long island nets

Tom Dowd

Since the Long Island Nets launched for the 2016-17 season, there’s been a strong focus on keeping the G League club in sync with the Brooklyn Nets in terms of systems and schemes. Through four seasons on the Brooklyn coaching staff, it’s a process first-year Long Island head coach Bret Brielmaier is familiar with.

Things are a little different in Brooklyn this season, with the Nets featuring three of the NBA’s elite scorers, all of whom can be an offense and a system unto themselves. Asking anybody to replicate the style of Kevin Durant, James Harden, or Kyrie Irving isn’t realistic, but there are core principles that Brielmaier is sticking with as the Long Island Nets get ready to get underway with their month-long season in Florida: 15 games followed by eight teams advancing to a three-round, single-elimination playoff tournament.

“We’re still playing out of the foundation out of what the Brooklyn club is doing,” said Brielmaier. “Five-out spacing and how we get the guys into sets, very similar to what Brooklyn is doing. Steve (Nash) and the rest of the staff and Sean Marks have given us the freedom to use the foundation and tweak it to what fits best for us. We’ve changed a couple small things, but at the end of the day we’ve kept the original principles of spacing the floor, five-out, when the ball’s not in one of those three it’s moving, it’s ball movement, it’s body movement, because we don’t have those elite guys, so we have to be a little bit more diligent to share the ball and put the defense in positions to be constantly moving and shifting.”

The Nets will tip off with 13 players on Wednesday; their G League roster of 10 players, plus Brooklyn two-way player Reggie Perry — two-way Chris Chiozza remains with Brooklyn currently — and both of the Dallas Mavericks’ two-ways, Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton.

“We have some veteran leadership that has a good deal of NBA experience and that’s such a value to helping the younger guys,” said Brielmaier. “We’ve got a group of experienced G League guys as well, so they can also help guide along some of the younger players, but our young fellas, they were at high-level programs, so the way they’ve been coached already has already been evident. But having this balanced roster I think will give us a great chance to compete.”

Long Island looks strong with a trio of point guards. Shannon Scott is the most experienced player on the roster, with the 28-year-old in his sixth pro season, including two previous seasons with Long Island in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Brielmaier lauds him as a “coach’s dream,” selfless, steady and sharp. Okobo is the highest-drafted player on the roster, taken 31st in 2018, and played the last two seasons with Phoenix. The focus for the 23-year-old is continuing to grow into the point guard role and develop his shooting.

Jeremiah Martin also brings NBA experience to the table, having been on a two-way with Brooklyn last season after starting the year in the G League with Sioux Falls.

“JMart’s just a rock star. He’s a stud,” said Brielmaier. “The guy has been this defensive presence at every practice. He’s very motivated to prove how elite of a defender he is, and his offensive game has continued to improve. His shooting, his playmaking, his ability to get to the rim and finish. We’re really lucky to have the guard combination and the veteran guys that we have. We’ve got a really good group amongst those guys to help lead the younger guys.”

On the wings are both of the Dallas two-ways, Hinton and Bey, along with CJ Massinburg. Aside from Martin who was on the two-way contract with Brooklyn, Massinburg is the only returner from last year’s Long Island roster as he heads into his second pro season.

“CJ’s a winner. He just makes winning plays,” said Brielmaier. “Whether it’s a deflection that turns into a turnover, getting an offensive rebound, getting a loose ball, or making a tough shot. The kid just has this winning aura about him that’s really impressive. Not the most talented kid that we have, but somehow, he gets the job done. He’ll be an integral part to us being able to compete down here.”

Like Massinburg, Jordan Bowden is a 6-foot-5 guard, one of two rookies on the team out of college, while Kaiser Gates is entering his third season in the G League, a 6-foot-7 forward who took 7.2 threes per game over the last two years. BJ Johnson was on a two-way with Orlando last season after brief NBA stints with Atlanta and Sacramento as a rookie the year before, and he’s averaged 18.5 points while shooting 43.0 percent from 3-point range over 67 G League games the last two years.

