The Brooklyn Nets assigned three recent first-round picks — Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Joshua Jefferson — to their G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, on Monday. Powell, Saraf, and Jefferson have not been in the Nets' rotation at the start of the season. Their assignment to Long Island comes as the team prepares for its G League season-opener on Nov. 6.
Powell and Saraf, the Nos. 22 and 26 picks in the 2025 draft, have been on the outside looking in of a Nets guard rotation featuring Egor Demin, Keon Ellis, Mikel Brown Jr. and Nolan Traore. Meanwhile, Jefferson, the No. 28 pick in the 2026 draft, has been behind Julius Randle and Noah Clowney at power forward after missing the preseason with a back ailment.
Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez was recently asked what players like Powell, Saraf, Jefferson and Danny Wolf must do to crack Brooklyn's rotation.
“Just to be ready when their number's called and do whatever it takes to help the team win,” Fernandez replied.
The Nets are off to an uninspiring 0-3 start. However, fans shouldn't expect wholesale rotation changes right away.
Nets assign Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, Joshua Jefferson to G League early in season
After Brooklyn's season-opening loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Fernandez said he needs to give the current rotation more time.
“Nobody has guaranteed minutes. We see some good things. We see some things that we have to be better at. We expect more from ourselves, but I've got to give them enough consistency and enough chance,” the coach replied when asked about potential rotation changes. “As long as the attitude is good and the intentions are good, I've got to be a little bit patient with what I want to see. But then at the same time, if I feel I have to make changes for the benefit of the group, I will. So it's a process. It's Game 1. If I were changing things right now, it would be a sign that I'm freaking out, and I think that we're not there.
Article Continues BelowThis group is great. The guys that are in rotation have done a great job. The guys that are not in the rotation are working hard because when their number's called, they've got to take advantage of their minutes. And that's how competition within the group works. Backups want to play starting minutes, starting [players] want to keep starting minutes and guys [not] in rotation want to get themselves in shape and ready to go. So when their number's called, they produce for the group.”
Powell and Saraf both underwhelmed as rookies. The former averaged 6.5 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists on .402/.280/.896 shooting splits in 21.0 minutes per game across 63 appearances. Powell continued to struggle with the Nets' Summer League team, averaging 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist on 8-of-44 (18.2 percent) shooting from the field and 4-of-25 (16.0 percent) from three across six appearances.
Saraf averaged 7.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.3 turnovers on .396/.211/.830 shooting splits in 20.8 minutes per game across 44 appearances as a rookie. He also struggled at Summer League, averaging 10.0 points on 19-of-51 (37.3 percent) shooting from the field and 5-of-15 from three with 3.3 assists and 2.0 turnovers per game.
Jefferson earned first-team All-Big 12 and consensus second-team All-American honors as a senior at Iowa State last season. However, the 6-foot-8 forward missed last year's postseason with an ankle injury and his first NBA preseason with a back ailment.