The Brooklyn Nets are done making moves for now, and their attention can shift to the quieter part of the offseason before training camp arrives in the fall. After a 20-62 finish in the 2025-26 NBA campaign, Brooklyn has spent the summer trying to rework the roster, but there may be another issue worth watching as the team resets: how player workloads are handled.
That conversation has picked up because of a new study on Achilles injuries in the NBA. “A new medical study says there is a link between an increase in minutes played in the games before an Achilles tear and a player suffering that injury,” Mike Vorkunov wrote for The Athletic when addressing the research. Vorkunov also noted on X that more players suffered Achilles injuries during the 2024-25 campaign than in previous years.
The league, though, is not ready to fully buy into the study’s conclusions. “Over the past year, we have worked to better understand Achilles tendon injuries through a tendon health working group and additional research,” Vorkunov continued by quoting the statement that he received from Dr.
John DiFiori, the NBA’s Director of Sports Medicine. While we welcome continued learnings, we believe the recent paper on this topic has important methodological limitations.”
For Brooklyn, the topic isn’t abstract. The last time a Nets player tore an Achilles while on the roster was David Nwaba in the 2019-20 season. And Nwaba is not the only name connected to the issue in recent Nets memory, since Kevin Durant joined the franchise during the 2019-20 campaign while working his way back from the Achilles injury he suffered with the Golden State Warriors.
Around the league, the list of recent high-profile Achilles injuries includes Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton. Even with the NBA pushing back on the study’s methodology, teams like the Nets could be paying closer attention to what the research says about minutes, workload, and the risk that comes with both.
In Other News...
Nets New-Look Roster Just Got A Brutal Reality Check
Brooklyn spent the offseason trying to reshape its identity, mixing a new-look roster with the kind of stability that comes from extending Jordi Fernndez. The Nets also added Julius Randle, a move that signaled a clear attempt to raise the ceiling while keeping enough flexibility to keep building. Michael Porter Jr. has already made it clear hed like to stick around longer, another sign the group is at least starting to see a future worth buying into.
Still, the early national read on the roster is hardly rosy. Michael Pina placed the Nets near the bottom of the East and pointed to Fernndez as one of the coaches who could outperform expectations, which is a compliment to the sideline and a warning label for everything else. For a team that changed so much in one summer, the challenge now is proving the pieces fit fast enough to matter. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Could Make A Michael Porter Jr Decision Fans Will Debate
The Nets are again in the kind of roster conversation that forces a front office to balance present-day talent against long-range flexibility. Michael Porter Jr. has value as a real scoring wing, and Terance Mann brings the sort of versatility teams like to keep around, but Brooklyn has also shown interest in preserving financial room and adding future assets as it keeps shaping the roster.
Golden State is the team floating into the picture, with Jimmy Butler as the name that would instantly change the tone of any deal. The appeal is obvious, but so are the questions: Butlers age, his injury history, and the terms of his contract all matter here, which is why a hypothetical swap like this would leave Nets fans arguing over whether the short-term upgrade is worth giving up two useful rotation pieces and the chance to keep building patiently. [Read more 🡒]
Egor Dmin Just Gave Nets Fans A Telling First Impression
Egor Dmins first run in front of Brooklyn Nets fans came with a little personality and a few clues about how he sees himself. In a YouTube Q&A, the guard talked through the personal side of his new chapter, from missing his BYU days to mentioning how much he misses his mother, while also sharing lighter details about beach volleyball, his favorite shoes, his music taste and a trip to China for a Li-Ning tour.
The most revealing part was how casually he connected the small stuff to the bigger picture. Dmin explained the meaning behind his No. 8 jersey and made it clear he is wired more toward team success than individual accolades, the kind of answer that tends to play well with a fan base eager to learn what kind of pro he plans to be. For Brooklyn, it was a tidy first impression: thoughtful, a little personal, and already hinting at priorities beyond the box score. [Read more 🡒]