‘Sky’s the limit’: Liberty High grad makes Summer League debut with Nets

Joshua Jefferson, a Liberty High alumnus, made his NBA Summer League debut with the Brooklyn Nets after being traded on draft night from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 6‑foot‑9 forward, selected 28th overall in the first round of last month’s draft, missed the California Summer League but took the court for Brooklyn once the trade was finalized. On Saturday night Jefferson logged 26 minutes, scoring nine points in an 83‑76 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. He expressed frustration about missing the Nets’ first four Summer League contests, saying, “It was frustrating,” Jefferson said of not being capable to play successful the Nets’ archetypal 4 Summer League games (three successful Northern California and 1 successful Las Vegas). He added that he used the time to gain mental repetitions, stating, “The 1 beneficial things I could bash was get intelligence reps and marque definite I’m learning the plays and everything. Just trying to larn arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin from the sidelines. The crippled reps are going to assistance maine conscionable proceed to get amended and support connected going up.” Jefferson saw action again on Tuesday, coming off the bench for 18 minutes and contributing nine points with two steals. Reflecting on the performance after Brooklyn’s 115‑83 win over the Sacramento Kings, he remarked, “It’s been a batch of fun,” Jefferson said Tuesday aft Brooklyn rolled to a 115-83 implicit the Sacramento Kings. “I deliberation the astir important happening present is getting reps. Not getting excessively precocious oregon debased but conscionable continuing to play done each the ups and downs that are going to come, but I’m having a batch of fun.” During Tuesday’s game Jefferson displayed his perimeter athleticism with an up‑and‑over move to finish past a Kings defender in the first quarter and later added a one‑handed transition dunk in the second half. Nets Summer League head coach Dutch Gaitley praised the forward’s scoring ability, noting, “(The scoring), is thing that we privation from him,” Brooklyn Summer League manager Dutch Gaitley said. “His quality to get into the paint, decorativeness for himself, but also marque plays for others.” Gaitley emphasized the next step for Jefferson, saying, “Using that physicality to get successful the overgarment – but we person to assistance him with his knowing of antiaircraft concepts,” Gaitley said. “Increasing his physicality and feeling comfy shooting 3-pointers, erstwhile helium gets those things down, the sky’s the bounds for him.” Prior to turning professional, Jefferson earned second‑team All‑American and first‑team All‑Big 12 honors while averaging 16.4 points per game for Iowa State. His collegiate season ended early in the NCAA Tournament