The trajectory of Royce O’Neale’s 2022-23 season fit perfectly with the course of the campaign for the Nets.
There was one version before the trade deadline.
And when February 9 arrived, any stability provided by the early season version was removed and a revision took place.
Due to this fact, the circumstance itself – O’Neale in the Nets’ starting lineup – was not surprising on Wednesday.
He began his first 52 games with Brooklyn after an offseason contract with Utah.
But when Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were replaced, O’Neale also disappeared from the starting five – until Dorian Finney-Smith’s wrist injury prompted Jacque Vaughn to place O’Neale back into the starting lineup in the Nets’ 123-108 victory over Detroit.
He played the most minutes since January 12, scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds, eight assists and blocked two shots, igniting the Nets, filling quite a lot of roles and flashing a flexible skill set that coaches, including Baylor coach Scott Drew, witnessed.
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![Royce O'Neale smiles during a game against the Detroit Pistons.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1250813311.jpg?w=1024)
“He had the NBA’s elite talent and skill set early on, and that was his passing and game sense,” Drew told The Post in a phone interview on Thursday. “He’s at that level. That is what I feel he’s been doing his entire profession [at Baylor]after which when he went to Europe he really improved his athleticism and at all times had stamina and when his body was high-quality he also became an elite defender.
“So now he had two NBA skills.”
Drew got a glimpse of O’Neale’s full potential when Baylor played West Virginia – known for his physicality and rebounding – in a matchup in February 2015.
But O’Neale rebounded despite his height flaws – “he doesn’t care if a man’s 6-9 or 6-10,” Drew said – and when the Bears opened the game with a 23-3 streak, O’Neale recorded five points, two rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block in that nine-minute stretch.
O’Neale’s development continued after he was signed to the Jazz, after performing overseas.
Drew sent snippets of O’Neale’s dunks and athletic moves to the recruits, and watched his former player’s movement from the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons while protecting the opposing team’s top players.
“I mean, when he protects James Harden, when he matches with the other team’s best player, you possibly can see the trust they put in him and his defense,” Drew told The Post.
That each one carried over to the Nets this season.
Even after O’Neale was dropped from the starting lineup, he continued to play a job – and a vital one, averaging 26 minutes per game as the Nets’ sixth man.
It was just different.
![Royce O'Neale makes a three-pointer against the Boston Celtics.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1247700216.jpg?w=1024)
His contribution on Wednesday allowed the Nets to “kick forward” and move the ball from one side of the court to the other, Vaughn said.
It happened when Detroit’s defense – specifically 6-foot Jalen Duren and 7-0 James Wiseman – responded.
“By being on this group with Royce, we get an additional ball dealer,” Vaughn said after the Nets won. “We initiated and allowed Royce to be quarterback, even tonight with a second unit.”
O’Neale and Spencer Dinwiddie, who tied for a career-high 16 assists, unlocked the Nets’ offense and together tallied 24 assists, a mark the Nets as a team have missed in 28 games this 12 months.
It was the ninth time in his NBA profession that O’Neale had recorded seven or more assists for the Nets, and all but one occurred that season.
The previous seven this season have come before the trade deadline.
![Royce O'Neale shoots the ball during a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/GettyImages-1248009161.jpg?w=1024)
Since leaving the starting lineup, O’Neale has recorded 4 assists in a single game only twice.
The worth the Nets paid for O’Neale – a 2023 first-round pick – is why expectations were high early in the 12 months.
Not necessarily on points, given the presence of Durant and Irving, but quite something else.
Something else.
Possibly rebounds.
Possibly assists.
A approach to distract the defense from the Nets superstars and hit either side of the court.
The Nets are completely different from once they first acquired O’Neale.
Durant is gone.
Neither did Irving.
But Wednesday showed just how essential he’s to the Nets and any performance they produce in the postseason – a reminder of O’Neale’s old role versus his latest role and what an ideal balance between the two can deliver.