Ever since buying out Ben Simmons, the Nets have had a backup point guard problem. And an unlikely solution has emerged to solve it.
For his first two NBA seasons in Portland, Trendon Watford was a backup big man. After they waived him, he wasn’t even that.
But in his second season with the Nets, he has emerged as something unforeseen — a 6-foot-9, 240-pound bully-ball ball handler. And they’re relishing it almost as much as he is.
“He helps you win,” Brooklyn coach Jordi Fernández said before Watford had 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 23 minutes of the Nets’ 107-99 loss to the Wizards on Monday. “And he does that because he’s able to score, but also able to handle and playmake. He can play four positions, post up, and make threes. So all those things are super valuable at his size and position. He’s another guy that I’m very happy with. You can see in those 20 games [he’s played], we’ve been really good with him on the court.”
Better than could’ve been expected.
Entering play Monday, the Nets were 9-27 this season without Watford, but in those aforementioned 20 games they’ve gone a surprising 12-8.
The latest example of that was Saturday’s victory in Philadelphia, when starting point guard D’Angelo Russell was sidelined. Watford stepped into the breach with 16 points and six assists, scoring 11 in the fourth quarter.
Russell was out again Monday in Washington with a sprained ankle, and Watford came into the Wizards tilt averaging 14.4 points and 3.6 assists on 54.9 percent shooting in the five games since Simmons’ departure.
He recorded 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists against the Wizards.
“I’m having fun, just being able to play on-ball and do different things and use my skill set to the best of my ability. Starting this year off with some injuries and now being able to pick it back up, man, it’s fun,” Watford said. “So I’m just glad. We put in a lot of work, I put in a lot of work, and now it’s just good to see it paying off.”
It’s a far cry from his time in Portland, when his playmaking was shackled and he was a little-used center.
“It’s funny because when he was in Portland, we played him plenty of times, and we were just like, ‘Oh, he’s a 5-man. He’s not the tallest, but he’s a 5-man that can maybe put the ball on the ground a little bit,” Nets teammate Cam Johnson laughed. “But here he’s really found a place where he can flourish. And we encourage him to be that guy, to be his best self.”
That best self — playing on a $2.7 million qualifying offer — has included using that frame to get into the paint and either post smaller foes or distribute.
“[I noticed his playmaking] early. He was getting the ball, breaking guys down,” Johnson said. “He still loves that post up, but he does it opportunistically now. He loves that floater in the lane. I noticed immediately. I was like, ‘They didn’t let you do all this a year ago!’
“[His skill set] is a unique one. And it’s best served when you give him a little bit of space and let him use that paint. It’s really nice, because it adds a different dimension to our offense that makes the defense think a little bit. It makes them think about matchups and collapsing and stuff like that. So his strides and what he’s been able to do since he got with us [are huge].”
Watford, who is 24 and set to be an unrestricted free agent, has found a valuable role.
“I think I’m one of one,” said Watford, who patterned his game after bigger playmakers.
“I watched a few guys when I was young. Kyle Anderson, I used to watch Slo Mo a lot. Richard Jefferson said Boris Diaw. I know back-end Boris Diaw with the Spurs, and I [didn’t] really like that comparison, so I’ve got to go look at his film when he was younger and see what he was doing. But I just try to use my versatility and do everything I can do. So shoutout to Jordi for letting me showcase it.”
