This summer’s shakeup around the NBA has left the Brooklyn Nets with a clear mandate: stop living in the league’s lower tier and start competing.
The changes aren’t subtle. After a season in which eight teams finished with fewer than 30 wins - Brooklyn among them at 20-62 - commissioner Adam Silver pushed through a major shift aimed at making losing far less attractive. That matters for a team like the Nets, because the old logic of bottoming out for draft position is no longer built into the system.
Under the new Draft Lottery setup, the worst records no longer have the best odds at No. 1 overall. The league’s new “3-2-1 Lottery” instead gives more favorable positioning to teams closer to the Play-In Tournament, taking away one of the biggest incentives to tank.
For Brooklyn, that changes the math in a big way. If the Nets are in the mix for the postseason or even the Play-In, there’s no reason to drift backward.
Even without the lottery overhaul, tanking wouldn’t make much sense for Brooklyn this time around. The Nets do not control their 2027 first-round pick because the Houston Rockets have swap rights, which means even the worst-case path wouldn’t deliver the kind of draft payoff teams usually chase.
General manager Sean Marks has talked about flexibility, but the reality is that Brooklyn has little room to play the long game here. The better move is to win now with a roster that blends youth and veteran scoring.
The broader Eastern Conference only sharpens that urgency. With the league looking stronger and deeper, the Nets are going to have to carve out their place in a crowded field.
Stars like LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo are tied to fringe playoff teams such as Philadelphia and Miami, while younger clubs like the Washington Wizards and Charlotte Hornets are also trying to make noise. Brooklyn can’t afford to sit still while the rest of the conference moves.
There is talent in place. Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. give the Nets established scoring, and the young core still has room to grow, led by Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Dёmin. That combination gives Brooklyn a chance to be more than a placeholder.
Marks could still look to add before the offseason winds down. James going to the 76ers was the biggest move of the month, but restricted free agents Jalen Duren and Peyton Watson are names that fit Brooklyn’s timeline and could strengthen the rotation. Either one would be a surprise, but both would raise the team’s floor right away.
In Other News...
Nets First Rounders Are Already Headed Down Very Different Paths
The Nets came out of the 2026 draft with two first-rounders who already look headed in different directions, even if both are part of the same long-range plan. Mikel Brown Jr. is being viewed as the more immediate backcourt answer, the kind of young guard Brooklyn can plug into a bigger role right away, while Joshua Jefferson arrives with a development track that puts a premium on polish and patience.
Browns path is the more visible one because the Nets need someone who can organize the offense and fit alongside the teams established scoring pieces, but there is still competition around the lead-guard spot. Jefferson, meanwhile, is being asked to round out his game, especially as a shooter and a more versatile forward, which makes his early months more about building a foundation than chasing minutes. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Fans Are Facing Another Major Change To Watching Games
Another change is coming for Nets fans who have already had to adjust to the shifting world of regional sports streaming. MSG Networks and the YES Network have struck a partnership with DAZN that will bring both channels under one direct-to-consumer platform, part of a broader push that also covers several other New York-area teams and signals DAZNs move deeper into the U.S. regional sports market.
For viewers, the practical impact will arrive with the 2026-2027 NBA and NHL seasons, when current Gotham Sports App users are set to be moved over and traditional pay TV subscribers will still be able to access the content through DAZN at no extra cost. The arrangement gives the networks a new digital home, but it also adds another layer of transition for fans who have already had to keep up with how and where their teams are being shown. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Marks Is Asking Nets Fans To Wait Again
Brooklyn spent the offseason adding pieces without abandoning its long view, bringing in Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson in the draft while also adding veterans Julius Randle and Keon Ellis. It was the kind of measured roster work that keeps a team moving, but not necessarily lunging, and it fit the broader approach Sean Marks has favored as the Nets continue to protect flexibility and draft capital.
Marks is still selling patience in a division where the pressure points have shifted elsewhere, with the Knicks celebrating a championship and the 76ers making the kind of headline-grabbing star move that changes expectations overnight. Brooklyn, by contrast, appears content to keep building incrementally and stay nimble for what comes next, even if that means waiting longer before making the sort of move that changes the conversation. [Read more 🡒]