the 2023 draft, Wilson falls into the class of gamers who might stick all through their rebuild — in contrast to Johnson, in contrast to now-Warriors guard Dennis Schroder, in contrast to now-Lakers ahead Dorian Finney-Smith.
Wilson falls into the class of younger gamers head coach Jordi Fernandez desires to assist develop and mildew.
And in the course of the Nets’ 106-97 loss to the Warmth at Barclays Heart, Wilson flashed the most recent step in that progress by grabbing a season-high 9 rebounds and posting a career-best eight assists to accompany 12 factors in additional than 35 minutes of taking part in time.
The 6-foot-8 ahead’s numbers have acquired a bump throughout his second season, with Wilson averaging 9.3 factors (up from 5.0 as a rookie), 8.2 shot makes an attempt (up from 4.2) and 4.5 3-point makes an attempt (up from 1.7) per recreation.
His expanded manufacturing in Brooklyn’s offense has coincided along with his elevated function.
On an evening when he fell one rebound and two assists shy of what would have been the primary triple-double of his profession, Wilson delivered a blueprint for what his future contributions might resemble.
“I know I can rebound,” Wilson mentioned after the sport, “and I just got to go out and do it. Obviously, not every game is going to be a high-rebound game, but just having the mindset to be aggressive on the boards is definitely something that I want to have always because it helps the team.”
Wilson both assisted or scored on three of the Nets’ opening 4 baskets Saturday, along with his layup coming in transition after he snagged a Bam Adebayo move, tore down the courtroom and acquired a return move from D’Angelo Russell.
By halftime, Wilson had already compiled six assists.
His closing two of the primary half sparked baskets by Russell and Noah Clowney to tug the Nets inside 4 after 24 minutes.
He knew that the Nets must crash the boards with the Warmth beginning each the 6-foot-9 Adebayo and 7-foot heart Kel’el Ware.
“When everyone’s rebounding, whether it’s me, Ben [Simmons], Noah, whoever it is because we get the rebound, we can get out and transition and it starts our offense,” Wilson mentioned.
It marked simply the third time in his NBA profession with greater than 9 rebounds, however whereas at Kansas, Wilson’s rebounding common jumped from 7.4 to eight.3 throughout his closing school marketing campaign in 2022-23.
The rebounding instincts have all the time existed.
They only have taken time to translate into his cameos, and now prolonged minutes, with the Nets.
However Wilson’s progress has been on show because the NBA Summer time League, when he took dwelling the MVP after gathering 21.8 factors, 4.6 rebounds and an help per recreation.
These strides continued as soon as the 2024-25 marketing campaign arrived, together with in the course of the current begins with Johnson sidelined after aggravating his ankle damage in opposition to the Knicks on Tuesday.
When the Nets pivoted towards their youth motion on the finish of final season below interim head coach Kevin Ollie, Wilson benefited.
That remained the case after Fernandez arrived and emphasised an analogous imaginative and prescient for the long run — one involved with potential after the mess of the rebuild subsides, after the Nets’ future items are assembled, after long-term roles develop into simply as clear as his short-term one — whereas additionally not punting on the current.
In just below two weeks, the beginning spot might belong to Wilson — relying on if the Nets deal Johnson and what their return bundle entails.
However for now, he has continued to make a case for being a bit of the Nets’ future.
“What he does is something that every team can utilize,” Russell mentioned Saturday. “I imply, he’s a younger participant, however you ask nearly all of the groups within the league would they need him, I’m positive they’d.
“He’s just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of doing.”