The Brooklyn Nets are heading into a season where the draft still matters, even if their own first-rounder is already spoken for. Houston controls the right to swap next season’s pick, which changes the equation for a team trying to climb out of a rebuild and back into the playoff picture.
That’s why Brooklyn’s front office spent the offseason trying to position the roster for a more competitive 2027. The biggest moves came on draft night, when the Nets used their first-round pick on Mikel Brown Jr. and moved Nic Claxton in the deal that brought in former All-Star Julius Randle.
For 2027, Brooklyn is already set to have two first-round picks: one from the Mikal Bridges trade with the New York Knicks and another that will be the least favorable of Brooklyn and Houston. On paper, those selections don’t look especially appetizing. Given where the Knicks and Rockets stand right now, there’s a real chance both picks land in the 20s.
That’s what makes the idea of shopping for more first-rounders worth keeping on the table. Under the new draft lottery format, the Nets could get real value from any team willing to move its pick. A deal with a true contender probably wouldn’t move the needle much, but a pick from a team stuck somewhere in the middle could be a different story.
The cleanest path would be for Brooklyn to be in the postseason mix next season and not spend much time worrying about the draft haul. But if the season goes sideways, the Nets could have reason to explore the market for players such as Michael Porter Jr. or Julius Randle and try to turn that into more 2027 capital, or even picks beyond that.
Brooklyn still isn’t built to chase a title, and that reality leaves room for a tougher decision. If the Nets are good enough to stay in the play-in race, they may be better off seeing how far this group can go. Even so, this doesn’t look like the finished version of the roster.
So if the right deal comes along, Brooklyn should be open to adding more 2027 first-round picks and making that draft a bigger part of its long-term plan.
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Former Nets Center Reopened A Painful What If For Brooklyn Fans
Alonzo Mournings time with the New Jersey Nets remains one of those franchise detours that still invites second-guessing. Signed to a four-year deal in 2003, the veteran center arrived with real expectations before kidney disease forced an early retirement and briefly changed the course of his career. He later returned after a kidney transplant, but his role was reduced, and the fit never quite settled the way Brooklyn-area fans had hoped when the move was made.
Mourning eventually asked to go back to Miami, was dealt to the Toronto Raptors, and never reported, which led to a buyout and a veteran-minimum return to the Heat. There, he backed up Shaquille O'Neal and helped Miami win the 2006 NBA Finals, turning the final chapter of his playing days into a meaningful one. He retired after the 2007-08 season because of injury, leaving Nets fans with a familiar ache: the reminder of what might have been if his health and the situation in New Jersey had lined up differently. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rebuild May Ride On One Young Backcourt Taking Off
After a rough season, the Nets are betting their next chapter starts in the backcourt, where lottery picks Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Dmin are being treated as foundational pieces rather than long-term projects. Brooklyns rebuild has shifted toward those two young guards, with the front office and development staff looking for signs that the pairing can grow into the kind of perimeter core the team has lacked.
Dmin has already given the Nets reason for optimism after showing progress in the offseason and summer league, especially after working back from injury. Brown, meanwhile, flashed the two-way potential that made him such an attractive pick, and the early returns have only sharpened the focus on how far this young guard group can carry Brooklyn from here. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Win Total Will Say Everything About This Rebuild
The Nets are heading into the 2026-27 season with a simple but revealing measuring stick for their rebuild: the win total. Coming off a 20-win season, Brooklyns progress will be judged less by style points than by whether the group can climb into a more respectable tier, with 25 wins, a .500 finish at 41, and even a 50-win ceiling all floating around as benchmarks for a roster still trying to define itself.
What makes the number so telling is that it will reflect more than raw talent. Player development, roster fit and health all sit underneath the projection, and those are exactly the ingredients that tend to separate a real step forward from another year of waiting. For the Nets, the record may end up saying as much about where the rebuild truly stands as any offseason talking point ever could. [Read more 🡒]