As trade rumors swirl around the Nets, Jordi Fernandez just throws his hands up and says, “That's none of my business.”
Teams began to take notice of Brooklyn, outperforming the league's expectations that the Nets would likely be the worst team in basketball.
All eyes are especially on veteran point guard Dennis Schroder, who is having a near career-best season, but the demands will be low on anyone to get a chance to win the team leader.
The Nets also continue to increase their interest in Jimmy Butler, The Post's Brian Lewis reported Wednesday.
But all that chatter is irrelevant to the manager who has established a new culture for the Nets, leading them to a 10-14 record and in good position heading into the play-in round.
“We love our group and I love my group, so I work hard every day to make sure they are our group and they will always be our group.” We are working together on the game,” Fernandes said after Thursday's practice. “Whatever happens, it's out of my control. Like you said, it's none of my business, so I can't talk about it or worry about it.”
Fernandes' players, especially the veterans, don't seem to be taking the rumors seriously.
“It's kind of something you have to deal with your whole career and you don't really know and you don't really have control over it,” said Shake Milton, a seventh-year guard who was on three teams last season. spoke. “I think that was the case for me in a way.” [about] Stay in tune, don’t get too high, don’t get too low… just show up, be who you are, be professional, put in the work, be ready no matter the situation, no matter what’s going on. I'll leave it. That's how you put yourself in the right position. ”
Nick Claxton added: It's part of the league. It happens every year across the league. Of course, I've seen a lot of it, but you have to keep what's important. As long as we're all here, we all have a job to do here. We all had to stay focused and work game by game, practice by practice. ”
Claxton said he feels like he has found himself again after what Fernandez called Sunday's game against the Bucks, “a great game.”
The center has been working on back issues since mid-November and has gradually increased his playing time.
On Sunday, he played more than 30 minutes on the court for the first time since Nov. 11 and had 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Claxton made several alley-oops for the Nets against the Bucks, and Fernandez expects him to improve over time.
“We know Nick's ability to put pressure on the rim and go for lobs,” Fernandez said. “We also have to get better at throwing. I don’t think we were very good against Chicago.
“I think we're just getting used to it. In my opinion, Nick had his best game in the last game, so I'd like to see him play the same way together. ”
Fernandez did not have an update on Cam Thomas, who has missed the past six games with a hamstring injury.
“He's progressing,” Fernandez said. “He's done a great job. He's in a good place.”
Both star guard and Ziare Williams (left knee) are participating in team and practice efforts as they recover.
