The Brooklyn Nets have some work to do if they're going to steal New York City back from their Manhattan rivals.
Though the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, the buzzer has sounded for several other teams on the Association's ledger.
As it stands, 14 teams are focused on a different kind of ball during the hardwood holidays, as ping-pong balls will decide their respective fates at the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery (May 10). This year's draft class is stocked with prime talents that will hopefully lead these teams out of the mire, but it's worth analyzing how they got into these situations in the first place.
With that in mind, Ballislife leads into the 2026 Draft Lottery by looking back on the voyages of the damned, going in order of top lottery odds. Part three gets metropolitan with the Brooklyn Nets. ...
Team: Brooklyn Nets
Record: 20-62
Last Playoff Appearance: 2023
Chance at No. 1 Pick: 14%
What Went Wrong
Anyone hoping that the New York Liberty's male co-tenants could make up for the bearers seafoam's heartbreaking WNBA championship defense was left sorely disappointed.
Like several of its contemporaries at the bottom, Brooklyn's voyage was damned from the drop as the franchise continues to pick up the pieces from the failed Kevin Durant/James Harden/Kyrie Irving collaboration. The sole condolence is perhaps the fact it was firmly entrenched in the mire of an undeniable rebuild after occupying some uncomfortable purgatory that led to the famous trade of Mikal Bridges to the rival New York Knicks.
Brooklyn was never meant to do much this season, designed to simply bleed and recuperate assets as it continued to host what essentially stood as an NBA day care center on Atlantic Avenue. Of the 22 Nets that took the floor this season, a dozen were 24 or younger and none of them had reached 30. The result was an anemic offensive performance that ranked at or near the bottom of almost every major category in both the traditional and advanced departments.
That might've been expected as the Nets again try to drag themselves out of the basketball underworld, but the way Brooklyn went about it might still cause consternation among a fanbase that has been given little, if any, reason to carry lasting optimism: there were certain points where some of the Nets' rookies, including five draft picks that began to produced the yields of the Bridges trade, got lost in the already spare veteran fold, as only Egor Demin and Nolan Traore ranked in the team's top 10 in minutes per game.
Top Silver Lining
The Nets' stockpiled prospective talents continues to be the franchise's saving grace in a way: Brooklyn still has plenty of picks to bargain with and certain newcomers took advantage of their opportunities when offered: eighth overall pick Demin should at least get some postseason team award consideration for his shooting prowess, while Danny Wolf appeared in the top 10 among rookie defensive ratings (min. 15 mins/game), showing strides in a weak area that affected his draft stock before an injury ended his year.
But Brooklyn also has a hopeful quandary in the from of Michael Porter Jr., who carries the unenviable title of Nets franchise face after a trade from Denver (as well as the dreary end to the Cam Thomas saga) sent him east over the offseason. Unlike Bridges, Porter's numbers responded well to metropolitan headlining duties, as he averaged career-bests in several major categories, including 24.2 points a game. What the Nets do with Porter could wind up defining the next fate of this seemingly never-ending rebuild (more on that below) but, for the time being, it appears that they're getting their money's worth when it comes to his services.
Looking Ahead
Despite seeing their win total fall by six, the Nets opted to stretch continuity by re-upping with head coach Jordi Fernandez and his staff for another year. Terance Mann, one of the few active Nets to drink from the NBA postseason chalice, is under contract and it shouldn't be too hard to bring back fellow veteran and restricted free agent Jalen Wilson, who also succeeded from the outside after the team picked up his option.
Whether that continuity extends to Porter remains to be seen and the final verdict could mold the franchise's future. Following a career-best outing, Porter is eligible for a nine-figure extension valued at over $230 million. A decision must be made over whether the soon-to-be 28-year-old Porter is the headliner (or sharing the duties with an acquisition of the drafted or veteran variety) the Nets envision for the future or if they willingly begin his next tour on a de facto lame duck deal that could make him trade deadline bait.
Noah Clowney is approaching an extension on his rookie deal while fellow homegrown post project Day'Ron Sharpe can be picked up on an affordable $6.3 million team options, though it's fair to assume any negotiations will go beyond that deal. Another season among the sellers also continued to replenish the Nets' draft pick cabinet: general manager Sean Marks has amassed 13 first-rounders through the 2032 draft, the latest first-rounder coming in from the Rockies in the aforementioned Porter deal. That choice is unprotected, much like the haul that came from the Knicks across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Is There Hope?
It truly depends on what sort of strides the Nets feel like, or are able, to make in this offseason and the results of the assessment of just how close this roster is to its final form.
The Nets might finally have a little something to play for next season, as their 2027 first-round pick will move to Houston if its not as favorable. Exactly what they can do with that choice remains to be seen after this season hinted that they're far more from a playmaking veteran like Porter away from making any sort of move on the Eastern leaderboard.
At the same time, there's a case to be made for maintaining at least some semblance of continuity: Brooklyn won seven of its eleven December games before the injury bug began to bite, a stretch that included post-Christmas triumphs over conference semifinal participants Philadelphia and Minnesota on the road.
No one move is going to leap the Nets back into the good graces of both metropolitan and national observers. But fully committing to the rebuild bit hints that there's at least some semblance of a plan to make things right, even if it makes for some brutal basketball in the meantime.
Past Lottery Looks
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
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