“Impressed with BJ’s ability to score the basketball,” said Brielmaier. “The guy’s got a flat-out beautiful shot. He makes tough ones. The guy’s just got an ability to score. His next piece is understanding that the next level’s going to ask him to guard every possession and, being able to play on the weak side and be able to make the right decision when that pass comes out that he doesn’t have a shot. He’s going to tear this league up if he’s willing to play the right way, take the right shots, and defend on the defensive end.”

Along with Perry up front, the Nets have Tariq Owens, the tallest player on the roster at 6-10, and 6-9 stretch 4 Nate Sestina. Paul Eboua is a 20-year-old who graduated to Italy’s top-level pro league last season after a few years at junior levels.

“Impressive body. Crazy-explosive athlete, but learning the movements of basketball,” said Brielmaier. “He’s still raw. He doesn’t have a ton of experience. Hasn’t been playing the sport that long, but has all the physical tools to be a guy that can switch 1 through 5 at this level. Going forward, he can definitely be a guy that can cause some chaos on the defensive end. Working on his shot is an important piece for him down here, but his motor is just incredible. The guy plays so hard and his inquisitiveness and his ability to pick up information, even with the language barrier — I think he speaks four languages, and has been really fun to be around. He’s definitely added some bright spots with his experiences in life, so we’re lucky to have the kid.”

It won’t be a typical G League season in any sense, as the NBA replicates its bubble experience of last summer. But there is opportunity also, to lock in with a single-minded approach and focus over the next month. It’s still basketball, and they get to be all-in.

“These guys have embraced this situation and a big part of before starting the season was understanding we all have goals of this experience,” said Brielmaier. “Each individual each had their own objective of this bubble and what they wanted to get out of it and how they wanted to improve. We’ve really tried to help them fulfill that goal and will continue to do it once games start, but the lack of distraction, the lack of travel, has definitely helped practices. It’s definitely helped our ability to spend time with the players off the court, and the non-travel piece is such a huge, the inconvenience of traveling, especially in the G League, flights early morning, getting into places late, sometimes playing day of the game, taking all this away has really given these guys a chance to focus even more on their own growth and their own development.”

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Long Island Nets Season Preview: Experienced Squad Will Tip Off Season

It’s the G League’s turn in the bubble, with the Long Island Nets tipping off their season this week on the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

Starting Wednesday, they’ll be playing 15 games in 25 days, with an eight-team, single-elimination playoff tournament beginning March 8 and a championship game slated for March 11. Eighteen teams will be participating, including the new G League Ignite squad, featuring a mix of draft-eligible prospects and NBA veterans but not directly affiliated with an NBA team. So several NBA franchises opted out of sending their G League squads, but not the Nets, whose G League affiliate is in its fifth season. Long Island General Manager Matt Riccardi — also Brooklyn’s Director of Scouting Operations — cited the support of ownership and the Brooklyn front office in making the commitment to go forward with participating. Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks is a former G League GM, during his time with the San Antonio Spurs organization, and has emphasized the importance of the G League since taking over Brooklyn’s basketball operations in 2016.

“I think the decision was easy on our part,” said Riccardi, “just because of the strong backing we have in ownership and their belief in what Long Island has done in the past and hopefully will continue to do.”

A typical G League season would cover 50 games from early November to late March, and last season’s schedule was postponed in mid-March along with the NBA, before the remainder of the season was eventually cancelled.

Guard Shannon Scott will be playing in his fourth G League season, including two seasons for Long Island in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

“Obviously this is going to be a different situation for everybody involved,” said Scott. “This is something that no one’s ever really done on our team, so we’re all looking forward just to getting the opportunity to get back on the court. We understand that we’ve got to make some adjustments. It’s not going to be the way things used to be, or as easy-flowing as it used to be, but we’re all ready for the challenge.”

For a different kind of G League season, the Long Island roster is tilted a little more heavily toward players with not just G League, but NBA experience. Of the 10 players on the roster, four have played in the NBA: BJ Johnson, Tariq Owens, and Jeremiah Martin have all been on two-way contracts, Martin with Brooklyn last season. Elie Okobo was the 31st pick in the 2018 NBA Draft and spent the last two seasons with the Phoenix Suns.

