The Brooklyn Nets made noise early in the NBA offseason, but that buzz has settled fast.
Between the trade for Julius Randle, the selection of Mikel Brown Jr. and the additions of veterans Moritz Wagner and Keon Ellis, Brooklyn looked like a team trying to push its rebuild forward in a hurry. Then came the quiet stretch after early July, and the league moved on.
That doesn’t mean the Nets are done making decisions. Michael Porter Jr.’s possible contract extension remains a major swing point for the franchise, and it’s not as straightforward as it might look. The 28-year-old could wind up as part of Brooklyn’s long-term picture or become a trade candidate in short order.
For now, though, the offseason conversation has turned to how the Nets stack up against the rest of the league. In The Athletic’s offseason power rankings, David Aldridge put Brooklyn 22nd, with the Cleveland Cavaliers one spot ahead and the New York Knicks one spot behind.
"I’ll be surprised if Randle is here long term (the 31-year-old has a player option for the 2027-28 season at $35.8 million)," Aldridge wrote. "But for now, he and Michael Porter Jr. can put the ball in the basket, Egor Dëmin should take a Year 2 jump, and Brown should finally solve the search for a franchise point guard.
"Brooklyn has a ways to go, but at the very least, this group should be more competitive most nights next season for Jordi Fernández - and get out of the league basement in offensive rating. It’s a start."
Aldridge’s ranking reflects the idea that Brooklyn did enough to raise its floor. Pairing Porter and Randle gives the Nets a frontcourt capable of scoring in bunches, and the team’s guard group is still in development, with five backcourt players spread across the first rounds of the 2025 and 2026 drafts.
At the same time, the Eastern Conference has gotten tougher, and that makes it harder to know how much these moves will actually change the standings. Many projections still have Brooklyn finishing near the bottom three, right in the so-called "relegation zone."
Even so, the Nets have at least taken a step. They have flexibility, they have room to keep building, and they have the kind of cap space that could allow them to leave the rebuild with a major move or two.
Sean Marks has talked about that possibility for months. The real question is when Brooklyn finally uses it.
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