The Brooklyn Nets’ final practice of 2025, even as it followed a loss to the Golden State Warriors, was quite chipper. Drake Powell and Nolan Traore got up extra shots together, working on their skills but also taking the time to laugh with each other and their coaches. Danny Wolf could hardly concentrate on free-throws with Terance Mann giving him the business between attempts. Even Jordi Fernández got into holiday spirit after being asked for his New Year’s resolution.
“Just get better. Get better myself,
and help all these guys do better every single day. And, you know, keep building. Things don’t happen overnight, but we have a very good owner and management and group of coaches and players. And I can see the future a little bit, I ordered a crystal ball for Christmas, and I can see a lot of good things coming.
Fernández didn’t even grin at the punchline. Partly because that’s just how he is, an even-keeled public speaker whether he’s annoyed with a question or if he finds it insightful, or even when he’s having fun with it. But also because he wasn’t just telling a joke.
Crystal ball or not, he and the Brooklyn Nets believe that 2026 will be their best year yet, that 2027 will be even better, and so on. It was a small shock to hear Fernández, always laser-focused on the present challenge, to invoke ownership and management on an otherwise routine practice day.
In doing so, the Nets Head Coach hinted at a larger truth: For the first time since the Brooklyn Nets traded James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers nearly four years ago, the franchise isn’t chasing its own tail. They are not erasing a previous mistake by making a bigger one, but building something from scratch. Now, each goal — not mistake — is bigger than the last.
“You have to have short-term goals, and midterm. And then the long-term, I’m not a big fan, because things can change. But I like to think that way, because you can see the results and you can get excited and you can challenge yourself,” said Fernández.
In 2026, the Nets will begin to compete in earnest. They’ll make their own draft pick in June, hopefully at the very top of the first round. Then it’ll be time to take the next step. And the roster Brooklyn has now, the one that went 7-4 in December with the NBA’s best defense, is largely the roster they’ll have next season.
Sure, it seems unlikely that Cam Thomas will remain a Net, and there very well may be a Nic Claxton or Michael Porter Jr. trade, and yes, GM Sean Marks could swing a big trade or free agent signing. But there will be no sweeping roster overhaul.
Brooklyn’s recent history — the Harden/Durant/Irving trades, the failed Mikal Bridges team — doesn’t hang over Danny Wolf’s head. But he too feels the optimism of a franchise on the come-up: “Obviously it’s been a whirlwind of a year, and I’m super grateful to be part of the Brooklyn Nets organization. Obviously, it was a year full of ups and downs, as in any year, but it’s been a great year. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Wolf has cooled off after his explosive start to the season, shooting just 12-of-45 from the field in his last six games. Still, he’s not too worried: “I mean, for me, I know how much time I spend on my shot and how much time I put in the gym, so I know they’re going to fall. Whether I’m a slump or not doesn’t really affect me.”
Brooklyn’s successful December energized the team, and they even got a little bit of national spotlight from both media members and opposing coaches like Steve Kerr…
Regression is coming. Brooklyn will not continue to be one of the league’s top-tier defenses through the rest of the season, and though Marks’ front office hasn’t put forth a shameless tank, their 2026 first-round pick is a vital pathway to improving next year’s roster. Nets basketball in March and April won’t be as pretty as the hoops they’re playing now.
Hell, the rookies will hit a wall, especially with Brooklyn having played the fewest games in the NBA so far. Egor Dëmin might shoot 0-7 from three on the second night of a back-to-back and suddenly, the national media might not be giving Brooklyn such friendly attention. And heaven forbid, what if they make another first-round draft pick widely viewed as a reach? Is the rebuild doomed?
It’s tough to see any of that changing the mood for the Brooklyn Nets. Not with Jordi Fernández at the helm, and not with all five rookies having shown flashes so far. If you feel you’re headed in the right direction, bumps in the road are nothing to worry about.
Or as Wolf puts it: “I’m going to shoot the ball, and I know that I’m going to make them. So I think the easiest way to — I don’t want to say I’m in a slump by any means — but the easiest way is just going to keep shooting them … Got to keep trusting it. Got to keep putting in work.”
Things have gone haywire for the Brooklyn Nets before. You might be aware. There is no guarantee they’ll make a great draft pick next June or even make the Play-In Tournament in 2027. Perhaps no star player will pine to make Barclays Center his next home, regardless of the compelling out-of-timeout plays Jordi Fernández draws up.
But for the first time in years, the Brooklyn Nets are on the verge of something fresh, something that the organization — from owner to management to coach to player — believes in.
“We’re excited about 2026.” — Jordi Fernández