“I think our core principles are still the same,” said Riccardi. “Looking for high-quality individuals that are selfless, that want to be part of something bigger than themselves, that can buy in to what we’re doing here as a Nets organization. So we’re never going to really waver on those principles in terms of the types of players we’re looking at, but I do think we looked at this bubble as an opportunity to get some players in front of us that we have liked over the years and haven’t gotten a chance to take a closer look at internally. We’re incredibly excited about this roster and the type of people that we’ve brought in here first and foremost, both on the staff and for the players.”

The format for the season may also lend itself to a little more consistency and continuity with the roster, partly due to the shorter season, but also to COVID protocols that may slow and limit player movement between the G League and the NBA. In a typical season, two-way players move back and forth, or are waived and replaced, as Brooklyn did with both two-way spots last season. Younger players on NBA contracts can also see time in the G League on assignment. Last season, 22 players played in a game for Long Island; the season before that there were 19.

For the start of the season, the Nets have sent one of their two-way players, rookie forward Reggie Perry, to participate. The Dallas Mavericks have also transferred both of their two-way players — Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton — to Long Island as Dallas has opted against sending its G League team to Florida. That gives Long Island 13 players to start the season.

Leading the way for Long Island will be first-year head coach Bret Brielmaier, who spent the last four seasons as an assistant on Brooklyn’s NBA staff. Riccardi said it was an “easy choice” to turn to Brielmaier, who got his NBA start with the San Antonio Spurs and spent three years as an assistant in Cleveland before coming to the Nets organization.

The two worked closely in Brooklyn, with offices nearby at HSS Training Center and a close relationship on developing players. Riccardi described Brielmaier as likely having more NBA coaching experience than any head coach in the G League bubble.

“He understands what it takes not only to be an NBA player, which is important for these guys, but also how to develop young players within our Nets system,” said Riccardi. “He had such success being part of the staff the last few years in Brooklyn and helping develop those guys and make our team and lay down the foundation for our culture, and it’s an easy transition for him and he has such a high upside. I think he will be an NBA head coach sometime soon, and this was an opportunity for him to get some head coaching reps under his belt. Couldn’t feel more comfortable in someone being part of Long Island based on everything he’s done in Brooklyn and all of his experience in the NBA before.”

In addition to Brielmaier, who was on Brooklyn’s coaching staff last summer, Long Island has several players who have experience with the bubble environment and can be a resource — Johnson was with the Magic, Okobo with the Suns, and Martin with the Nets.

“We were lucky enough that a few of our players were in the bubble, some with us, some with other organizations, so they had first-hand-experience and obviously Bret was in the bubble with Brooklyn, and his experience of what he was able to share with our group, both players and staff, has been impactful in terms of helping us understand what we’re going to deal with on a day-to-day basis, how we can best prepare, and the things that will be important once we get here,” said Riccardi. “Having so many members with some experience is a huge positive for our group.”

“It’s just about adapting,” said guard CJ Massinburg, returning for this second season with Long Island. “Us as humans, we’re made to adapt to any environment that we’re put in. I like how the G League and the NBA, they were able to get us in a pretty good spot to execute this plan, and we have the Ignite team here. Everything was set up pretty good. They take care of us, so I’m excited. I’m excited. I feel like they did everything they could to make this as comfortable for us., We’re just given the opportunity to succeed, so I’m excited about everything.”

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Long Island Nets Season Preview: A New Experience Awaits in G League Bubble

The Long Island Nets tip off the G League season on Wednesday under first-year head coach Bret Brielmaier with a group that includes four players on the team’s 10-man roster that have NBA experience.

“We definitely looked at this G League bubble as an opportunity to take a look at some guys that we haven’t had in our system before,” said Long Island General Manager Matt Riccardi. “We have an incredible coaching staff, and obviously we wanted to make sure that we had players that had a chance to develop, that would be looked at as call-up targets for the NBA, that could put our program as competitive as possible. So you’ll see the make-up of that. I think our oldest player is 28, but we do have a younger group. Some veterans mixed in there with a few G League experience, some NBA experience as well.”

In addition to its 10-man roster, Long Island will begin the season with three two-way players available — Brooklyn’s Reggie Perry and Dallas’ Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton. Here, we’ll take a look at the 10 players on the G League roster.

