The Nets finished 26-56 last year. They had a fire sale at the trade deadline, saying goodbye to Cam Johnson (19 ppg), Dennis Schroder (18 pts, 7 assists), D’Angelo Russell (13 pts, 6 assists), Dorain Finney-Smith, Keon Johnson, and Ben Simmons. They lost 21 of their last 26 games.
However, they did come away with five 1st round picks in the 2025 draft, although four of them were between 19-27. They took four guards, including 6’9” Russian Egor Demin out of BYU at #8.
They also ended up with Michael Porter, Jr (18 pts, 7 rebounds in Denver). They still have Cam Thomas (24 pts on 44% overall and 35% on 3’s). Terance Mann, a career backup, starts at small forward and journeyman Nic Claxton starts at center. Ben Saraf, the 26th pick in this year's draft, started Wednesday in their opener. He’s a 6’6” guard.
The Nets lost their opener 136-117 in Charlotte. They allowed 77 points in the first half and trailed by 17. The second half was basically even. All the Hornets’ starters but one finished +10 to +14 while Michael Porter Jr and Cam Thomas were -19 for the Nets. Demin scored 14 points off the bench.
A couple of previews:
Someone has to score on bad teams, so [Michael] Porter Jr. will have the green light from jump…And while each of the five players Brooklyn got in the draft have solid skills, particularly Demin and Saraf, there’s no way the Nets planned to use all of their ’25 firsts. I’m pretty sure they hoped to use them to move up into the top five and get a real difference-maker who could accelerate the rebuild. That was a missed opportunity. Another tank season looms, with the stakes now even higher to get a top four pick in 2026. - The Athletic, which ranked the Nets offseason 22nd.
From NBA.com:
Key additions: Michael Porter Jr., Terance Mann, Egor Demin (No. 8 pick)
Key departures: Cam Johnson, D’Angelo Russell, Trendon Watford
Key question: How much do the rookies play?
Demin could be in the starting backcourt, but the Nets have several veterans who could occupy rotation spots ahead of the other four rookies they selected in the first round of the draft.
Bleacher Report gave the Nets a D+ for their offseason:
The Nets had the league's most cap space this summer and five first-round picks in the draft. With all of that flexibility, they managed to add...well, very little.
Maybe the front office will claim to be huge fans of Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann, but those players are only in Brooklyn because their last employers attached first-round picks to send them there. Porter is talented but overpaid, while Mann appears somewhere between plateauing and regressing.
While the Nets had the trade chips to move all over the draft board, they wound up keeping all five firsts they had and mostly spent them on players with overlapping skill sets (plenty of playmaking, not much shooting).
The Nets have some firepower between Michael Porter, Jr and Cam Thomas, but nobody else on their roster averaged more than 10 points per game last year. Against Charlotte they put 11 players on the floor for 14-26 minutes and two more got 7 and 9 minutes. They have five rookie first round picks and it looks like they’re using this season to see who the keepers are while still giving minutes to veterans MPJ, Thomas, Claxton, Noah Clowney, Ziaire Williams, and Mann.
As The Athletic said, “Another tank season looms.”
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
De'Andre Hunter - QUESTIONABLE (knee)
Darius Garland - OUT (toe)
Max Strus - OUT (foot)
BROOKLYN
Drake Powell - OUT (ankle)
Danny Wolf - OUT (ankle)
Haywood Highsmith - OUT (knee)