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Julius Randle is back in New York with more scars than nostalgia. He knows how passionate the city is, knows how quickly praise can harden into criticism and knows how a player’s name can be thrown around in trade rumors until a phone call makes them legit.
Keon Ellis is still learning another important New York lesson, one measured in smaller apartments, higher prices and an adjustment process that can start before the team’s first practice.
“Trying to find a house is tough,” Ellis said over the weekend at Las Vegas Summer League. “It’s tough. It’s tough. So, I have to sacrifice something, some space for the prices. It’s a lot.”
The Nets brought them to Brooklyn through different doors. Randle came by trade, with All-Star credentials and playoff experience. Ellis came through free agency, with defense, shooting and the credibility of an undrafted guard who had to earn every NBA minute.
Brooklyn needs both kinds of help. The Nets remain young. Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Dëmin and the rest of the franchise’s prospects still have to grow before the rebuild takes off. But young players need more than minutes. They need the right vets around them and standards to follow.
Randle can be one. Ellis can be another. General manager Sean Marks said Randle will raise Brooklyn’s “physical toughness and competitiveness” and bring “veteran leadership and big game experience” to its young players. Randle, speaking in Las Vegas, trimmed the assignment to its daily work.
“Man, just really show them how to be a pro more than anything and bring that leadership aspect to it,” Randle said when asked what Marks and head coach Jordi Fernández want from him.
That means teaching younger players how to attack each day, handle an NBA season’s highs and lows and stay level-headed when the schedule or losses pile up.
Randle, 31, has experienced all of it. He became an All-Star with the Knicks, spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and now returns to New York as a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward still capable of heavy production.
Across 148 regular-season games with Minnesota, Randle averaged 20 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Last season, he averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and five assists in 79 games. In 27 combined playoff games with the Timberwolves, he averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and four assists while helping the franchise reach the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
Randle said he loves passing, pushing pace, throwing ahead, opening the floor, getting into the paint and spraying the ball to teammates. He wants to learn where Brooklyn’s players prefer the ball and what Fernández wants from the offense.
“I can score the basketball, but I really love to pass the basketball,” Randle said.
On a young team, gravity can teach. A hard drive can show a cutter when to move. A double team can show a shooter where to stand. A veteran who has seen every coverage can make the next read easier for a rookie still learning NBA speed.
Ellis arrives with a different set of lessons to teach. Undrafted out of Alabama in 2022, Ellis signed a two-way contract with Sacramento and turned defense, shooting and low-usage reliability into a career. The Nets signed him to a two-year, $18 million guaranteed deal, adding a guard expected to compete for a rotation role off the bench.
Fernández was an assistant coach in Sacramento while Ellis developed there. Ellis said the prior relationship played “a good bit” into his decision to sign with Brooklyn because he knew how Fernández coached and had heard similar reviews from others, including former Net Dennis Schröder.
“I just know the way he coaches, he’s very passionate,” Ellis said. “He’s about the right things, wants to win.”
The reunion comes at an interesting stage in Ellis’ career. He’s 26, still young by NBA standards, yet old enough in Brooklyn to be asked for guidance. He laughed at the idea of becoming one of the older voices on the roster.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Ellis said.
Fernández, Ellis said, told him during their first phone call he would look to him to help younger players because he knows Ellis’ path to the NBA. That path has value in a locker room full of prospects trying to turn potential into staying power.
Ellis has appeared in 225 career games with Sacramento and Cleveland, averaging 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 19.9 minutes. He’s shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range for his career and topped 40% from deep in each of his first three seasons.
In 29 games with Cleveland to end last season, Ellis averaged career highs of 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the field. The Nets need his shooting, but his defense comes first. Ellis gives Brooklyn a point-of-attack option who can pressure the ball, chase guards through screens and guard without needing touches.
“I go out there, I just try to make it tough on guys,” Ellis said. “I mean, at the end of the day, you’re playing against the best players in the world. They’re going to score, they’re going to get to their spots, and you’re going to have bad defensive games, you’re going to have good defensive games.”
Randle can show what it looks like to carry a franchise.
Ellis can show what it takes to carve out a job when nothing is promised.
Both have work waiting in Brooklyn.
“If we are about the right things and do the right things every single day and play for one another and really pour into each other,” Randle said, “the results will follow and we’ll be exactly where we want to be.”