Bowden is one of three rookies on the roster, playing their first season of American pro ball (Paul Eboua played professionally in Europe). The 24-year-old guard played four seasons at Tennessee. As a senior last year, he started all 31 games and averaged 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists.

“Good athlete. Good, quick first step,” said Brielmaier. “Really efficient in the mid-range, so helping him understand how to become more efficient and be comfortable at that 3-point line, and turn those mid-range shots into either rim attacks or three-balls. Lot of upside for that kid, and you can tell he’s been really, really well-coached.”

Eboua is an international prospect who had plenty of mentions in mock drafts, typically toward the back half of the second round, but ultimately went undrafted. The 20-year-old — he’ll turn 21 on Feb. 15 — is from Cameroon and moved to Rome in his teens to pursue his basketball career, playing in the Jordan Brand Classic International Game at Barclays Center in 2016. Last season, Eboua played for VL Pesaro in Italy’s top-level Serie A league.

“An incredible young prospect that our international scouts, Simone Casali, Jeff Peterson, BJ Johnson, have done an incredible job of identifying in the past,” said Riccardi. “Someone we followed closely, and someone our coaching staff targeted as being really excited to work with.”

The 24-year-old out of Xavier played in Summer League with the Bulls in 2018 and spent the 2018-19 season with their G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. Last year he started all 36 games he played for the Maine Red Claws, averaging 12.2 points.

“Guy can really just stretch the floor,” said Brielmaier. “He can really shoot the basketball. Knows how to play the game. Surprising how much better his defensive ability to switch is. He’s got a great feel. Even though he’s not the most athletic guy on the court, he just has a way of taking angles and knowing what a guy is going to do before he does it.”

Johnson played two years of college ball at Syracuse and then two at LaSalle before playing Summer League with the Hornets in 2018. During the 2018-19 season he played for the Lakeland Magic in the G League before getting a 10-day contract with Atlanta and then eventually signing with Sacramento at the end of the season.

Last year he was back with the Orlando organization on a two-way deal, playing 10 NBA games and averaging 22.8 points and 6.4 rebounds while shooting 41.4 percent from 3-point range in 28 games for Lakeland.

“We’ve seen BJ play a ton in the past,” said Riccardi. “We played against him in the playoffs two years ago when he was playing with Lakeland. We’ve seen him in the NBA. We think he’s a really good player, high-quality player that has a chance to continue to develop.”

Martin is back with the Nets after joining the organization on a two-way deal last January. He played 16 games for Long Island, averaging 16.8 points, 4.0 assists and 2.2 steals. He saw a bigger role with Brooklyn on the NBA Campus in Orlando last summer, making six of his nine NBA game appearances last year during that stretch of the season. Martin had a 20-point game against the Celtics and a career-high 24 points against Orlando last summer. He started last season in the G League with Sioux Falls, averaging 18.5 points and 5.0 assists in 16 games before being signed by the Nets.

“JMart’s just a rock star. He’s a stud,” said Brielmaier. “The guy has been this defensive presence at every practice. He’s very motivated to prove how elite of a defender he is, and his offensive game has continued to improve. His shooting, his playmaking, his ability to get to the rim and finish.”

Massinburg, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year at Buffalo in 2019 and a two-time All-MAC selection, is in his second season with Long Island, the only returning player from last season’s 10-man roster. He averaged 7.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while playing in 23 games.

“It’s always better coming back the second time,” said Massinburg. “You know you have a lot more experience under your belt. You know how the pace of the game is. You basically know what to expect, so yeah, I’m excited to be back again.”

The 23-year-old from France is the highest-drafted player on the Long Island roster. The 31st overall pick in 2018, Okobo spent two seasons with the Phoenix Suns, appearing in 108 games and averaging 4.8 points and 2.2 assists. He previously played nine games in the G League with the Northern Arizona Suns in 2018-19, averaging 18.1 points, 7.4 assists, and 1.4 steals.

“Elie is an amazing player,” said Riccardi. “We’ve seen him from his draft time to being on the Phoenix Suns, to playing for the Northern Arizona Suns, so similar to BJ (Johnson) and similar to the other guys on our roster, we’re really excited to get a chance to work with Elie, someone we’ve seen from afar and we’ve liked all his intangibles and all his skills and his NBA size. Just looking forward to seeing how he mixes with our group and our coaching staff and vice versa.”

