LAS VEGAS — Brooklyn Nets guard Nolan Traore came to the Nets as the 19th overall of the 2025 NBA Draft and many were wondering how he would fit. Brooklyn made sure to take care of the ball-handling void on the roster through the Draft and despite sharing the floor with plenty of guards, Traore found a way to stand out from the pack.
“That was a little bit hard because I rolled my ankle really early. I mean, it took awhile. You’ve got to go into it quickly and be ready. So, it wasn’t that long,” Traore said after Thursday’s 90-81 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Las Vegas Summer League. Traore started the game along with Egor Demin and Danny Wolf, but it was the Frenchman who found his way to make an impact despite rolling his ankle.
“I think we’re good. He’s got great size, so he can play multiple positions,” Traore said when talking about his experience sharing the floor with Demin, the eighth overall pick in the Draft. “He’s skilled. So, it’s just great to play with him. I think we can be good teammates on the court. I think it’ll be great.” Traore finished the game with 13 points, three rebounds, and three assists in 26 minutes of action.
Traore noted during his press conference that he doesn’t expect for his injury to be of the serious variety and he seemed to imply that he will be ready to play in Brooklyn’s next game on Sunday. Traore, who came into the Draft as a pure point guard who had seemingly always played with the ball in his hands, had to coexist with players like Demin, Wolf, and Ben Saraf on the floor for long stretches of time.
The Nets, led by head coach Jordi Fernandez and general manager Sean Marks, have appeared to embrace a style of multiple players on the floor being able to make plays and run the offense. Traore doesn’t seem to mind. “I don’t care who brings the ball up; we just want to play because as you say, there’s multiple guys who can handle the ball, so we don’t care who. We just play through it,” Traore said.