The Brooklyn Nets spent last season fully in development mode. They gave an NBA-high 6,716 minutes to rookies, finished 20-62, and ended up 13th in the East. That plan made sense for the long term, but the actual basketball was tough to watch. They posted a 108.2 offensive rating, a 118.2 defensive rating, and a -10.0 net rating, all near the bottom of the league. Their 52.0% effective field-goal percentage, 16.1% turnover rate, and low defensive rating showed they just couldn’t shoot, take care of the ball, or get stops consistently.
They entered the offseason with a bunch of young players, one proven scorer in Michael Porter Jr., the No. 6 pick, and enough money to get involved in almost any deal. Sean Marks didn’t go all-in on one big star. He also didn’t keep the tank going. He brought in Julius Randle, drafted Mikel Brown Jr., added Keon Ellis and Moritz Wagner, and kept Day’Ron Sharpe and Josh Minott on short contracts.
What they have now is a roster that finally looks better on offense and should win a lot more than 20 games. The defense still has some real holes after losing Nic Claxton, but Brooklyn clearly upgraded the talent, the shooting, and the half-court creation. Whether they can actually surprise people and hang around the Play-In will depend on whether head coach Jordi Fernandez can build a playable defense with young guards and an undersized center group.
Drafting Mikel Brown Jr. At No. 6
Mikel Brown Jr. was exactly the kind of pick the Nets needed. The Louisville freshman guard has tons of primary-creator upside instead of being another low-usage prospect who needs someone else to create everything. He averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.2 steals in 29.2 minutes across 21 games at the NCAA level, shooting 41.0% from the field, 34.4% from three, and 84.4% from the free-throw line. The field-goal percentage wasn’t great, but the free-throw shooting and the way he runs pick-and-roll give him a better offensive projection than that three-point number alone.
His real value is that he attacks defenses in ways last year’s draft class couldn’t do consistently as rookies. Egor Demin averaged 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 39.9% from the field and 38.5% from three. He’s got size, vision, and shooting, but he only had an 18.2% usage and still looks more comfortable connecting plays than taking over with scoring. Brown can pressure the paint, run high pick-and-roll and create his own pull-ups, which lets Demin use that 6-foot-8 frame as a secondary creator instead of forcing him to run every set.
Summer League numbers always need context, but Brown still showed why they took him. He scored 20 against the Knicks and later dropped 16 points, five assists, two steals, and a block in just 19 minutes against the Kings. He also went 3-of-15 in a physical loss to the Rockets. That kind of swing is normal for a 20-year-old still on a minutes limit and figuring out how to finish against stronger defenders.
I like this pick. The Nets could’ve gone with Darius Acuff Jr., who was a true sensation in this year’s class, but regardless of the choice, they finally took someone with enough on-ball talent to actually change the rebuild. Brown isn’t guaranteed to become an All-Star, and his defense, strength, and finishing still need time. But a 20-win team can’t just draft another prospect with role-player skills as they did recently. They needed upside, and Brown had one of the highest offensive ceilings available at No. 6.
Grade: A-
Trading Nic Claxton For Julius Randle
The Nets sent Nic Claxton to the Bulls and the No. 33 pick to the Timberwolves, and got Julius Randle plus the No. 28 pick (Joshua Jefferson) in return. Randle posted 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 79 games for Minnesota, shooting 48.1% from the field, 31.5% from three, and 80.2% from the line in 2025-26. Claxton gave them 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 69 games while shooting 57.1%.
On pure talent, Brooklyn won the trade. Randle is a three-time All-Star who can create his own shot, run offense from the elbows, and punish switches with his physical tools (oh, and they also moved up five spots in the draft). Randle gives Brown and Demin a strong screen-setter who can short-roll, attack slower forwards, and find shooters after drawing help. He also gives them someone who can still get a decent look late in the clock aside from Porter Jr., whose future may be uncertain.
The contract is the tricky part with Randle, who will make $33.3 million next season and has a $35.8 million player option for 2027-28. Claxton was set to make $23.3 million and $21.1 million over those same two years. Brooklyn raised its short-term payroll and traded a 27-year-old defensive center for a 31-year-old power forward. That’s not the usual move for a rebuilding team.
The fit has clear limits, too. A starting group of Brown, Demin, Porter Jr., Randle, and Day’Ron Sharpe would have three high-usage creators. Randle shot 31.5% from three, Brown shot 34.4% in college, and Sharpe made only 23.1% of his limited attempts. Porter and Demin can space the floor, but defenses will still pack the paint on Randle drives unless Brown becomes a real pull-up threat pretty quickly.
