The Brooklyn Nets are heading toward training camp in late September with more than just wins and losses on the line next season. As they begin preparing for the 2026-27 NBA campaign, the focus in Brooklyn will be on improving from last year while also developing the young players already in the building.
That puts the Nets’ 2025 NBA Draft class in a spotlight that could only get brighter over the course of the season. Brooklyn used five first-round picks in that draft, and while the early reaction has been uneven, it is far too soon to stamp any of those players as finished products.
Sam Quinn of CBS Sports recently took a broad look at the Nets’ front office and the work it has done, including a direct assessment of that draft haul. “The degree of disaster represented by their five first-round picks last season is certainly overstated.
Egor Demin would go behind Collin Murray-Boyles and Cedric Coward in a redraft, but he looks like a starter,” Quinn wrote about the Nets for CBS Sports. He added, “The other first-round picks were between No. 19 and No. 27, all of which come with relatively low hit rates, and it's too soon to call any of them busts after just a single season.
Still, spending that many picks in the same draft on on-ball players was puzzling. The Nets didn't exactly put them in a position to succeed.”
That’s the tension hanging over Brooklyn right now. After the summer circuit in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League, Egor Demin has become the name drawing the most attention around the league, while the rest of the class has been met with far more quiet curiosity.
If the Nets open next season with Mikel Brown Jr., Demin, Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, and Day'Ron Sharpe in the starting lineup, then the other four members of the 2025 class will be working their way in from the bench. And based on how last season’s rotation played out, players like Drake Powell and Ben Saraf may need strong showings in camp just to earn meaningful minutes for head coach Jordi Fernandez.
For Brooklyn, the entire 2025 class appears headed for constant evaluation.
In Other News...
Egor Demin Is Already Giving Nets Fans A Real National Debate
Egor Demin has already become one of the more interesting names on the Nets radar after a solid rookie season and a strong summer league showing that hinted at how much his game can keep expanding. He looked comfortable as a scorer and creator in Las Vegas, and for Brooklyn there is obvious appeal in a young guard who can handle the ball, contribute in multiple ways and still project as a shooter.
Still, the wider basketball conversation is not nearly as settled. HoopsHypes projected top-27 shooting guards list for the 2026-27 season left Demin out entirely, slotting him outside the top 30 and inviting the kind of debate that usually follows a young Net when national evaluators and local optimism do not line up. The shooting remains the swing point, especially after his three-point percentage dipped in summer league, and it is the sort of early-career tension that can define how quickly the league buys into him. [Read more 🡒]
Julius Randle Just Became Brooklyns Biggest Rebuild Test
The Nets summer overhaul brought a new centerpiece to Brooklyn, and it comes with both rsum and responsibility. Julius Randle arrived from Minnesota in the deal that sent Nic Claxton to Chicago, giving Jordi Fernandez a proven veteran forward to help shape what comes next. Fernandez has already sounded upbeat about what Randle can bring, and the fit is easy to understand for a team trying to reset its direction without losing sight of competitiveness.
Randle, who posted 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game last season with the Timberwolves, has also made it clear he is eager for the change of scenery. He spoke about joining the Nets during Las Vegas Summer League, which only adds to the sense that this is more than a simple roster move. For Brooklyn, the question now is whether Randle becomes the stabilizing force of a rebuild or the player around whom the next hard decisions get made. [Read more 🡒]
Nets May Have One Overlooked Edge In Their Push Up East
Brooklyns reset has brought in some new names, and Julius Randle is one of the additions that could quietly matter the most as the Nets try to push higher in the East. The roster is still taking shape with Mikel Brown Jr. among the fresh pieces, but Randles ability to get into the paint and draw contact gives the Nets a different kind of pressure point on offense than they had a year ago.
Free throws were already a decent part of Brooklyns profile last season, when the team ranked 16th in accuracy and 18th in attempts while shooting 78 percent from the line. If Randle can consistently create more trips there, it gives the Nets a built-in way to squeeze extra points out of games where half-court possessions matter most, which is exactly the kind of edge that can help in a crowded conference. [Read more 🡒]