At the 2023 trade deadline, the Brooklyn Nets admitted defeat, trading Kevin Durant and ending an era that was much stranger, sadder and shorter than anyone had envisioned. Since then, they’ve traded the two players they got from the Phoenix Suns in that deal (Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson) and stockpiled draft picks. They are in full rebuild mode, and the most valuable of their league-high 32 picks in the next seven years might be their own first-rounder in the 2026 draft.
Brooklyn could be back in win-now mode as soon as 2026-27, given that it has the tools to add talent next summer and does not own its 2027 first-round pick. This season, though, the plan isn’t hard to figure out. The Nets will play a lot of young guys, and they will be near the bottom of the standings. “Success for us looks like, ‘How do we find, how do we determine who are the next Nets?'” General Manager Sean Marks said at media day. For the five rookies they drafted in June, for the returning Cam Thomas (who signed the qualifying offer after a long standoff), for the newly acquired Michael Porter Jr. and for the rest of the roster, 2025-26 will be something of an audition. It’s about proving to Brooklyn — or other teams — that even when you’re not winning games, you can be a winning player.
The state of play
Last year: New coach Jordi Fernández earned rave reviews right away, as the Nets went 9-10 in the first five weeks with vastly improved vibes. Players raved about the freedom he gave them, while opposing coaches praised him for presiding over a tough, physical, organized team. The wins were harder to come by after trading Dennis Schröder and Dorian Finney-Smith and taking a conservative approach to injury management but, even after losing 21 of its final 26 games, Brooklyn finished 26-56, the sixth-worst record in the league, giving the team just a 37.2% chance of picking in the top four.
The offseason: The Nets got the No. 8 pick, which they used to draft 6-foot-9 playmaker Egor Dëmin. They then drafted 6-foot-4 playmaker Nolan Traore with the No. 19 pick, 6-foot-6 playmaker Ben Saraf with the No. 26 pick and 6-foot-11 playmaker Danny Wolf with the No. 27 pick. They also drafted 3-and-D wing Drake Powell with the No. 22 pick, which they acquired from the Hawks by absorbing Terance Mann’s contract. By swapping Johnson, who was coming off a career year, for Porter, they picked up the Nuggets’ unprotected 2032 pick. By taking Haywood Highsmith off the Heat’s hands, they picked up Miami’s 2032 second-round pick. Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams returned on identical deals (two years, $12.5 million, team option). Thomas bet on himself by taking the QO, D’Angelo Russell left for the Mavericks and Keon Johnson got waived when the Nets had an opportunity to grab Kobe Bufkin off the scrap heap.
Vegas over/under: 20.5, per BetMGM
The conversation
Nets believer: The Nets are doing exactly what a rebuilding team should do. They nailed their coaching hire and they’ve been stacking smart, future-focused moves for some time now. In that there are a ton of young players and a few vets competing for minutes, this is similar to the beginning of the Kenny Atkinson era. The difference is that, this time, instead of being in draft-pick debt, they have accumulated a zillion picks. The future is bright in Brooklyn.
Nets skeptic: Do you have anything to say about the actual team that will be playing basketball in Brooklyn this season? Sure, the Nets got good value in the Johnson-Porter swap, but that deal is not going to pay off until 2032 unless they trade the pick before then. Right now, the reality is that they might have already wasted one rebuilding season by falling to No. 8 in the draft and reaching for Egor Dëmin. And if they don’t get good lottery luck next time, it’ll be much more of a catastrophe. Houston has swap rights on their 2027 first-round pick, so this is Brooklyn’s last shot. Forgive me if I can’t get excited about a team that is incentivized to be as awful as possible.
Nets believer: If you’re going to concern-troll the Dëmin pick and the Nets’ rebuild in general by pointing to the worst-case scenarios, you should at least mention the best-case scenarios too. What if Dëmin, a genius passer, is a better shooter than people thought and becomes a dangerous downhill driver when he grows into his body? (He hasn’t even turned 20 yet!) What if Brooklyn gets Darryn Peterson next June? Based on how Jordi Fernández’s first year went, I think the actual team on the court this season will play hard, share the ball and annoy opponents with its physicality. I also think that, given all the flexibility and draft capital that the front office has at its disposal, the 2027 pick swap isn’t that big of a deal.
Nets skeptic: It’s easy to say that when you’re imagining Peterson on the team instead of, like, Dash Daniels (or whoever the 2026 equivalent of Dëmin turns out to be). But let’s stick with the current team for a second: Are you sure that the Nets are going to have the same identity they had last season now that Porter is in Johnson’s place? Am I supposed to believe that a team that has Porter and Cam Thomas in the starting lineup is going to play a defense-first, unselfish style? Come on. We all get what the Nets are doing. They’re going to be in a race to the bottom with the Wizards and Jazz, and that’s fine! Just don’t try to tell me this is going to be fun.
Nets believer: If Kobe Bufkin finds a home in Brooklyn the way Spencer Dinwiddie and D’Angelo Russell did eight years ago, it’ll be a fun story. If Danny Wolf’s unorthodox game translates to the NBA level, it’ll be an incredibly fun story. (HIs college highlights are insane.) I can totally see Nic Claxton bouncing back from a disappointing, injury-filled season; Thomas continuing to make strides as a playmaker; Drew Timme building on his strong summer league; and Noah Clowney becoming a more reliable stretch/switch big. I know you hate Dëmin for some reason, but I will always root for players with that kind of creativity and vision. So yeah, I think Nets basketball could be pretty fun this year! And if they aren’t playing Nets basketball with Thomas and Porter in the starting lineup, then Fernández will change the starting lineup.
Nets skeptic: Wow. Well, if either of those guys gets benched, I’ll be excited to see the quotes about it! And to be clear, I don’t hate Dëmin whatsoever. I think he would have been a perfectly fine pick for the Nets at No. 19. It’s not his fault that he was taken No. 8, and it’s not his fault that it’s unclear what exactly he’s supposed to do for this team in the short term. Based on summer league, he’s not going to play point guard right away, which sort of makes sense because Brooklyn has a million guards and he has issues with ball pressure. He’s in a weird place as an unproven off-ball player and the Nets have a weird roster. There are a ton of secondary creators, but I’m not sure there is anybody who can consistently create advantages. If things break right, Brooklyn could have a bright future, but this rebuild could also get really, really dark.