The bigger concern is defense. Claxton finished fourth in Nets history with 611 blocks. He could switch onto guards, protect the rim and cover for young perimeter guys. Randle rebounds and can hold up against stronger forwards, but he’s not a defensive anchor. Sharpe and Wagner haven’t shown they can protect the rim for full games either. Brooklyn added scoring and draft value, but they basically swapped their biggest weakness from shot creation to interior defense.
I still give the trade a positive grade. They bought low on a 21-point scorer without giving up a first-round pick, moved up in the draft, and added a veteran who can take some of the offensive load off two young guards. It’s not a perfect rebuild move, but the short contract means it can’t become a long-term problem, and they can always move him again if the fit doesn’t work.
Grade: B
Signing Keon Ellis On A Pretty Good Contract
One of the smarter, underrated moves of the summer was the Nets landing Keon Ellis after he became a very coveted trade asset last season. His skills line up almost perfectly with the holes in the projected starting group, too, with 6.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 72 games last season, shooting 44.0% from the field and 36.3% from three. Those numbers aren’t big, but Ellis isn’t here to run the offense. He’s here to guard the other team’s best perimeter scorer, create deflections, and knock down open threes while being a mentor for the unproven rookies.
Two years and $18 million with a mutual option is solid money for a 26-year-old 3-and-D wing who already has playoff experience. Rotation wings keep getting more expensive every year, and Ellis also gives Fernandez some needed flexibility. He can start next to Brown if the rookie needs a defensive partner, play next to Demin when they want more size, or close games when Brooklyn needs stops. A Brown-Demin-Porter-Randle-Sharpe group has too many defensive targets. Putting Ellis in for one of the young guards balances things without killing the spacing.
There’s almost no downside. He’s young enough to stick around and cheap enough to move later if needed. The Nets needed someone who could defend without controlling the ball, and Ellis is the clearest example of Marks understanding exactly what this roster was missing.
Grade: A-
Signing Moritz Wagner From The Magic
Moritz Wagner signed for two years and $19 million after averaging 6.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in 11.9 minutes across 36 games for the Magic last year. He shot 42.6% from the field, 31.4% from three, and 81.9% from the line after coming back from a torn ACL. Those numbers are still well below the 12.9 points he averaged before the injury in 2024-25, but he’s still a nice option to have among a very young group.
As a backup big man, he still brings useful things with the way he runs the floor, draws fouls, sets solid screens, and attacks slower centers from the perimeter. His willingness to shoot gives Brown, Demin, and Randle a little more space than a traditional backup five would. He also passes and moves enough to keep second-unit possessions from getting stagnant.
The problem is that Brooklyn needed rim protection more than another offense-first forward. Wagner averaged 0.1 blocks last season, Sharpe averaged 0.4, and Randle averaged 0.2. That means the Nets could go long stretches without a reliable weak-side shot blocker. Noah Clowney averaged 0.7 blocks, but he weighs only 210 pounds and shot just 39.6% from the field and 32.9% from three.
The second year has a mutual option, which limits the risk, but $9.5 million a year feels a little high for a backup center coming off a serious knee injury. He’ll help the offense and the locker room. He just doesn’t fix the biggest frontcourt problem.
Grade: B-
Re-Signing Day’Ron Sharpe On A Short Deal
With Nic Claxton’s exit in the early trade, Day’Ron Sharpe earned the chance of starting after putting up 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks in only 18.7 minutes a night. He shot 60.1% from the field with a 63.8% true-shooting percentage. On a per-36 basis, that jumps to 16.8 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 4.5 assists.
His best skill is still offensive rebounding, as he averaged 2.8 offensive boards in under 19 minutes (that projects to 5.3 per 36) and that should help an offense full of young guards who are going to miss some tough shots. He’s also gotten better as a passer, which makes him more useful in handoffs and short-roll situations than his average suggests.
Two years and $20 million is a good commitment for a 24-year-old center with starter-level rebounding and finishing. Even if he ends up as a high-level backup, $10 million a year is fine. If he actually starts and plays well, the deal looks even better.
He still has to show he can defend without fouling and keep that energy for 28-30 minutes. He averaged 2.4 fouls in 18.7 minutes, and his limited vertical rim protection means the perimeter guys can’t keep giving up straight-line drives. Still, the Nets didn’t overpay, didn’t lock themselves into a long deal, and finally gave internal development a real chance.