The 25-year-old big man finished up his college career making a run at the NCAA title with Texas Tech in 2019 after two seasons at St. John’s and one at Tennessee. He signed a two-way deal with the Phoenix Suns last January after beginning the season on their Northern Arizona Suns G League roster. He played three games for Phoenix, and in 40 G League games averaged 10.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.1 percent.

“Tariq’s still learning the pro system, and what can make him special at this level,” said Brielmaier. “His athletic ability, his length, his timing, all put him in that category. Now it’s the little pieces that will propel him to that next step; when to get out of a screen, when to hold a screen. How to get positioning to get a better angle to rebound. Understanding how to sit down and guard these smaller guards when we’re in switching situations. It’s more of a finer tune pieces with him. He’s got all the physical gifts, so now we’re just really trying to have him understand the importance of the little details, and feel the nuances that it takes at this level.”

Scott returns to the Long Island Nets for his sixth pro season after playing abroad last year. Over two seasons and 95 games with Long Island in 2017-18 and 2018-19, Scott averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 assists.

“Such a stabilizing, calming force,” said Riccardi. “He knows what we are all about, and he helped set that foundation a few years ago. Having him part of this group is a huge benefit for us and for all the players and the staff itself. He’s been through it and he knows exactly what we’re looking for and I’m truly excited to have him part of this group, just because of his institutional knowledge and his leadership.”

Over the last three seasons, Sestina has gone from All-Patriot League Second Team at Bucknell to playing one season at Kentucky and now into professional hoops. At Kentucky last season, Sestina shot 40.7 percent from 3-point range, and he said Brielmaier has encouraged him to let it fly.

“He’s messaged me, he’s sent me clips, we’ve talked about it a lot,” said Sestina. “He said, you’ve got a flamethrower, you’ve got to let that thing go. He said if you leave the game with a full clip, that’s on you. They’re confident in me, and having a front office and a coaching staff that’s confident in you should give you the ultimate confidence when you go out into the game and play and just knowing that your teammates are confident in you as well in your ability to do something.”

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Long Island Nets Season Preview: Breaking Down the Roster

Six of Jeremiah Martin’s nine games of NBA experience came last summer after the 2019-20 season resumed on the NBA Campus in Orlando. Signed to a two-way contract by the Brooklyn Nets in January, he spent most of the next two months in the G League with Long Island, until the resumption of the NBA season loosened limits on two-way players.

With the Brooklyn Nets in particular short-handed on the roster when workouts began on the campus last July, Martin took advantage of the opportunity to play a bigger role. He ended up putting up a pair of 20-point games, including a career-high 24 in a win over Orlando, and made a strong impact defensively when Brooklyn upset Milwaukee.

Long Island coach Bret Brielmaier was an assistant on the Brooklyn staff last summer, and said the opportunity to be fully immersed in an NBA environment for those two months offered a huge benefit.

“I think he experienced what it takes to be a pro, and that means more than just being on the court. It’s how he takes care of his body,” said Brielmaier. “It’s how he sleeps. It’s how he does his recovery work. He got really close with Caris LeVert, and Caris’ attention to all those things; the recovery, nutrition, taking care of himself, Jeremiah witnessed that firsthand, and he is now seeing the benefits of that, and through Caris’ eyes, he’s kind of embraced the importance of not only working on the court, but how am I going to improve off the court.”

Martin is one of three players on the roster who were in the NBA bubble last summer, along with BJ Johnson and Elie Okobo. Brielmaier was there as well, and said the league learned from experience, and it shows in the current setup. The smaller footprint of having fewer teams and individuals on the campus has made the operation easier to navigate as well.

“We talked to them definitely, just about how to approach the situation,” said Long Island guard Shannon Scott. “How to use your down time. I know a lot of guys said at first we get tired, you won’t see your family for a while. You’re only limited being on the court for a certain amount of time each day. So they just let us know how things went before we even got up here. They told us what we need to pack, what would be useful for us and all those things.”

