The Brooklyn Nets are entering an offseason where they can add some significant talent to the roster through the four picks that they have in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft. While Brooklyn made the decision to commit to a rebuild last summer when they traded Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks in exchange for a collection of first-round picks, there is a sense that the organization isn’t interested in rebuilding long-term.
“The buzz from rival teams has been the Nets aren’t planning for a true long-haul tank, even after reacquiring their own picks last summer,” ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo reported in their breakdown of every team in the NBA Lottery. Brooklyn finished the 2024-25 season with a 26-56 record, placing them sixth in the Lottery standings that will take place on May 12.
“The Nets have the most salary-cap space in the league this offseason, but with a top-heavy 2026 draft on the horizon and a roster in need of major modifications in order to compete for a playoff spot, patience is still a virtue here,” Givony and Woo continued. The Nets are in a spot where they could kick the can down the road in terms of draft equity if they aren’t lucky enough in the Lottery to draft a player that they love in the 2025 class.
What every team in the Lottery, including Brooklyn, wants is the chance to draft Duke forward Cooper Flagg as he is the cream of the crop in the 2025 Draft after having the kind of freshman season that lived up to what was already massive hype. If the Nets were to theoretically finish the Lottery with the sixth overall pick, they would most likely be choosing from players like Texas guard Tre Johnson, Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears, and Maryland center Derik Queen.
Brooklyn knows how important it is to hit on some of the draft picks that they have given that it’s harder to build a sustainable championship-contending team through free-agency and the trade market because of the luck/assets that it takes to get certain players. If the Nets are not in their current rebuild for the long haul, it’s possible that the next couple of years will determine where the franchise goes in terms of building the roster.