The Nets have a promising young center and a plethora of guards, but one big question mark at power forward.
And not just because DeMarre Carroll is questionable for Wednesday ‘s game versus the Jazz. Short-term fix Jared Dudley has hit a wall and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson is coming back from injury. Carroll is even further behind returning from surgery and rookie Rodions Kurucs is in the G-League.
Basically, the position is a hot mess.
Dudley had been in the lineup every game this season, but Hollis-Jefferson got his first start on Sunday. Kenny Atkinson was noncommittal about who will get the nod versus the Jazz, but it sounded like he’ll stick with Hollis-Jefferson.
“We’ll see. I don’t think it’s set in stone. … Definitely thinking about it, but I like what I saw from last game,” Atkinson said of Hollis-Jefferson, who lost his spot after an adductor injury and is just now getting his form — and starting role — back. It behooves the Nets to play the 23-year-old pending restricted free agent, with the 33-year-old Dudley presumably not in the long-term plans.
“[Hollis-Jefferson] is coming back from that injury. I don’t think he’s 100 percent; it takes a while,” Atkinson said. “He was out a while and it just takes time. I think he’d probably agree with me. … He’s not in top form, which is good for us. … He’s going to get better as he accumulates more games.”
While Dudley had been looked to for floor spacing, he’s a minus-29 in his past three starts, 0-for-5 from 3-point range to fall to 31.7 percent on the season.
The Nets have other options, albeit less likely ones in Carroll and Kurucs.
Carroll, who missed the first 11 games following ankle surgery, is questionable with right foot soreness.
“DeMarre’s still getting back to the DeMarre of last year. I don’t think he’s there. It’s just evolution of him coming back from that injury,” Atkinson said. “I don’t think he’s in peak form. He’ll get there; just needs more time. … He did have a procedure. I wish I could put what the timetable is where these guys are at optimal. It’s just my feeling watching them.”
One player he hasn’t gotten to watch much — to fans’ chagrin — is the 20-year-old Kurucs. He excelled in spot duty when Carroll and Hollis-Jefferson were out, but hasn’t played the past five games now that they’re back and Atkinson favors a 10-man rotation.
“It’s difficult for him because he needs minutes. We feel like him getting minutes with Long Island supersedes because of where we are and DeMarre being back,” Atkinson said. “That being said, circumstances can certainly change, whether we have a guy go down or a guy not playing well. The returns were, when he’s been with us and played minutes, he’s played pretty good.
“He didn’t play a ton in Barcelona last year … so we’re like, ‘Man, we’ve got to make sure this guy gets minutes.’ So it’s balancing what we need with the Brooklyn Nets with his development. … There’s no easy answer for that.”
Kurucs averaged 6.6 points and three rebounds in just 11.7 minutes, shooting .514 overall and .429 from 3. But even though his play warrants time in Brooklyn, not Long Island, after Barcelona essentially refused to play him when he wouldn’t sign an extension, he’s just happy to be playing — and supported — anywhere.
“[Atkinson’s praise] helps me a lot, gives me a lot of confidence, because I never had a coach who’d say [positive things] about me in the media,” Kurucs said.
“It’s this relationship with the coach and all the other people around me, they give me this power; they just help me out everywhere, they want me to get better, they want me to play. And I want to give back. It shows in my work, and with my attitude to them. I just keep working, keep working hard, because in Barcelona it wasn’t like that. I was frustrated a lot.”