Nets schooled by Thunder who provide Brooklyn a blueprint to follow

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Nets have the most future draft picks in the NBA. The team with the second-most: Oklahoma City. The 127-101 beating the Nets took from the Thunder at Paycom Center — and the way OKC has run through the entire league — is a scary reminder of just how well-poised Sunday’s foe is to dominate the NBA both today and tomorrow. The Nets (14-29) watched them lead by 27 in the first quarter and 28 in the fourth, shooting a red-hot .552 and 19 of 43 from deep. Cam Johnson returned from a sprained right ankle with 15 points, but the Nets were at a talent deficit in losing for the eighth time in nine games. It’s why they’re essentially looking to emulate OKC’s model.It’s also why they’ve made the hard but necessary decisions to trade away talent that could help them win today — Dennis Schroder and Dorian Finney-Smith — for players who, in some cases, will never suit up — De’Anthony Melton — because it will help them build long-term sustainable success. They can only hope to attain the success OKC has, but that’s far off.

Right now, after Sunday, they’ll limp home with just one lone win on this six-game Western Conference swing, with a back-to-back looming against the Knicks and Suns. “You can never get tired of this, how the NBA and the schedule is.I know it’s the end of the trip, but being excited to play an NBA game is very important,” coach Jordi Fernandez said.

“Obviously, it felt like we were in L.A.forever; we played two games.

But the games keep coming. “Then we have a tough back-to-back at home.So not just to get ahead of things, but the most important game is the game in front of you.

And it doesn’t matter if you come from a long trip or you’ve been at home; you have to have that energy and you’ve got to do it together with your teammates.That’s my main takeaway.” The Nets have more projected cap space this summer ($65 million) and more future picks (15 firsts, 16 seconds) than anybod...