Maxwell Lewis catching Nets attention with strong, energetic play

At this point in their rebuild, the rest of this Nets season is about next season.It’s about development.And youth.And developing players like Maxwell Lewis, who has gone from forgotten man to pleasant surprise in a matter of days.The youngest Net on the floor this past weekend was also among the best.In a weekend back-to-back against the Celtics and Hawks, Lewis had 25 points on 5-for-7 shooting from behind the arc in 38 minutes, posting a team-leading plus-28.

This from a player who’d scored just 21 points in his career entering the weekend.In just three months, Lewis has gone from being traded to being injured, from a broken leg to a career breakthrough.And all the while, the 22-year-old Pepperdine product has brought an infectious energy, first in the locker room and now on the court.“I like what I saw,” Jordi Fernández said of Lewis, who scored three points in the Nets’ 104-96 loss to the Celtics on Tuesday night in Boston.

“Max has been unbelievable those last two games.… So, happy for him.

His energy is contagious.And you can tell his teammates on the bench every time he does something positive, they celebrate.

That’s the most important thing.You see that chemistry.”First came 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting and 3-for-3 from deep in 16 minutes Saturday against Boston.

Then Lewis followed with 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting — and 2-for-4 from deep — in 22 minutes of a win over Atlanta on Sunday.Considering he’d logged just 22 minutes total for Brooklyn before that, it was a surprising turn of events — one he was looking to continue Tuesday in Boston.“I’ve got to give him a lot of credit,” Cam Johnson said.

“He comes in and gets traded — it’s not easy, first time being traded — first game he plays with us, hits a 3 and gets hurt on the same play.So now you just get traded, you’re out a month and he don’t complain.

He shows up, he works every day, works hard.“He’s just a funny guy overall, too.He’s become k...