The Nets’ path back to the postseason may not be decided by the standings as much as by one brutal stretch of games: the Atlantic Division.
Brooklyn is trying to climb out of the lottery years and get itself back to the playoffs in 2027. That goal is even more urgent with the Houston Rockets controlling the Nets’ pick next year. The front office made moves to push the roster forward, including trading for Julius Randle and drafting Mikel Brown Jr., but the rest of the Eastern Conference didn’t sit still either.
The East looks loaded, which makes a play-in push feel like a tall order. And within that crowded field, the Atlantic stands out as the toughest hurdle. Last season, it was the only division in the East to send four teams to the playoffs, and there’s a real chance all four of Brooklyn’s division opponents are better next season.
That’s a problem for a Nets team that will see each of those rivals four times, with even more possible depending on the NBA Cup. The Knicks are coming off a title, while the other three teams in the division took major swings in pursuit of one of their own. Brooklyn is going to have to survive that grind just to keep pace.
The numbers from last season tell the story. The Nets went 3-13 against Atlantic Division opponents, a record that stands out even with the team in tank mode. It’s a reminder of how much ground Brooklyn still has to cover if it wants to get back into the postseason picture.
With division games making up about 20% of the schedule, those matchups can’t become a sinkhole. If the Nets want to be playing meaningful basketball in 2027, they’ll need to hold their own against the teams they know best - and the Atlantic is where that test will be toughest.
In Other News...
Nets Fans Are Split On Michael Porter Jr.s Next Price Tag
Michael Porter Jr.s first season in Brooklyn has already moved him into the center of the teams next big roster conversation. After a strong year, the Nets forward is expected to negotiate a contract extension, and the early sense around the market is that his new deal will need to reflect more than just promise. For a team trying to map out its next phase, Porter is suddenly one of the most important names on the board.
NetsDailys recent fan poll showed plenty of support for an extension in the $25 million to $44 million range per year, a window that suggests Brooklyn supporters see both value and caution in the same deal. Porter is eligible for a four-year extension worth as much as $234 million, though the belief is that he may not land at the top of that scale, leaving the real question less about whether the Nets want to keep him and more about where they decide his price should land. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Marks Faces A Nets Debate That Wont Go Away
Brooklyns offseason settled into a familiar debate once the Nets landed Julius Randle in a trade with the Timberwolves, then moved on with Sean Marks choosing to hold onto the clubs assets instead of making a bigger swing. The result is a roster that now leans on Randle and Michael Porter Jr., with the front office clearly betting that patience and flexibility can still pay off as the next season approaches.
Still, the conversation around whether Brooklyn should have chased Jaylen Brown has not gone away. Browns move from Boston to Philadelphia, in the deal that sent Paul George and draft picks the other way, only sharpened the question of what the Nets passed on, and it leaves Marks facing a familiar kind of scrutiny: whether preserving future options was the right call, or whether this was a chance to turn a good summer into a truly aggressive one. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Get A Real NBA Cup Test With More Hope Than Expected
The NBA Cup draw handed Brooklyn a group that looks more demanding than it first appeared, with the Nets set to meet the Pistons, Raptors, Magic and Bucks in East Group A. On paper, it is the kind of field that can tell you a lot about where a roster really stands, especially for a team that has been busy reshaping itself with the additions of Julius Randle, Keon Ellis and Mo Wagner.
The wrinkle is Milwaukee, which no longer looks like the same annual heavyweight after trading Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Heat, a move that points toward a different direction for the franchise. Even with that shift, Brooklyn still drew mostly playoff-caliber competition, so the Cup stage should serve as an early measuring stick for how far the Nets have come and how much more work they still have ahead. [Read more 🡒]