The Nets are as live as anyone in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. Brooklyn was 32-50 in 2023-24 and traded Mikal Bridges, the team’s best overall player, to New York for a boatload of picks. The Nets still have some veteran pieces in place, as Nic Claxton, Dennis Schroder, Ben Simmons, Cameron Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith will all start the year in the rotation. However, Claxton is the only one that could have a future in Brooklyn, as the Nets signed the 25-year-old to a four-year, $100 million deal in the offseason. The others will be shopped throughout the season.
Johnson will be a hot commodity on the trade market, as he’s a 6-foot-8 wing that shoots just about 40.0% from 3 and has a pretty reasonable contract. He’ll contribute quite a bit as long as he’s with Brooklyn.
One of the big focal points of this season will be learning whether or not Cam Thomas will be part of the next era of Nets basketball. Thomas is just 23 years old and is coming off a season in which he averaged 22.5 points per game on 44.2% shooting from the floor, 36.4% shooting from deep and 85.6% shooting from the line. The 6-foot-3 guard is a microwave scorer, and there aren’t many players in the league that can create offense for themselves as easily as he can. However, Thomas has to prove that he can play winning basketball. He has improved a little as a playmaker, as his assist percentage jumped from 12.7% in 2022-23 to 15.7% last season. But he needs to continue to show an interest in getting teammates involved, and he also has to improve his effort on the defensive end. If he can, he can be a high-level starter in this league.
It’ll be interesting to see what new head coach Jordy Fernandez can do with Thomas, as well as some of the other young players on this Brooklyn team. Fernandez was an assistant with the Nuggets from 2016 to 2022, and he was then the associate head coach for the Kings from 2022 to 2024. He’s viewed as one of the brightest offensive minds in the league, and he has played a role in the development of guards like Jamal Murray and De’Aaron Fox. Perhaps Fernandez can add Thomas to the list.
The other players that are worth looking at this season are Day’Ron Sharpe, Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead. Sharpe averaged 6.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season. Brooklyn used a first-round pick on him in 2021, but he hasn’t shown much in parts of three seasons. He’s a bit undersized for a center, and he’s not athletic or skilled enough to play the four. Sharpe’s best path forward is as a high-motor spark off the bench. Clowney is a little more interesting. He’s a 6-foot-9 forward with impressive touch on offense, and he’s also a good shot blocker on the other end of the floor. It’ll also be intriguing to see how Whitehead is treated. Whitehead was the second-ranked player in the 2022 ESPN 100, but he had a rough freshman season at Duke and has been hampered by injuries early in his career. But he’s a talented shot-making wing and the Nets might not want to give up on him.
Another key project in Brooklyn will be establishing an identity and putting good habits in place. One thing that could change immediately is Brooklyn’s pace. The Nets were just 25th in the league in pace of play last season, but the Kings were in the top half of the league in every season in which Fernandez was on the sidelines. Brooklyn might not have the personnel to play quite as fast as Sacramento did, but Fernandez will likely want his team to get into the offense faster than it did last season.
Ultimately, this will end up being a pretty poor basketball product for a majority of the season. The Nets are at a huge disadvantage in the talent department, and they don’t have much of an incentive for winning. However, the future in Brooklyn might not be as bleak as it seems. The Nets play in a desirable market, have a lot of salary coming off the books soon and should have a ton of high draft picks coming their way.
Nets Win Total Prediction
The Nets might be a little more competitive than expected early in the season. They have some competitive players scattered throughout the rotation, and Fernandez is a good coach that will have his team buying in early. However, it’s still hard to suggest backing the Over on Brooklyn’s win total. The Nets are one of the few teams that desperately want to be picking early in the 2025 NBA Draft. They’re going to sell off some of their best players and do what they can to finish near the bottom of the standings. Knowing that, how can you confidently bet on their season-long success?
Lean: Under 19.5 Wins (-112)
