Brooklyn awarded a pair of rookie first-round picks to the G League in the middle of the rotation

The Brooklyn Nets assigned rookies Drake Powell and Danny Woof to its G League affiliate, the Long Island Nets, on Monday. Both players are recovering from ankle injuries. Powell injured his ankle during the Nets’ season-opening loss to the Charlotte Hornets, while Vuk was injured on the same day during a team scrimmage.

The rookie duo will practice with Long Island this week as the team begins training camp. While the G League assignment comes due to injuries, Powell and Wolff could spend extended periods on Long Island.

Both players have several veterans ahead of them in Brooklyn’s rotation.

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Powell saw playing time in the season opener, recording two points and two rebounds in seven minutes. However, Jordi Fernandez only replaced the rookie during the third quarter amid the team’s embarrassing defensive struggles.

Terrance Mann, Ziaire Williams, Tyrese Martin and Jalen Wilson saw minutes on the wing through Brooklyn’s first four games. While Powell is a superior athlete to all of those players, his offensive skill set is extremely raw.

meanwhile, Wolff played center and center during training camp. However, the Nets have Michael Porter Jr., Noah Clowney, Nick Claxton, and De’Ron Sharp filling the starting and backup roles at both frontcourt spots.

It is unclear which position Wolff will spend the majority of his playing time. The G League will act as a tool to help the Nets answer that question. Brooklyn played Clowney on Long Island for most of his rookie campaign, using a sample size to determine if he was the best fit to play power forward.

While Powell and Wolff will likely spend extended time on Long Island, Fernandez said both will get NBA opportunities at some point.

“We’ll go through the process. We have to use all our resources, the G League, if necessary,” the coach said during training camp. “All of our resources are NBA minutes, Long Island minutes, all the development with the coaches. That goes for all five starters. And I think, following the right steps, we believe each of them will find NBA minutes at some point. They just have to be ready.”

There’s a case for those NBA minutes coming sooner rather than later. The Nets have allowed 522 points in four games, the most in franchise history. They looked outmatched defensively at the point of attack and around the rim. Powell’s elite athleticism could provide a boost in both regards.

Meanwhile, Wolff, 21, is Brooklyn’s oldest rookie. The 6-foot-11 big man flashed skills at the NBA level during the Nets’ pair of preseason games against the Phoenix Suns. He averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 6-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from three in 13.0 minutes per game.

Danny Wolf showed off his versatile offensive skill set during his first games against NBA competition.

Plenty to clean up, but the 6-foot-11 big man looked like a legitimate dribbling/passing/shooting threat. pic.twitter.com/LO7kVivlEj

— Eric Slater (@erikslater_) October 13, 2025

Clowney struggled at power forward in the season opener, averaging 4.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 20.0 minutes per game. The third-year forward shot 6-of-24 from the field (25 percent) and 4-of-17 from three (23.5 percent) while still looking uncomfortable creating off the dribble. Defensively, he failed to block the shot.

If Clowney fails to improve as the season progresses, the Nets could decide to give Wolfe an early look in the frontcourt.