The Brooklyn Nets are in the thick of their rebuild and there is no shame in that at all.

At this point, the Nets should know a thing or two about the pitfalls of rushing a rebuild with the hope of becoming an instant contender. Brooklyn is now choosing to exercise patience and while this might come with growing pains–and likely a third consecutive playoff-less season–the ultimate payoff down the road should be worth it.

WHAT’S NEW?

After several months of trade speculation, the Nets finally traded away Cam Johnson who was their last coveted trade piece. In exchange, they received Michael Porter Jr. and a future first round pick from the Denver Nuggets.

Porter was once projected to become an all-word scorer, but injuries have slowed his career so far. Now entering his seventh campaign, Porter will now have a chance to show the world what his true ceiling is as he is expected to be the first option on this Brooklyn team.

If Porter can flourish (and avoid making controversial comments), he just might be able to rehabilitate his image enough that he can become another trade asset for the Nets. Many contenders could use the services of a 6’10 forward who has shot 40.6% from three over his career and it would not come as a surprise if he is on another team by this February.

BIGGEST QUESTIONS

Last year’s leading scorer, Cam Thomas, was a restricted free agent this past offseason and wound up signing a one-year deal to return to Brooklyn. This season is going to be the most important one of his career so far as it is likely to decide whether his next contract will be with an NBA team or one from the EuroLeague.

Thomas is a bonafide scorer, having averaged 22.5 and 24 points per game over the past two seasons, yet the injuries that he suffered last year, along with the perceptions that he is merely a good-stats-bad-team type of player hound him. He has an opportunity to change the narrative about him this season and if he can prove to be a positive contributor on a better-than-expected Nets team, then his NBA career just might wind up becoming a long and fruitful one.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Brooklyn picked Egor Demin from BYU with the eighth overall pick of this year’s NBA Draft. The 19-year-old guard stands at 6’9 and has all the tools to become a franchise-altering point guard. He has great court vision, strong playmaking instincts, and a high basketball IQ which, combined with his height, could make him a highly impactful player in the NBA one day.

Demin will have a great opportunity to acclimatize himself to the NBA in a low pressure environment on this Brooklyn team and the hope is that this ultimately speeds up his maturation process.

The Nets also have four other first round picks from the 2025 draft on their roster (Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf) and there is no clearer signal than this that this is going to be a rebuilding campaign for this team. 

REASON FOR OPTIMISM/CONCERN

The Nets have young pieces in place such as Demin who are likely to be a major part of their team moving forward. They own their pick in next year’s draft as well which means that all of the losses that they are about to go through will, at the very least, net them another top lottery pick.