Nets get early glimpse at Danny Wolf’s playmaking ability

Across very limited minutes, the Nets witnessed more of what they have been expecting out of Danny Wolf. 

During their preseason opener against Hapoel Jerusalem on Saturday, the No. 27 pick got to work quickly. 

His passing chops were on display as he found 19-year-old guard Ben Saraf on a cut down the lane for a layup.

Later, while dribbling at the top of the key, he dished it to Noah Clowney inside for two points. 

Wolf isn’t one to shy away from a playmaking role, even at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 ¼-inch wingspan, as listed at the draft combine.

He knew when to pick his spots in driving to the basket off the dribble. 

In just 15 minutes, he led the second unit in assists (five) while also adding five points and five rebounds in the 123-88 win at Barclays Center. 

That will hold for now as it wasn’t lost on Wolf that improvements need to be made, given the two turnovers he had while handling the ball. 

“I mean, when the coaches trust me with the ball in my hands, it’s up to me to make a play,” Wolf said after the win. “I think a few times, I got a little too sped up and made a few — I made an errant pass and kinda lost the ball on a ball screen. But when coach Jordi [Fernández] draws me up or tells us to run a play and it breaks off, it’s up to you to make a play, and I tried doing that to the best of my ability.” 

The 21-year-old Michigan product was drafted for his passing and playmaking abilities.

He was the best passing big man in this year’s draft class, and his 4.2 assists per game average with the Wolverines last season was the second-best mark ever for a college player listed at 7 feet or taller. 

Similar marks will be expected of him as he competes for a spot likely at power forward — a position the Nets have struggled to find a long-term solution for the past several years. 

The preseason opener was an improvement for Wolf since the summer league competition.

In his summer debut, Wolf had two assists against four turnovers, along with four points scored. 

He excused that performance for nerves and went on to improve in the other two games he played out of the five summer games for the Nets.

The Illinois native’s best game came against the Magic on July 16, scoring 18 points while adding four assists and six rebounds in nearly 27 minutes. 

On Saturday, Wolf seemingly turned those nerves into excitement as he played his first game in a Nets jersey at Barclays Center. 

“I was getting taped before the game, and I’m just like getting ready to go out, and it’s just — you dream, you literally dream about walking out of the tunnel to an NBA game,” he said. “It’s really cool. Obviously, it’s a preseason game, and it’s not against an NBA team, but it’s still, you’re playing in an NBA arena with an NBA team. It’s a pretty cool feeling. It’s a culmination of a lot of feelings but it’s just the start. It’s the first step in a long season, and its gotta go day by day.” 

As the start of the NBA season inches closer, Wolf will need to continue proving his unique value while also improving his defense, which was exposed against the non-NBA team from Israel as soon as he came out onto the court when he let a backdoor alley-oop get by him. 

He has three more preseason games to prove himself, the next coming Friday against the Suns in what will be the first of two games in China. 

“With Danny, he’s gotta make solid plays every time, playing off two feet, a couple turnovers here,” Fernández said Saturday. “I was happy with both [Wolf and Saraf] — how they’ve worked so far, the opportunity and taking advantage of their minutes. It was a good first game, and now we’re going to have two more in Macao, so I’m excited to watch them play.”