FROM DALLAS TO LONG ISLAND … TO FLORIDA

With the Dallas Mavericks opting not to send their Texas Legends G League squad to the bubble, they have transferred their two-way players, Tyler Bey and Nate Hinton, to the Long Island Nets. That expands the Long Island roster to 13 players, including Brooklyn two-way Reggie Perry.

Both players are rookies, with Hinton having appeared in six games for the Mavericks and Bey in four. Hinton is considered a physical, aggressive guard, a strong rebounder for the position, while Bey was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year at Colorado last season.

“We’ve been in constant communication with Dallas and, understanding their development growth for these guys and what that trajectory looks like and what they’re really focusing on was a big piece before they added them,” said Bret Brielmaier. “You can obviously see why Dallas was excited about these guys; their defensive ability and just their size and the mentality they play with. But they’re a part of us. They are Long Island Nets, and we’re going to coach them with the same conviction and the same philosophies that we would anyone else. We’ve been given full autonomy to coach them the way we would any other player.”

Jo-Jo Wright was a rising star in Long Island basketball right in the Nets’ backyard, starring at Uniondale High School and emerging as one of the area’s top players as a freshman last season in leading his team to the county championship game. On Jan. 27, the 15-year-old sophomore was killed in a car accident.

Long Island General Manager Matt Riccardi shared Wright’s story with the team.

“We actually had a powerful conversation about that,” said Bret Brielmaier. “Matt brought it up to the group, and the biggest takeaway was, value each and every day. Make the most of today. It really aligned with the way we’ve been approaching this season, and it’s such a stark reminder of how precious life really is, and how fortunate we all are to be playing this game and to be doing what we’re doing.”

“We know their family’s going through a lot right now,” said Shannon Scott, “but we definitely want to dedicate our season to the Wright family, to everybody at Uniondale High School, just knowing that we’re thinking about them every day and we’re going to play a little bit harder just for Jo-Jo.”

The sudden stoppage of the 2019-20 NBA and G League seasons, as well as the college basketball season, means many of the players on the Long Island roster have had an extended offseason, likely the first of their careers. But both Shannon Scott and CJ Massinburg said there was a small benefit, the opportunity for players to rest their bodies and get fully healthy heading into a new season.

“The uncertainty kind of was good for my situation, because this was a really big offseason for me,” said Massinburg. “Last year, I was dealing with a back injury in my lower back. It kind of slowed me down during the season. I started off doing really good, and then it made me take some steps back. So this offseason, I was really focused on getting my body right, and I would say today I’m 100 percent healthy. So with the offseason training, the more time I had was the better. I just took advantage of that opportunity, and then when they said we were going to do the bubble and gave us dates, I was able to ramp it up even more and get ready.”

With the G League schedule calling for 15 games in 25 days, staying healthy will be part of the emphasis going forward as well.

“Our performance team, both our athletic trainer and sports scientist, I wouldn’t be able to do this without them,” said Bret Brielmaier. “They’ve been such a great guiding voice, and their ability to help sculpt what practices should look like and entail, how to build these guys up knowing that some of them haven’t played basketball in eight to 10 months. So we’ve slowly built these guys up. We’ve been very cognizant of not putting too much load on them early, even not having contact the first couple days down here. Just getting them back in basketball movements and running up and down the floor. I think overall the approach has been pretty sound for the players’ health, as well as their development.”

The 18-team format for the G League season also includes the G League Team Ignite, playing in its first season. As part of the NBA’s development program, it features highly rated prospects who will be draft-eligible in 2021, including Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and Daishen Nix. The group began practicing last summer under Brian Shaw, the former Denver Nuggets head coach and Los Angeles Lakers’ assistant.

The roster also features NBA veterans such as Jarrett Jack and Amir Johnson to help in the player development process. Long Island will play Team Ignite on Monday, Feb. 22.

“My thoughts on that team, it’s a great idea,” said CJ Massinburg. “We’re giving guys fresh out of high school the opportunity to play professionally. I feel like, just like with any other job, you should have a choice on when you can go and make money or whatever. I don’t know, I only know a couple players on the team. I don’t really know their whole schedule. I would think they kind of have a target, because they’re just young guys and they get a lot of attention, but it’s deserved. Those are some of the top prospects out of high school.”

