Noah Clowney
Clowney enters a contract year as the presumptive top candidate for backup power forward minutes behind newly added starter Julius Randle, but he has to win that job in camp rather than simply inherit it.
Role
Per Yahoo Sports' Nets training camp breakdown (checked 5 October 2026), Brooklyn's starting five is considered set with Randle at power forward, which pushes Clowney off the starting job he held for most of last season, when he started a career-high 60 games and averaged 27 minutes. A New York Post columnist, relayed by Yahoo Sports (checked 5 October 2026), called him "the most proven player ready to start the season as the backup power forward behind Randle," with Josh Minott, Danny Wolf and rookie Joshua Jefferson also competing for that bench frontcourt time. No specific preseason exhibition box score for Clowney had turned up as of the check date; coverage so far is camp-arrival reporting and his own comments, not game data. Brooklyn's camp roster cuts are due by October 19, which is also the date ESPN's Bobby Marks flagged as a deadline tied to a Clowney contract extension.
He was the league's most frequent foul-drawer last season at an 18.5% rate, ahead of stars like Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, and reporting frames him as the readiest of the four-man forward group competing for bench minutes since Jefferson is a rookie and Wolf is still developing as a scorer.
Randle's arrival has already cost him the starting job, he is unproven in a reduced role, and he said at camp, quoted by Yahoo Sports (checked 5 October 2026), that he now expects "fewer shots" and will have to make a stronger case for minutes.
Where analysts split
There is broad agreement that Clowney is not a starter now and is the favorite among the Minott/Wolf/Jefferson group for backup power forward minutes; what is unresolved is whether he actually holds that job once preseason games are played, since Minott finished last season strong and signed a new two-year deal, and camp had not yet produced reported minutes or exhibition stats as of the check date.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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