The Brooklyn Nets are heading into 2026-27 with a roster packed with players who have plenty to gain and plenty to lose. That kind of setup makes for a team full of urgency, especially when so many of the names on the board are still trying to carve out real NBA roles.
Brian Lewis of the New York Post pointed to the Flatbush Five, leaving out Egor Dëmin, Noah Clowney, Julius Randle, Michael Porter Jr. and even general manager Sean Marks. Among that group, Dëmin had the strongest rookie season.
He shot 38.5% from three and got better as a downhill scorer during summer league, where he averaged more than 20 points across the California Classic and Las Vegas. That work earned him Summer League Second Team honors.
The rest of that group includes Danny Wolf, Nolan Traoré, Ben Saraf and Drake Powell. Powell had the roughest summer of the bunch, opening with an ice-cold stretch and going 1-for-28 in his first four games.
Traoré’s path was interrupted by a right knee procedure in June, which kept him out of summer league entirely. He’s expected to battle Saraf for the backup point guard job when training camp opens in late September.
Brooklyn’s approach makes sense on paper. The Nets have loaded up on young players and rookie contracts while rebuilding, but that only matters if those players turn into rotation pieces before they become extension-eligible. The front office has built in volume; now the development has to show up.
That pressure doesn’t stop with the rookies. Randle and Porter arrive as veterans with multiple accolades, and both have something to prove as they try to lift a young roster that has heard plenty of criticism. They believe the Nets can outperform the low expectations and win games in a crowded Eastern Conference.
Porter also enters a contract year. He still hasn’t landed an extension, even though he became eligible for one on July 6. That kind of setup tends to sharpen a player’s focus, and Porter knows the business side of the season is staring him down.
Clowney is facing a different kind of test. After Marks traded for Randle, Clowney is likely headed for a reduced role after earning a starting spot.
Randle brings more steady scoring, playmaking and rebounding, which puts Clowney in a fight to stay in the mix. At 22, he’s also an interesting upcoming free agent for Brooklyn, since he’ll become a restricted free agent without a rookie contract extension.
He has strengthened his case with steady improvement every season since he was drafted.
Marks has his own spotlight on him, too. With Brooklyn sitting on a pile of first- and second-round picks, he’s under watch as the franchise weighs its next move. He has shown interest in trading for superstars this offseason, including Jaylen Brown, and that may be where the Nets are headed next.
Brooklyn has spent much of the last decade bouncing between rebuilding and chasing star power. What happens next season will help decide which path Marks follows over the next several years as the Nets try to get back to playoff glory.
In Other News...
Nets History's Biggest What-Ifs Are Suddenly Back In Focus
A recent podcast appearance by Peter Vecsey reopened a familiar Nets conversation: how a franchise with plenty of turning points has also spent years revisiting the ones that slipped away. Vecsey walked through several of the organizations defining crossroads, from why the Nets passed on Kobe Bryant in 1996 to the circumstances that helped push Julius Erving out the door, offering a reminder that the teams history is as much about decisions made as opportunities missed.
He also revisited Drazen Petrovics contract frustration and the possibility he could have gone overseas before his death, another sharp reminder of how fragile those eras could be. Vecsey widened the lens to more modern Nets business, too, weighing in on the James Harden trade and Sean Marks run as an executive, which keeps the franchises past and present tied together in the same uncomfortable question: which moves really defined the organization, and which ones still haunt it? [Read more 🡒]
Joe Tsai Just Framed The Pressure Around Brooklyns Rebuild
The Nets are deep into their first true rebuild since Joe Tsai took over as controlling owner in 2019, and hes making clear he understands the mood around it. Tsai described Brooklyns fanbase as sophisticated and patient, the kind of audience that expects the organization to build the right way through the draft rather than chase shortcuts, which fits a team still sorting out its long-term direction after the era of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.
Tsai also acknowledged that Nets fans come with strong opinions, and that those voices matter because they help hold the organization accountable. In a market that has seen the whole arc from star-chasing to reset, the pressure now is different but no less real, with Brooklyn trying to show progress the patient way while knowing the scrutiny will only grow as the rebuild unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Added Two Forwards With A Bigger Goal Than The Roster
The Nets have filled out their roster with the signings of forwards Ben Humrichous and Dain Dainja, bringing the group to 21 players as camp approaches. Both are expected to be in training camp and could wind up spending most of their time with the Long Island Nets in the G League, which has become the standard holding pattern for players on the edge of the NBA roster.
Humrichous arrives on an Exhibit 10 deal after going undrafted, while Dainja comes in after a previous stop with the Miami Heat. For Brooklyn, the point is bigger than simply rounding out the depth chart, since these types of signings often serve as an early look at developmental pieces the organization wants to keep close and evaluate through camp. What happens next will depend on how they look once the pace picks up. [Read more 🡒]