Grade: A
Re-Signing Josh Minott
He didn’t have a shot of showing his full potential in Boston, but Josh Minott averaged 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 17.0 minutes across 49 games, shooting 50.0% from the field and 41.8% from three for the Nets. His 65.3% true-shooting percentage was excellent even if the three-point volume stayed low at 3.1 attempts per game.
Two years and $9 million with a team option on the second year gives the Nets almost all the control. They can keep him if he develops or walk away without dead money if the shooting drops off.
He fits because Brooklyn needs athletic forwards who can defend multiple spots around Porter and Randle. He’s not a polished creator, but he doesn’t need to be. Brown, Demin, Randle, and Porter are already going to use most of the possessions. Minott just needs to run, cut, rebound, defend, and keep knocking down open threes.
A 41.8% three-point percentage probably won’t stick forever, but even league-average shooting would make him playable because of the athleticism and defensive activity he already brings. For $4.5 million a year with a team option, this is an easy development bet.
Grade: A-
Letting Ziaire Williams and Jalen Wilson walk
The Nets let Ziaire Williams and Jalen Wilson leave, as Williams signed a one-year minimum with the Lakers, and Wilson went to the Hawks on a two-way. Williams averaged a career-high 10.2 points last season and made 103 threes, and Wilson finished his Nets career at 7.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists across 176 games.
Losing Williams means saying goodbye to a 24-year-old wing who had shown some growth. But the Nets already have Porter, Minott, Terance Mann, Drake Powell, and Keon Ellis fighting for those minutes. Paying Williams more than the minimum would’ve just created another rotation traffic jam, especially when Brown and Demin need enough touches to develop.
Wilson’s exit is much more understandable. He never locked in one elite NBA skill for this rebuilding project at 25 years old. He could score in stretches and had size to play either forward spot, but the shooting and defense stayed too inconsistent despite some great flashes in the past.
Brooklyn kept the players with clearer roles and let two fringe pieces go find bigger opportunities elsewhere. Williams might outplay that minimum deal with the Lakers, but that doesn’t automatically make the Nets’ decision wrong.
Grade: B
Overall Grade
The Nets started the offseason with a 20-win roster that ranked 30th or near it in almost every important offensive category. They added a 21.1-point scorer, a lottery guard with real creator upside, a defensive wing, a backup center, and two young rotation pieces without giving away a future first-round pick. They still own 15 first-round picks through 2033, so none of these moves took away their ability to chase a bigger star later.
The Randle trade is the one that keeps the overall grade out of the A range. They improved the offense, but losing Claxton created a defensive problem that Sharpe and Wagner might not solve. A Randle-Porter frontcourt could also struggle against fast teams and elite pick-and-roll guards. They still haven’t extended Porter, who’s in the final year of his deal, and Chris Haynes has reported that a trade could become possible if talks don’t progress.
Still, the overall direction feels right. Brown and Demin remain the main development pieces. Randle and Porter give them enough scoring so every night doesn’t turn into pure experiment. Ellis, Minott and Mann can defend around them, and Sharpe will finally get the minutes to show whether he can be a long-term starter.
Overall Grade: B+
The projected starters look like Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day’Ron Sharpe, with Nolan Traore, Keon Ellis, Terance Mann, Josh Minott, Noah Clowney, and Moritz Wagner as the main bench group. That lineup has way more shot creation than last year. The Randle-Porter combo alone gives them two proven 20-point scorers who can punish soft defenses.
The offense should climb from 30th toward the middle of the league. I can’t project the defense anywhere close to average, though. Sharpe has never played starter minutes, Wagner isn’t a rim protector, Randle conserves energy on that end, and both young guards will make mistakes. Ellis and Minott can help on the perimeter, but they can’t erase every problem behind the first line of defense.
Brooklyn should be much more competitive and could stay near the Play-In conversation into March, especially if Porter stays healthy after the hamstring injury that ended his season. I’d project somewhere around 30 to 36 wins, a 10-to-16-win jump that would make them one of the most improved teams in the league. That probably still leaves them 10th to 12th in the East rather than safely in the playoffs, which it isn’t their goal anyway.
So yes, they can be a surprise team, but the surprise has to be defined the right way. They’re not ready to win 40 games or challenge the top six. The defense has too many unanswered questions for that. Getting to 35 wins, developing Brown and Demin, building a stable offensive identity, and still having Play-In possibilities in April would already make this offseason a success.
The Nets stopped building a roster designed only to lose and started building one that can develop while competing. After a 20-62 season, that’s the right next step.