The Brooklyn Nets came into the 2026 NBA offseason with the goal of improving the team as much as possible following a 2025-26 season in which they finished with a lowly 20-62 record. Brooklyn made some interesting moves this summer, including trading for former Minnesota Timberwolves forward Julius Randle, but it's fair to wonder if the Nets can beat out some of the other rebuilding teams.
"I trust the Nets to beat their very low expectations coming into the season … provided they don’t trade Michael Porter Jr. before opening night," Ricky O'Donnell wrote on the Nets for SB Nation. O'Donnell put together his rankings for the entire Eastern Conference and he predicted that Brooklyn would be better (No. 13) than the Chicago Bulls (No. 14) and Milwaukee
Bucks (No. 15).
"Porter enjoyed a career-year under Jordi Fernandez in Brooklyn last season one year after Cam Johnson enjoyed similar success," O'Donnell continued. "Fernandez is one of the best young coaches in the game, and he has a little more talent to work with this season with the arrival of Julius Randle. Add in a potential sophomore leap from Egor Demin, a possible center upgrade with Day’Ron Sharpe taking over for Nic Claxton, and the arrival of rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr., and I like Brooklyn more than the early prognostications."
As O'Donnell alluded to, the Nets are expected by many to be one of the worst teams in the league despite adding veterans like Randle and Keon Ellis into the mix. Head coach Jordi Fernandez has been given plenty of credit for how hard he has gotten his players to compete for him and there is another evidence to suggest that someone like Randle could have a resurgent year, statistically speaking.
The Bulls and Bucks, especially after trading superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat this season, will also be among the rebuilding teams in the conference so these matchups will be interesting to see. The Nets will be concerned will developing as many of the young players on the team as possible, but the general sense around the team is that they will be trying to win as many games as possible as well.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Could the Nets be better than the Bucks and Bulls this NBA season?
