The mere mention of Trevor Booker makes his coach smile.
He’s everything Kenny Atkinson wants the Nets to be known for: development, unselfishness and a team-first attitude. Booker is posting career-best numbers across the board this season, yet what stands out most is how the former Clemson star accepted a demotion when Atkinson moved him to the bench in favor of second-year forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
“What’s great about Trevor, he never saw it as a demotion,” Atkinson said after practice Sunday as the Nets, 9-45 and suffering through a 12-game losing streak, prepared to host the Grizzlies on Monday at Barclays Center. “He was like, ‘OK, yeah,’ [when I told him about the move]. He’s embraced it.”
The numbers back it up. In six games off the bench, Booker is averaging 11.1 points and 9.6 rebounds, both above his season averages, but he is doing it in less time — 23.3 minutes per game compared to his 26.2 minutes per game average on the season. He has been more productive and more active. Atkinson said he likes how Booker fits in with the current second unit, an up-tempo group that includes rookies Isaiah Whitehead and Caris LeVert, and thinks he has an edge facing backup forwards rather than starters.
“Offensively, he’s going up against guys he can post up on those seconds units,” Atkinson said.
The move was made in the first place to try different combinations, and the Nets like the idea of the versatile Hollis-Jefferson as an undersized power forward alongside center Brook Lopez. They have begun switching a lot more on defense, and Atkinson said he thinks starting with the 6-foot-7 Hollis-Jefferson, who is adept at guarding perimeter players, has helped them improve in that area. Hollis-Jefferson has thrived in his new role, too, averaging 8.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists, one of his best stretches of the season.
“It just seems like a fit,” Atkinson said. “It’s been a fit with Rondae and Brook. I like what I see. The way Rondae rebounds the ball, rarely has there been a mismatch in terms of teams posting us up. Rondae is a helluva post-up defender, and we like the mismatch it causes on offense. The immediate future, we’re going to stick with it.”
The 6-foot-8 Booker said he just wants to be on the floor. He doesn’t care if it is as a starter or reserve. He said he also felt it was important to show his young teammates how a professional handles adversity. It’s one of the reasons, after all, the Nets brought him in during the offseason — to serve as a mentor.
“We got some younger guys that’s new to it,” Booker said. “For me, being that leader, showing them different things, that’s what the young guys need.”
While the Nets haven’t won any of the six games since that change was made, Atkinson said he has been encouraged by their play, all single-digit defeats. The Nets have scared playoff contenders like the Wizards, Hornets and Raptors in this stretch, failing just at the finish. The changes appear to be working.
“We had chances to win, but we just couldn’t pull it out,” Booker said. “Eventually, I’m sure we’ll pull one out if we keep playing the defense we’re playing. We keep trying to improve. We’re competing at a high level now. We keep competing. Everything else will take care of itself.”