There’ve been rumors going back to trade deadline about how the Nets plan to move beyond their deep rebuild next season, but Brian Lewis writes
more in detail on the team’s plan, quoting sources knowledgeable about things.Multiple league sources told The Post that the idea remains the same: The Nets intend to flip the switch and try to compete as soon as next season.
Just how aggressive their rebuild is, and exactly what it looks like, is going to be determined by four or five touch points over the next
18 months.
A year and a half timeframe would mean big decisions in the 2026 Draft and free agency as well as the 2027 Draft and free agency.
Each of said “touch points” will determine just how fast the Nets move as they accelerate in their rebuild must as they did in Sean Marks first rebuild between 2016 and 2019, going from 21 to 28 to 42 wins and with a mostly homegrown cast attract two of the NBA’s top stars and lay the groundwork for the addition of James Harden.
How the Nets rookies develop, what kind of lottery luck they get, what happens in the upcoming playoffs, if a star becomes available and free agency will all play roles in shaping how Brooklyn’s rebuild goes.
“Yes, it’s all of the above,” one source told The Post. “There’s going to be like five touch points where you go OK, where’s the team.”
This draft is loaded, and the Nets will be in the lottery; the 2027 free agent class could be stacked, and they’ll have flexibility. Whether they become aggressive this summer, next summer or the trade deadline in-between remains unclear.
What’s crystal clear is they expect to compete sooner rather than later. Think months, not years.
Lewis enumerates the Nets current situation including development of the Nets five first round rookies in 2025 and their lottery pick in June. (Brooklyn currently has three picks in the 2026 lottery, currently the third best odds at the top pick as well as picks at Nos. 33 and 44, putting them second in Tankathon’s draft power rankings.)
But one of the more intriguing aspects of Lewis’ intelligence dump is how they believe that the playoffs will determine how some of the league’s top stars react to various playoff scenarios.
Even though the Nets are nowhere near the playoffs, the postseason will shape their offseason. Underachieving can elicit breakups, and make stars available.
Sources told The Post that Brooklyn was interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell before entering their tank. If either became available — and the former is largely expected to — could the Nets circle back?
“They’ll have conversations [about stars],” one league source told The Post. “They already had conversations; they just weren’t quite the right time.”
Of course, Sean Marks & co. thought that those two superstars, specifically, would consider the Nets before but were wrong. Indeed, the Nets failure to pair Mitchell with his friend Mikal Bridges was one consideration in their willingness to trade Bridges to the Knicks and get their lottery picks back in 2025 and 2026.
Also, Lewis notes that beyond circumstances, there’s timing. As Lewis notes, the Nets may very well have to swap first round picks with the Rockets in 2027 which will put an end to tanking. Moreover, the 2027 draft is seen as mediocre at best. So, in the meantime, it will be about development and evaluation.
“Our wins are not just the ones you see in the standings, and we’ve had that clear from the beginning,” Lewis quotes Jordi Fernández. “I know at times it may sound foreign for other people, but we have a plan. We know what we’re doing, and we’re confident that we’re going to be good for a long time. It’s just [that] it’s a process.”
