It will be another six months before the Nets find out if this was all worth it. The Yankees and Mets will be dozens of games into next season before the Nets see if pingpong balls bounce their way and help deliver a franchise-changing talent.
Until then, the greatest suspense of this season is the date of the Nets’ first win.
Despite one of their stronger efforts of this young and hopeless campaign, the Nets dropped their seventh straight game to open the season in a 125-109 loss to the Anthony Edwards-less Timberwolves on Monday night at Barclays Center.
The Nets (0-7) matched the franchise’s worst start in 10 years and are nearly halfway to the worst start in NBA history, an 0-18 skid produced by the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets. Their next chance to end the winless streak comes Wednesday at Indianapolis against the injury-ravaged Pacers (1-6).
Despite 25 points from Cam Thomas, a strong all-around effort from Nic Claxton (19 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) and a season-best output from Noah Clowney (15 points, six rebounds, two steals), the Nets were doomed by their league-worst defense, allowing the Timberwolves (3-3) to shoot over 56 percent from the field despite the absence of their superstar guard.
Julius Randle recorded a triple-double (19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists), Rudy Gobert put up a double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Donte DiVincenzo posted a team-high 25 points on 6-of-13 shooting from deep.
The Nets opened the night by jumping out to a seven-point lead, forcing a series of turnovers and hitting seven of their 10 shots.
Clowney showed life in his first start of the season — in place of Michael Porter Jr., who missed the game for personal reasons — and Thomas made the most of his never-ending green light, closing the first half with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Despite public pleas for better defensive effort from coach Jordi Fernández, following the previous night’s loss to the 76ers, the Nets surrendered dozens of uncontested looks on the perimeter and at the rim. The Timberwolves shot 40 percent from deep (14-of-35) and finished with 56 points in the paint.
Ziaire Williams’ 3-pointer to close the first quarter left the teams tied at 28, marking the first time this season that the Nets weren’t trailing after the opening quarter.
The 63-59 halftime deficit was also their best first-half showing this season.
The deficit grew to double digits by the opening minutes of the second half, but the Nets went off script, fighting back before a crowd of 17,287, taking an 88-87 lead in the final minutes of the third quarter.
Minnesota, though, quickly regained momentum with timely shooting and dominance on the glass (53-40), while the Nets struggled shooting late and finished 25-of-38 on free throws.