Continue reading...
Keon Ellis is still learning another important New York lesson, one measured in smaller apartments, higher prices and an adjustment process that can start before the team’s first practice.
“Trying to find a house is tough,” Ellis said over the weekend at Las Vegas Summer League. “It’s tough. It’s tough. So, I have to sacrifice something, some space for the prices. It’s a lot.”
The Nets brought them to Brooklyn through different doors. Randle came by trade, with All-Star credentials and playoff experience. Ellis came through free agency, with defense, shooting and the credibility of an undrafted guard who had to earn every NBA minute.
Brooklyn needs both kinds of help. The Nets remain young. Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Dëmin and the rest of the franchise’s prospects still have to grow before the rebuild takes off. But young players need more than minutes. They need the right vets around them and standards to follow.
Randle can be one. Ellis can be another. General manager Sean Marks said Randle will raise Brooklyn’s “physical toughness and competitiveness” and bring “veteran leadership and big game experience” to its young players. Randle, speaking in Las Vegas, trimmed the assignment to its daily work.
“Man, just really show them how to be a pro more than anything and bring that leadership aspect to it,” Randle said when asked what Marks and head coach Jordi Fernández want from him.
That means teaching younger players how to attack each day, handle an NBA season’s highs and lows and stay level-headed when the schedule or losses pile up.
Randle, 31, has experienced all of it. He became an All-Star with the Knicks, spent the past two seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves and now returns to New York as a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward still capable of heavy production.
Across 148 regular-season games with Minnesota, Randle averaged 20 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists. Last season, he averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and five assists in 79 games. In 27 combined playoff games with the Timberwolves, he averaged 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and four assists while helping the franchise reach the 2025 Western Conference Finals.
Randle said he loves passing, pushing pace, throwing ahead, opening the floor, getting into the paint and spraying the ball to teammates. He wants to learn where Brooklyn’s players prefer the ball and what Fernández wants from the offense.
“I can score the basketball, but I really love to pass the basketball,” Randle said.
On a young team, gravity can teach. A hard drive can show a cutter when to move. A double team can show a shooter where to stand. A veteran who has seen every coverage can make the next read easier for a rookie still learning NBA speed.
Ellis arrives with a different set of lessons to teach. Undrafted out of Alabama in 2022, Ellis signed a two-way contract with Sacramento and turned defense, shooting and low-usage reliability into a career. The Nets signed him to a two-year, $18 million guaranteed deal, adding a guard expected to compete for a rotation role off the bench.
Fernández was an assistant coach in Sacramento while Ellis developed there. Ellis said the prior relationship played “a good bit” into his decision to sign with Brooklyn because he knew how Fernández coached and had heard similar reviews from others, including former Net Dennis Schröder.
“I just know the way he coaches, he’s very passionate,” Ellis said. “He’s about the right things, wants to win.”
The reunion comes at an interesting stage in Ellis’ career. He’s 26, still young by NBA standards, yet old enough in Brooklyn to be asked for guidance. He laughed at the idea of becoming one of the older voices on the roster.
“It’s kind of crazy,” Ellis said.
Fernández, Ellis said, told him during their first phone call he would look to him to help younger players because he knows Ellis’ path to the NBA. That path has value in a locker room full of prospects trying to turn potential into staying power.
Ellis has appeared in 225 career games with Sacramento and Cleveland, averaging 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals in 19.9 minutes. He’s shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range for his career and topped 40% from deep in each of his first three seasons.
In 29 games with Cleveland to end last season, Ellis averaged career highs of 8.3 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the field. The Nets need his shooting, but his defense comes first. Ellis gives Brooklyn a point-of-attack option who can pressure the ball, chase guards through screens and guard without needing touches.
“I go out there, I just try to make it tough on guys,” Ellis said. “I mean, at the end of the day, you’re playing against the best players in the world. They’re going to score, they’re going to get to their spots, and you’re going to have bad defensive games, you’re going to have good defensive games.”
Randle can show what it looks like to carry a franchise.
Ellis can show what it takes to carve out a job when nothing is promised.
Both have work waiting in Brooklyn.
“If we are about the right things and do the right things every single day and play for one another and really pour into each other,” Randle said, “the results will follow and we’ll be exactly where we want to be.”
Continue reading...
