The Brooklyn Nets don’t have much on the calendar yet between now and training camp, but one thing is already clear: their path through the 2026 NBA Cup could be a little kinder than it first looked.
When the NBA revealed the Cup groups in early July, Brooklyn landed in East Group A with the Detroit Pistons, Toronto Raptors, Orlando Magic, and Milwaukee Bucks. On paper, that’s a demanding draw for a team still working through a rebuild. But there’s enough movement around the group to make the Nets’ path feel less locked in than it might have seemed at first glance.
Brooklyn finished 20-62 last season, the worst mark in the group. Detroit went 60-22, Toronto was 46-36, Orlando finished 45-37, and Milwaukee was 32-50.
The Pistons look like the clear class of the group, with Cade Cunningham steering the way. Still, even Detroit has some uncertainty hanging over it, with center Jalen Duren stuck in the familiar limbo of restricted free agency.
Toronto could be more dangerous if its trade for forward Kawhi Leonard is finalized, though that situation is tied up in the investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers and whether they may have circumvented the salary cap to sign him. That issue may not be resolved until the season starts.
Milwaukee is the biggest wild card of all. The Bucks had been a team that might have pushed into the postseason if Giannis Antetokounmpo had stayed healthy for most of the year, but this summer they sent Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat in a deal that brought back a package of players and picks. That move points to some kind of rebuild.
Orlando, meanwhile, looks like it may simply run it back with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner front and center.
Brooklyn has made moves too, adding Julius Randle in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves and signing Keon Ellis and Mo Wagner in free agency. That won’t suddenly turn the Nets into a favorite, but it does give them more to work with as they head into a group that may not be as daunting as it first appeared.
A 1-3 finish would not be a shock, though Brooklyn could absolutely make things interesting with possible upset chances against the Magic and Raptors.
In Other News...
Nets Fans Are Split On Michael Porter Jr.s Next Price Tag
Michael Porter Jr. has quickly become one of the bigger roster decisions hanging over Brooklyns offseason. After a strong season with the Nets, the forward is expected to sit down with the team on a contract extension, and the early fan conversation has already turned to what kind of number makes sense for a player who has clearly boosted his value.
A recent NetsDaily poll suggested most fans are comfortable somewhere in the middle, with support clustered around a deal in the $25 million to $44 million range per year. Porter is eligible for a four-year extension worth as much as $234 million, but the sense around the league is that Brooklyn may not have to go all the way to that ceiling, which leaves plenty of room for debate as the negotiations approach. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Marks Faces A Nets Debate That Wont Go Away
The Nets wrapped up their offseason by landing Julius Randle in a trade with the Timberwolves, a move that gives Brooklyn another established scoring option as it heads into the next season. Sean Marks also kept the rest of the rosters key assets intact, preferring to preserve flexibility rather than swing big on a deal that would have changed the shape of the team in a hurry.
Still, the debate around Jaylen Brown has not disappeared. Brown wound up with the 76ers in the blockbuster trade out of Boston, and Brooklyns choice to pass on that chase will follow Marks into the season as the Nets try to build around Randle and Michael Porter Jr. The roster now has a clearer identity, but the question of whether the front office left a bigger move on the table is one that will linger well beyond the summer. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Fans Just Got A Wild New LeBron Twist
Andre Drummond is on the move again, this time landing on a one-year minimum-salary deal with the Knicks, a familiar landing spot for a big man whose value has always been tied to size, rebounding and making life a little harder around the rim. People who coached him in high school and college have long pointed to those traits as the foundation of his game, and New York is betting there is still enough left there to help a roster that wants more physicality and second-chance work.
For Brooklyn, the larger backdrop is a division that keeps shifting, with the Nets own ownership story taking a quieter turn as Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai move through an amicable divorce. Elsewhere in the Atlantic, the 76ers continue to work through their own roster questions, which is why a low-cost signing like Drummond can still ripple beyond one locker room and into the kind of East race that never seems to sit still for long. [Read more 🡒]