{"id":543265,"date":"2026-01-17T18:58:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-17T18:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/543265\/"},"modified":"2026-01-17T18:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T18:58:40","slug":"nets-drake-powells-long-term-starting-spot-isnt-guaranteed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/543265\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets’ Drake Powell\u2019s long-term starting spot isn\u2019t guaranteed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nets<\/a> head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez hasn\u2019t framed Drake Powell<\/a>\u2019s recent move into the starting lineup as a reward so much as an evaluation, and that theme carried into his pregame comments ahead of Friday\u2019s matchup against the Chicago Bulls at Barclays Center.<\/p>\n

The rookie wing started his third straight game against Chicago and made the most of his previous two, averaging 13 points and three rebounds in 24.5 minutes per game while converting 81.8% of his two-point attempts. The production has been clean, efficient and impactful, the kind of stretch that reinforces why Brooklyn targeted Powell as a long-term piece rather than a short-term project.<\/p>\n

But Fern\u00e1ndez made it clear the starting role is still fluid.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting is not a guarantee,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cHe\u2019s going to have to keep trying really hard, and from there we\u2019ll go one game at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

That line fits the broader way Fern\u00e1ndez has handled roles throughout the season, often experimenting with players in different spots to see what translates when the game speeds up and the responsibilities grow. In Powell\u2019s case, the coach isn\u2019t just pleased with what he\u2019s given Brooklyn so far. He\u2019s openly pushing for more, believing Powell\u2019s ceiling is far beyond \u201crotation wing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrake did an amazing job last game,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cWe believe he can be not just a good but a great two-way player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fern\u00e1ndez rattled off the checklist that makes Powell so intriguing, describing him as a shooter and playmaker who can be used on the second side of actions, handle in transition and guard the opponent\u2019s best perimeter threat. It\u2019s a rare combination for a rookie, and it\u2019s why Powell has looked more comfortable each time his role expands. His athleticism, Fern\u00e1ndez added, is \u201ctop in the NBA for his position.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ask now is consistency.<\/p>\n

THE NEXT STEP<\/p>\n

Egor D\u00ebmin<\/a> is looking more comfortable by the game, and Fern\u00e1ndez said the biggest sign is that the rookie isn\u2019t playing sped up anymore. The reads are coming cleaner, the shots are coming in rhythm, and the Russian guard has been able to knock down 3-pointers without forcing the offense to revolve around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think his ability to shoot the ball in the flow of the game has been impressive so far,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said, noting D\u00ebmin can get to it \u201coff the catch or off the dribble.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as the season pushes toward its second half, Fern\u00e1ndez wants that comfort to turn into aggression. The coach said D\u00ebmin\u2019s next step isn\u2019t just making shots, it\u2019s using his size and skill to consistently touch the paint, finish with balance and create advantages that don\u2019t depend on the jumper falling.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he is aggressively touching the paint\u2026 I think right there is where he makes the difference and takes the next step,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said.<\/p>\n

RINSE AND REPEAT<\/p>\n

The Nets had dropped five straight entering Friday\u2019s game, and the standings don\u2019t leave much room for optimism right now. But Fern\u00e1ndez insists the approach can\u2019t be about carrying the last result into the next one, even if he admits he doesn\u2019t personally let it go that easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a group, we got to believe that the next game is the most important game,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said.<\/p>\n

For him, moving forward doesn\u2019t mean forgetting. It means studying. Fern\u00e1ndez said the close-game moments have become constant lessons, from timeout usage to late-game decision-making, and he treats each one like a note for the next time the Nets are in that situation. He called those experiences \u201csuper valuable,\u201d not just for the roster, but for the coaching staff too, because there\u2019s rarely one correct answer in the NBA\u2019s tightest moments.<\/p>\n

The priority, he said, is being connected when the margin shrinks, staying aligned, and trusting the plan without second-guessing. That\u2019s the challenge for a young team trying to grow through losses: keep the urgency, keep the belief and make sure the lessons actually show up before the next game turns into the same ending.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re right there, but you don\u2019t win,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cAnd those lessons are very important for us, very important that you understand the NBA. The games keep coming and whenever it\u2019s fast, it\u2019s fast, but no moral victories, we got to go out there and believe that those little things are going to help us get the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nets head coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez hasn\u2019t framed Drake Powell\u2019s recent move into the starting lineup as a reward…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543266,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,997,248,6,671],"class_list":{"0":"post-543265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brooklyn-nets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-brooklyn","10":"tag-brooklyn-nets","11":"tag-brooklynnets","12":"tag-drake-powell","13":"tag-jordi-fernandez","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115911976931429879","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}