Julius Randle is arriving in Brooklyn with a bigger job description than the box score.
The Nets brought in a three-time All-Star from the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this offseason, but his first media availability as a Net made clear they’re counting on more than points and rebounds. Randle is being asked to help steer one of the NBA’s youngest teams, and he sounds ready for it.
Speaking during NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, Randle laid out the role he expects to play for a roster full of developing pieces. He’s not new to this kind of setting, and he believes the experience he’s built over 12 seasons can matter just as much as his production.
"I definitely feel like from a leadership standpoint I can help a lot more," Randle said. "Just being through it and having the experience."
That message fits with what general manager Sean Marks and head coach Jordi Fernández told him they wanted when they brought him in: a veteran who can show younger players how to carry themselves every day.
"Just really show them how to be a pro," Randle said. "How to attack every single day, how to ride the ups and downs of the season and stay level-headed."
Randle said his conversations with Fernández have only reinforced the idea that Brooklyn can compete while it develops.
"Talking to him, we got a chance to win every single game," Randle said. "To have that confidence from your coach is amazing."
That’s the tone he wants around the group. Even with the Nets expected by many to lean into development this season, Randle said he sees no reason Brooklyn can’t chase wins while helping its younger players grow.
"I think we coming in trying to win," Randle said. "However we can help give the younger guys experience and confidence and help them fast-track to contributing to winning basketball, that's really all that matters."
Randle said he didn’t follow the Eastern Conference closely while he was in Minnesota, but he already knew Brooklyn had talent. He pointed to rookie Egor Demin, along with veterans Michael Porter Jr. and Terance Mann, as players he’s eager to share the floor with.
He’s already started reaching out to the next wave, too. After the NBA Draft, Randle contacted first-round pick Mikel Brown Jr. to congratulate him and let him know he could lean on him.
"I really just want to be able to be a vet that he can come and talk to," Randle said.
That kind of support is part of the job now. Randle said he wants to help Brooklyn’s younger players deal with frustration, build confidence and adjust to the league, and he even reached back to a lesson from his own rookie year. Veteran guard Ronnie Price once told him that "the first year is the longest year," advice Randle said turned out to be true.
Now in Year 13, he wants to pass that perspective along.
There’s still plenty of basketball in the picture, and Randle believes one of his most overlooked strengths is his passing. He said he enjoys setting teammates up and getting them involved.
"I really love to pass the basketball," Randle said. "I really enjoy getting guys going."
That will matter once training camp opens and he starts building chemistry with his new teammates and learning Fernández’s offense. Randle said that process will be a major focus.
"I feel like I can really help make other people on the team better," Randle said.
The move to Brooklyn also didn’t catch him completely off guard. Randle said he had heard his name in trade rumors throughout last season and had a few days to prepare before the deal became official. After five seasons in New York, he said this return to the city feels different now than it would have earlier in his career.
"It feels like such a great opportunity," Randle said. "It's a city I'm already really familiar with. It's a situation that I'm familiar with."
He also shrugged off the noise that comes with being a veteran who’s been around the league for a while.
"I'm 13 years in," Randle said. "I'm kind of used to that."
And when the subject turned to facing the Knicks after spending five seasons across the East River, Randle kept bringing the focus back to Brooklyn and the habits he wants the team to build.
"If we're about the right things and do the right things every single day," Randle said, "the results will follow."
In Other News...
Michael Porter Jrs Nets Future Suddenly Comes With Real Tension
Michael Porter Jr. is already in the middle of a contract year in Brooklyn, and the early read on his future has become one of the more interesting subplots around the Nets. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, and general manager Sean Marks are still talking through what comes next, while Porter has made it clear he feels good about the fit and is optimistic about sticking around.
The appeal is obvious from Brooklyns side, too. The Nets have used offensive concepts that put Porter in spots where he could thrive, and that matters as they continue leaning into player development. Even so, any long-term commitment is going to come with real scrutiny, because the front office will have to decide whether the current roster is close enough to justify keeping him as part of the next phase. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Are Still Setting Themselves Up For A Massive 2027 Swing
Brooklyns long game is starting to come into focus, and it still points well beyond the next few transaction cycles. Early cap projections from NBA salary cap expert Keith Smith have the Nets positioned to enter the 2027 offseason with roughly $68.6 million in room, a reflection of how deliberately the front office has avoided piling on long-term money while stockpiling young talent and draft capital.
Michael Porter Jr. is one of the obvious variables in that picture, since a future extension could chip away at the flexibility Brooklyn has protected so carefully. Mo Wagner is another piece to watch, because the structure of his deal could also shift the outlook, but for now the bigger story is that the Nets have left themselves with the kind of optionality that can change the direction of a franchise in a single summer. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Marks Faces Familiar Nets Crossroads Fans Can't Ignore
Brooklyns front office is again balancing the present against the future, with multiple draft picks in hand and a clear desire to make the roster more competitive without boxing itself in. The addition of Julius Randle was meant to help push the team forward this season, while Michael Porter Jr.s long-term place in the picture remains unsettled, a reminder that Sean Marks is still sorting out which pieces fit the next version of the Nets.
Marks has made it clear the organization still values flexibility, especially if a true game-changing player ever becomes available. That approach has defined plenty of Brooklyns recent roster decisions, and it leaves the Nets in a familiar spot: good enough to keep exploring upgrades, but still weighing whether to use their assets now or keep waiting for the kind of opportunity that can reshape everything. [Read more 🡒]