The Brooklyn Nets don’t just have a slow start on their hands. They may have a hierarchy problem, too.
At 1-6 through seven games, Brooklyn is tied for the fewest wins in the league, and the early returns have only sharpened the questions that followed the team into the season. Some of those concerns are still unresolved. Others have already tilted in the wrong direction.
One of the biggest revolves around who actually owns the top spot in the offense.
The Nets brought in Julius Randle over the offseason, and they also have Michael Porter Jr. back for a second season after a career year. That setup always invited a debate about who would emerge as the clear No. 1 option. So far, the answer has been no answer at all.
Randle is leading Brooklyn in scoring at 20.9 points per game, with Porter right behind him at 20.7. They’re also taking the exact same number of shots, 15.1 a night, which says plenty about how little separation there has been between them.
That kind of balance can work in the right setting. For the Nets, though, it may be creating more uncertainty than clarity.
Jordi Fernandez now has one of his toughest jobs as a head coach: figuring out how to get the most out of both players without blurring the pecking order at the top of the roster. Brooklyn needs someone it can lean on late in games and during the stretches when everything bogs down.
Both Randle and Porter can fill that role. The issue is that neither has clearly taken it and run with it.
Randle makes sense as the obvious choice because he has been the primary option in a similar situation before. Porter, though, brings the case for being the more gifted scorer at this point in their careers. That leaves Brooklyn in a tricky spot, with no clean answer and no obvious pecking order.
For now, the two have managed to coexist and have combined for more than 40 points per game. But if the Nets can’t create a clear lead dog at the top, that absence could become one of the defining issues of their season.
In Other News...
Nets May Be Catching A Hornets Scorer At The Worst Time
The Nets could be running into a healthier Hornets group at an inconvenient moment, with Kon Knueppel upgraded to probable for the upcoming matchup and in line to make his season debut after sitting out eight games with a left hamstring strain. Charlotte is also listing Coby White as probable as he works his way back from a left calf injury, a sign the Hornets may finally be getting a little more firepower back in the rotation.
For Brooklyn, the timing matters because Charlotte has been looking for answers on offense and the return of two key scorers could change the complexion of the game quickly. Even if the Hornets are still easing pieces back into action, the prospect of adding Knueppel and White gives them a different look than the one the Nets might have expected when this matchup first came into view. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Face A Rotation Concern In A Game They Need To Win
The Nets head into their matchup with Charlotte trying to steady a season that needs a win, but the roster is already thinning at the wrong time. Brooklyn announced that Egor Demin will miss the game because of a right leg bone bruise, a setback that adds another layer of uncertainty as the team looks to respond after a recent loss.
Brooklyn has also been shuffling personnel around the margins, with several players sent to the Long Island Nets as the organization manages its depth. Charlotte, meanwhile, is bringing back useful availability on its side, with Kon Knueppel and Coby White listed as probable, which only raises the stakes for a Nets group trying to keep pace while waiting on more clarity from its own injury situation. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Trade Deadline Could Reveal Their True Rebuild Plan
Brooklyns rebuild may be nearing a point where the front office has to decide whether to keep collecting pieces or swing for a more meaningful reset. Michael Porter Jr. has emerged as a name to watch in that conversation, with the Nets weighing whether a move could help accelerate the process and appeal to teams such as the Detroit Pistons or Orlando Magic.
What makes the deadline so intriguing is the range of directions Brooklyn could take if it does decide to move him. The possibilities being floated point to very different kinds of returns, from a high-end wing to a young developmental prospect, and each would say something about how the Nets view their timeline. For now, it is all speculative, but the next few weeks could offer the clearest sign yet of what this rebuild is really supposed to look like. [Read more 🡒]