A year after the Brooklyn Nets’ 2025 offseason, the big picture is pretty clear: this was a team leaning hard into flexibility, taking swings in the draft, and betting that low-risk moves could still produce real value.
That approach started with the 2025 NBA Draft, where Brooklyn made history by selecting five players in the first round. The sheer number of picks was striking enough on its own, but the bigger question was always how many of those swings would actually pay off.
Early on, the answers are mixed. Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf all come off as puzzling choices at this stage, though Wolf’s issue isn’t production so much as opportunity - there just doesn’t appear to be an obvious path to minutes for him next season.
Egor Dëmin, meanwhile, has already pushed past expectations as a scorer and looks like a player trending toward becoming at least a high-quality starter for years to come. Nolan Traoré showed plenty of flashes in his rookie year as well, but most of his work next season will likely come off the bench.
That’s the gamble Brooklyn made with this group: upside first, certainty later. The top picks are positioned for clearer roles as sophomores, while the other three still have rotation spots to win if they want to stay on the floor.
The Nets also found value in the kind of trade that only a team with cap space can really pull off. Bringing in Brooklyn native Terance Mann and the draft rights to Drake Powell from the Atlanta Hawks while sending only cash considerations to the Boston Celtics is the sort of deal that looks like a steal on paper and, in Brooklyn’s case, still does.
Even with Mann and Powell struggling last season, the transaction doesn’t look bad in hindsight. Mann gave the youngest team in the league a steady veteran presence, and Powell still has the tools to grow into the kind of three-and-D piece every roster wants.
If there’s a knock on that move, it’s that Brooklyn didn’t fully cash in on the 22nd pick. Players such as Nique Clifford, Hugo González and Sion James were still on the board.
The other major move from that offseason came when the Denver Nuggets sent frontcourt stalwart Porter to Brooklyn for Johnson and an unprotected first-round pick in 2032. That deal was always about fit more than numbers, and it played out that way. Porter turned in a career year with the Nets, while Johnson settled back into a role he already knew from his time with the Phoenix Suns.
Even so, the long-term picture is still unsettled. The Nuggets went out in the playoffs early, and Brooklyn is now uncertain about Porter’s future because of contract disputes. What the Nets do have is a player who is still developing despite being on the older side, and even if he doesn’t end up as a long-term answer, he should remain a useful trade chip down the road.
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