The Brooklyn Nets are essentially starting the 2024 season at the ground floor. There is a wide gap between them and the NBA’s championship contenders, especially after dealing their best player, small forward Mikal Bridges, to the Knicks this past June. Admittedly, this season for the Nets is about rebuilding, which includes multiple first-round picks in the 2025 NBA draft, while developing talent and leaders on a roster that has many young players.
They finished 32-50 a season ago, 11th in the East and four games out of the final Play-In Tournament spot. In recent years, the Nets have experienced self-inflicted turmoil and constant overhaul of their roster and coaching staff. This season, first-year head coach Jordan Fernandez, who at 41 years old was a Denver Nuggets assistant from 2016–2022 and the Sacramento Kings’ associate head coach for the past two seasons, will be charged with the further development of promising young players, including 25-year-old center Nic Claxton, who is at the outset of his prime.
“Everyone has got a job to do,” said Nets general manager Sean Marks at the team’s media day late last month. “Our job out here and (Jordi Fernández’s) job on the court is to help develop a culture, develop an identity, and establish that as the season goes on. Ultimately, our goal—it’s been the same way every year—is to go out there and compete, and compete at the highest level, no matter what the stakes may be and no matter what is being put in front of you—to go and compete and establish that identity through that.” Marks said his job also entails discovering which players on the roster can be with the franchise for years to come. Returning this season is the Nets’ best scorer, 6-3 shooting guard Cam Thomas, who led them with a team-high 22.5 points per game average last year. The Nets’ key decision-makers, notably owner Joe Tsai and Marks, also hope Fernandez and his staff can grow a player such as 23-year-old guard Killian Hayes, the No.7 overall pick in the 2020 draft by the Detroit Pistons, who is still striving to make his mark in the league.
“Yeah, definitely a restart. Definitely something that’s refreshing, something that’s new, and treating it like a second draft, kind of,” said Hayes at media day. ”I did my first four years, and then just coming in here is just something new, bringing your energy, learning from different people.”
Two of the Nets’ more accomplished veterans—the much-maligned three-time All-Star, point forward Ben Simmons, and point guard Dennis Schröder—are likely to be dealt by the February 6, 2025, trade deadline to acquire more draft capital.
In addition, forwards Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith, entering their sixth and ninth years respectively in the league, could also be attractive trade pieces
The Nets complete their four-game preseason schedule tomorrow hosting the Toronto Raptors at the Barclays Center and open the regular season next Wednesday in Atlanta facing the Hawks.