Joe Tsai isn’t pretending the Knicks’ championship didn’t sting the Nets. He just isn’t letting it steer the rebuild.
Brooklyn’s owner acknowledged the way New York’s title landed across town, especially after a summer already bruised by a second straight lottery disappointment. The Knicks’ run made the Nets an easy target, but Tsai said the organization isn’t about to chase shortcuts because of it.
“Every year, some team is going to win a championship,” Tsai recently said in an interview with NetsDaily. “So it happens that this year that team is in the same city.
It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irates our fan base and it is embarrassing but in business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform… [We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory.
So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.”
That stance lines up with how Brooklyn handled its offseason. The Nets didn’t go chasing a quick fix after the Knicks finished on top while Brooklyn posted its third straight bottom-10 finish. Instead, they stayed measured, even quiet by modern NBA standards.
Brooklyn brought in Julius Randle as a salary dump from the Minnesota Timberwolves, added Keon Ellis and Moe Wagner in free agency, and used the No. 6 and No. 28 picks on Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson. What they didn’t do may say even more: no future first-round picks were moved, and the team passed on using as much as $25 million in cap space and exceptions.
That restraint was the point, according to general manager Sean Marks.
“No, not at all,” Marks said when asked whether the Knicks' title changes the Nets' mindset. “We’re not going to be motivated or less motivated by what somebody else is doing.
I think all we control is our path. I think we set out on this a couple of years ago, and I think I’m very happy with what the group has done, what Jordi [Fernandez] and the coaching staff have done to develop these young men.
It’s gonna be really exciting to see what they look like, whether it’s a year or two years from here, and who really seizes this opportunity?”
Randle is the headliner in the group, and the hope is obvious: he’s been here before. During his five seasons with the Knicks, he helped lift them from the league’s basement into relevance. New York won 17 games in 2018-19, the year before Randle arrived in free agency, then jumped to 41 wins and the East’s fourth seed by 2021.
Last season with Minnesota, Randle put up 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists while shooting 48.1 percent in 79 games. Per CleaningTheGlass, the Timberwolves scored 7.6 points better per 100 possessions with him on the floor, which ranked as the NBA’s 10th-best offensive rating swing among players who logged more than 1,500 minutes.
Ellis brings defensive bite at the point of attack, and Wagner gives Brooklyn a solid backup center option. Those are useful pieces. They may even make the Nets tougher to deal with night to night.
But they don’t suddenly turn Brooklyn into a postseason team.
The betting markets reflect that reality. FanDuel Sportsbook has the Nets at 24.5 wins, the second-lowest total in the NBA, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings. The Knicks, meanwhile, are favored to win the Eastern Conference and hold the third-best championship odds, behind only the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
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Joe Tsai didnt hide how awkward the moment felt, calling the Knicks championship embarrassing for his side while sticking to the rebuilding script. The Nets at least added a piece to build around with the sixth pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, using it on Mikel Brown Jr., who flashed some promise in summer league despite dealing with back issues, but the real test is still ahead for a team that has yet to prove the plan is working. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Backup Center Plan Still Feels Far From Settled
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The reception also had a very New York basketball touch to it, with the actual Larry OBrien NBA Championship Trophy on the dance floor as part of the celebration. Towns father added to the night with a toast that centered on a rare double accomplishment, noting his son had earned both an NBA championship ring and a wedding ring in the same year. [Read more 🡒]