Brooklyn Nets rookie forward Danny Wolf has not spent much time at the NBA level as the Nets have sought to get him reps in the G League to develop him. With plenty of injuries hindering Brooklyn heading into the second night of a back-to-back at the Milwaukee Bucks, Wolf had the chance to play extended minutes and he showed what could be capable of doing in the future.
“It comes down to the motto, just being ready for when your name is called, and just taking advantage of that opportunity,” Wolf said after Saturday’s 116-99 loss at the Bucks. Wolf not only played 30 minutes off the bench in the blowout loss, but he also put up a team-leading 22 points, along with four rebounds and four assists in what had to be an encouraging performance for everyone to see.
“And coach Jordi and the staff has just been preaching just shooting when you’re open and letting it fly,” Wolf continued while speaking on the confidence he gains from head coach Jordi Fernandez and the coaching staff. “As kind of a mindset going into today, I saw a few go in early and then kind of kept that, and could have done a better job in the second half of shooting when I was open, but again, just trusting my work and trusting the confidence that coaching staff has.”
Wolf, 21, has been in Fernandez’s rotation for the past two games mostly due to the amount of injuries that the Nets have faced recently, but he could be seeing more playing time after how he played at the Bucks. Through five games in the NBA this season, Wolf is averaging 5.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game while shooting 42.1% from the field and 33.3% from three-point land.
With the way that Wolf was deployed over the weekend, Brooklyn appears to view him as the backup power forward to Noah Clowney, especially with forward Michael Porter Jr. being unavailable due to low back tightness. Assuming that Porter is out of the lineup for Monday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets, Wolf could be set to be a significant part of the rotation once again.