Aside from a run as Cleveland’s Summer League head coach in 2015, it’s the first turn at the head of the bench for 35-year old Bret Brielmaier in his first season as Long Island’s head coach. CJ Massinburg went to training camp with Brooklyn in 2019 and worked with Brielmaier there before spending the season in the G League, and he’s returning with Long Island this season.

“The one thing that I really love about (Bret) is his passion; his energy and passion,” said Massinburg. “I played under Nate Oats in college, and he’s a guy that, if you’re energy isn’t right at the door, you might as well turn around and not even come to practice,” said Massinburg. “So he was big on energy, and at the professional level, I was hoping that I could get a coach with a lot of energy and passion, and that fits (Bret). He always has the energy. You never know when he’s having a bad day, because his energy is always through the roof, and it’s contagious. I feel like, one day, if I was to coach, I would be like that, have a lot of energy. That’s the thing that sticks out to me.”

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Long Island Nets Season Preview: Jeremiah Martin Benefits from Bubble Experience

Bret Brielmaier was just 29 years old, in his sixth season on an NBA coaching staff, when he had the opportunity to serve as head coach of Cleveland’s entry at the NBA Summer League in 2015.

“It was one of the most fulfilling things I’ve done as a coach, to be in that first chair, to make the final decision,” said Brielmaier. “You really don’t know how little you know, until you sit there. You’re the one that everyone comes to with suggestions, and thoughts, and ideas, and managing players. Even though it was only for a few weeks window, it was something I knew I wanted to try to pursue and continue to gain experience to eventually become that head coach.”

Five years later, he’s earned that chance. On Tuesday, Brielmaier was named head coach of the Long Island Nets. The 35-year-old takes over leading the organization’s G League affiliate after four seasons as a Brooklyn Nets assistant coach.

“He has inside information and knowledge about this organization, so he'll be a seamless fit,” said Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash. “He's going to grow as a head coach in that position, which is important for his development and for him to continue to refine his talents but for us to be able to have that two-way relationship with Long Island and have Bret who has NBA experience and inside experience with the Nets is a great fit. So we're really fortunate he wanted to take that step and be a head coach at this time and help develop our two-way guys.”

With Long Island, Brielmaier will be charged with developing a young group of players, whether it’s two-way roster players, Brooklyn players on assignment, or players signed directly to Long Island who are getting started on their pro careers.

“Bret's a great guy; great coach, but a great guy,” said Brooklyn’s Caris LeVert, who was a rookie in 2016-17, Brielmaier’s first season with the organization. “High-energy guy, has a positive attitude each and every day, and I think as a young player coming into this league, that's all you really can ask for; someone who pushes you every day and someone who has a positive attitude, and he definitely does both of those things and I can't wait to see him be successful being a head coach.”

Joe Harris has worked with Brielmaier through all six of his NBA seasons, first in Cleveland and then in Brooklyn, and was on that 2015 Summer League team that Brielmaier led.

“He’s an excellent young coach,” said Harris. “I saw how much he helped in development for a lot of the young guys on our team, especially somebody like Jarrett Allen, who he kind of worked specifically with. I think he’s going to do a really good job on Long Island.”

Brielmaier’s basketball journey has brought him under the influence and into the orbit of some of the game’s great coaches and players, starting at the University of Arizona, where Brielmaier played for Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, passing on mid-major scholarship offers to take a shot playing at college basketball’s highest level as a walk-on, eventually earning a scholarship and playing four seasons for the Wildcats.

Olson was among those who encouraged Brielmaier to pursue coaching, bringing together his love for the game with his early leanings about going into teaching. After a year on the staff at Arizona after his playing days were done, Brielmaier got his first NBA opportunity as a player development assistant with the San Antonio Spurs under Gregg Popovich, on a staff that also included Mike Budenholzer, Brett Brown, and James Borrego and with a roster that featured all-time greats Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. After a season in that role, he spent the next three years with the Spurs as a video coordinator, a role that has increasingly spawned head coaching careers.

“It’s basically a Ph D in coaching, is kind of the best way I can describe it for young people,” said Brielmaier. “You have to deal with all aspects of the game. Luckily, I learned under James Borrego, who was the head video coordinator at the time. Taught us so much about the quality of work to do, really understanding the league at a higher level and not just scratching the surface. You really had to become an expert in all things basketball, and as a video room participant, you’re basically helping an assistant coach build game plans and personnel reports, come up with factual information that assistant will eventually present to the team.

