B’klyn taking patient approach with LeVert

The Nets have left for Las Vegas, where a collection of first- and second-year players will begin NBA summer league play this weekend.

The team’s most intriguing rookie stayed behind in Brooklyn.

On Thursday morning, firstround pick Caris LeVert officially joined the Nets in a trade from the Pacers — for forward Thaddeus Young and a future second-round pick — and will continue working out at the team’s facility as he recovers from a left foot fracture.

Though Kenny Atkinson is confident the former Michigan star will be ready for the start of training camp, the new coach said that the Nets will not “rush anything.”

After all, the deal for the highrisk, potentially high- reward 6-foot-7 guard was made with many seasons in mind.

“I think Thaddeus is a heck of a player; he’s been a starter in this league. But I think our mindset was we’re looking down the line a little bit, looking into the future,” Atkinson said following Thursday’s practice in Brooklyn. “We really wanted to get into the draft. We wanted to get a young piece that we thought could help us going forward.

“Where we’re going, we’re happy with that kind of direction. It was difficult giving up a guy that start- ed in this league. There’s no doubt about it, but I think we’re looking down the line.”

Trading away a veteran who averaged 15.1 points and nine rebounds per game, the Nets acquired a 21-year-old who was selected 20th overall despite needing three foot surgeries over the past two years.

LeVert was limited to 33 games in his final two seasons in college, resulting in multiple projections he would slip into the second round, but the Nets believe the injuries weren’t serious enough to warrant passing on the talented guard.

LeVert’s most recent surgery in March was performed by Nets team doctor Martin O’Malley.

“We do our due diligence on every guy, and I think that’s part of the draft process. You’re getting all the medical information, you’re talking with everybody, and you’re talking with the people at Michigan,” Atkinson said. “We got all the information and we were all like, ‘Yes, let’s do this.’ Judging the risk, or lack thereof, we felt like it was a good decision.

“I know where we had him on our board. It was high. I know a lot of teams say [it], but we got our guy. That was a guy we were targeting and we’re thrilled to have him.”