NEW YORK, NY — The Brooklyn Nets have had arguably the most turbulent last few seasons of any NBA organization, gaining a modern ‘Big Three’ with future Hall of Famers in James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving, to losing them all within less than two years. There is no doubt that Brooklyn is in a strange position for 2024 and beyond.
With the most recent disposal of star G/F Mikal Bridges to the crosstown rival Knicks, the Nets have set themselves up for failure this year. However, the franchise is currently putting on a show against top teams, and despite a not-so-great record, 8-10, the flailing Eastern Conference has propelled Brooklyn into a playoff position early on in the season.
Jordi Fernández, 41, born and raised in Spain, has already made a strong impression across the NBA in his first 18 games as Brooklyn’s head coach – Image Credit: Luke Hales/Getty Images
And with a major draft class coming up, the Nets seem to have no intentions of letting up. So, what is the plan for their rebuild, and when will it start? The removal of four major stars from the roster in the last few years has set them up with an abundance of picks for 2025 and further.
The most recent trade, a Bridges blockbuster to the Knicks, was heavily scrutinized by fans across the league due to the package that was sent back to Brooklyn — receiving five first-round picks and more in exchange for a player who wasn’t all that valuable to them in the long run.
In July of 2024, Mikal Bridges was acquired by the Knicks in a blockbuster trade – Image Credit: NBA
Bridges, the product of the swap that sent Durant to Phoenix in 2023, felt more like a consolation gift since the Villanova alum was never going to live up to what KD was doing. The long-run squad was never going to include him as a key piece so this trade, most likely, will heavily work out in the Nets’ favor.
Now with all of these picks, it would seem logical to go out and have one of the worst seasons across the NBA (record wise), to help boost their chances in receiving a top draft selection. This 2024 team has been left with the barebones, only the players who are going to be a part of the rebuild, with the rest being fillers. Nic Claxton, the big man, was brought back on a long term deal to become one of the veteran leaders when these big draft picks are used.
Nic Claxton is averaging 8.5 points per game this season with 7.7 rebounds per game – Image Credit: Wendell Cruz/Imagn Images
The same goes for Cam Thomas, who is worth a ton right now on the open market, but unlike Bridges, he will be valuable to this team in the future.
Right now however, the 23-year-old Thomas continues to put on a show. To open the season, in the first 17 games, he has averaged 24.7 PPG and has shown no signs of letting up.
Putting up an All-Star campaign in the early parts of the season, Cam Thomas is currently 17th across the NBA for scoring – Image Credit: NBA
The rebuild seems out of the question for him and this Nets team, led by first-year head coach Jordi Fernández, as games are constantly being won and they are outperforming many teams that were labeled much better.
They want to win now, but that may not be what the front office entailed, as this year’s draft will likely feature future NBA stars such as Rutgers’ pair of elites Dylan Harper, and Ace Bailey, as well as Duke’s sensation Cooper Flagg, all of whom will likely be the top three selections.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights players Ace Bailey (4) left, Jeremiah Williams (25), Dylan Harper (2) and Bryce Dortch (8) – Image Credit: Vincent Carchietta/Imagn Images
The Nets seemed to be on a perfect trajectory this offseason to land one of them and the management would be more than happy with that. But if Brooklyn continues to win games, the chances of getting one of those top picks will falter.
In that perspective, the Nets are shooting themselves in the foot right now as they are trying to win games while rebuilding simultaneously, which is simply not possible. They are winning, and ultimately, there is no way to stop the players from doing so. The talent is there, maybe not in the way fans or managers would have wanted or imagined, but if numbers are being added to the win column, so be it.
So far so good for the Nets in the early parts of the 2024-2025 nBA regular season – Image Credit: NBA
If Brooklyn stays on this path, they will miss out on valuable prospects, while being nowhere close to the team they were just four years ago. Regardless, at least there is finally a sense of camaraderie and teamwork with this iteration of the organization.
At the same time, fans will be mad with wins, with others enjoying it. It’s a tough situation overall, but keeping Thomas and others happy with a winning team may be more worth it than reeling in Flagg, Bailey or Harper.
After all, the picks will still be there, just not as high up. They have the makings to be a team of the future, but for now, just let them play ball.
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William Coppola
November 27, 2024 at 12:46 am
Outstanding piece. Great thoughts and well written.