“You had basically an apprenticeship into being an assistant coach. Mike Budenholzer at the time was Pop’s lead assistant. Another guy that started in the video room, so he held us at an extremely high regard. Basically, formed my habits and the standards I set for myself going forward were really created in the Spurs’ organization and the video room.”

Aside from the education, it was also in San Antonio that Brielmaier first connected with future Brooklyn colleagues. Nets assistant coach Jacque Vaughn joined the San Antonio staff in 2012. Trajan Langdon, Brooklyn’s assistant general manager from 2016 to 2019, came on board with the organization in 2012, as did Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks.

“Sean was kind of a hybrid role,” said Brielmaier. “He was on the court, he was in the front office, he was in coaches’ meetings, he was in front office roles. We all know Sean’s spirit, his intelligence, his ability to connect people is what makes him so special. Immediately, I formed a very close bond with him. We talked basketball, we talked life, we talked all things regarding the experience of being in the NBA and his journey was an impressive one, which had a lot of stops, so I was constantly curious about what I could learn from him.”

An eventful three years in Cleveland followed, as Brielmaier took a leap from the comfort of what he called San Antonio’s “well-oiled machine” to join a rebuilding Cavaliers team fronted by Kyrie Irving, then going into this third NBA season. A year later, that rebuild sped up with LeBron James’ return to Cleveland. Over his three seasons with the Cavaliers, Brielmaier worked for three head coaches, went to two NBA Finals, won an NBA championship, and got that first taste of being a head coach.

Coming off that 2016 NBA title, the offseason shuffle brought a new opportunity in Brielmaier’s direction. Marks had taken over as Brooklyn’s general manager in February, and brought Langdon — who had also been working for Cleveland during the 2015-16 season — in as assistant general manager. Marks hired Kenny Atkinson as head coach, and the offer came to Brielmaier to take the next step in his career on Brooklyn’s reconstructed staff.

“Sean and Trajan did such an incredible job of laying out what they wanted to grow this into and the type of culture and environment they wanted to cultivate, and the type of players they wanted to get after, and the atmosphere of family and inclusion here,” said Brielmaier. “It became something that sounded so desirable, and it was a really difficult decision leaving a championship contending team and one of the greatest players of all-time, and learning from coach (Tyronn) Lue and his incredible staff, but I wanted to bet on myself, bet on Sean and Trajan, bet on the vision they had, and continue to grow my experience. The next step was being on the front of a bench, and being that much closer to helping the head coach in making decisions. I felt extremely comfortable and fortunate for that opportunity.”

With the Nets, Brielmaier has been part of an inclusive across the board staff working on the full range of responsibilities, from scouting reports to player development. While he worked directly with veterans like Wilson Chandler and Jared Dudley, as he had in the past with Manu Ginobili in San Antonio and Richard Jefferson in Cleveland, it was young center Jarrett Allen with whom you could always see Brielmaier on a game night, collaborating at courtside during pregame workouts.

Allen came to Brooklyn as a 19-year-old after one season at Texas, and has started for most of his first three seasons, steadily elevating his game along the way.

“An absolute joy to work for, a little bit of a blank slate,” said Brielmaier. “So we really got to start at the beginning. Really fortunate to have worked with a young man of his skill and his IQ. You see what he’s grown into with all his hard work.”

He’s also had an up-close view of the relationship between the Brooklyn Nets and their G League affiliate, and the importance the organization places on the development of players, coaches and staff there, keeping them fully integrated in the team’s operations.

“We have always viewed the Long Island Nets on the same level as the Brooklyn Nets,” said Brielmaier. “The care given to the players, the focus on player development, the onus of playing the right way and living up to the values of what it means to be a Net are all the same from the Brooklyn Nets to the Long Island Nets. I’m going to rely on all my experiences as being an assistant for countless years, and the player development, and all the great coaches I’ve worked for, and the leadership of coach Nash and his incredible staff to bring the same culture and identity to Long Island that we’ve had here in Brooklyn.”

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