The Brooklyn Nets have been among the league’s worst teams for the last three seasons. They have been directionless, have cycled through three coaches, and have not figured out whether any of their seven first-rounders since 2023 will be a part of a winning culture in the future. They traded for Michael Porter Jr. a season ago and then promptly won 20 games. Now, they add sixth-overall pick Mikel Brown Jr. and Julius Randle to a cast of misfits in hopes that they can steady this sinking ship.
They’re
going to have a tall task ahead of them in an Eastern Conference that grows stronger by the day. Their division is a nightmare, but for a group largely made up of young players, sometimes getting thrown into the fire is a good thing. Porter Jr. and Randle have both played in high-leverage games and will certainly be able to shoulder the load on most nights. Maybe the Nets can surprise some people, but their goal for the season should just be to find out what they have in all their young players.
Brooklyn Nets: Over/Under 24.5 wins (-105/-120)
To win the NBA Finals: +100000
Last Season: 20-62, missed playoffs
Key Additions: Mikel Brown Jr., Julius Randle, Mo Wagner
Key Losses: Nic Claxton
The Nets, if nothing else, will be annoying to play nightly. They have a lot of weird parts, none of which I am convinced are good, but all of which will do things to your defense that are hard to defend in the regular season. Porter Jr. is a flamethrower, Randle is a bowling ball, and who knows what any of their first- or second-year guys are going to give you. Brown Jr. gives them an exciting young piece at point guard alongside sophomore Egor Demin, which at least gives Brooklyn fans something to watch develop over the course of the year. Personally, I don’t love any of their picks from the last couple of seasons. But Julius Randle is a great player for sporadic wins, and Michael Porter Jr. has the ability to give you 30 in the snap of a finger. 25 wins in a league with less and less effort on a nightly basis should be doable for a team with as many intriguing parts as Brooklyn has. They may not be good, but they will keep it close on a lot of nights.
