The Brooklyn Nets have had a rough start to the 2025-26 NBA season, but the team has to be feeling good about itself lately after winning three of its last four games. Brooklyn is more concerned with developing the young players on the roster along with hoping for a premium 2026 draft pick, but the Nets could be active in the trade market this year as well.
“The Nets have $15 million in cap space and can create more, which has led to increased trade talks about using their room to absorb salary while receiving assets, sources said,” ESPN’s Shams Charania reported in his latest notes on some of the teams around the league. As was the case this past offseason, Brooklyn is in a position to help teams struggling with salary cap flexibility get what they want in exchange for assets.
“The Nets, Pistons ($14.1 million trade exception) and Utah Jazz ($18.4 million trade exception) are the only teams with significant room that can take in larger deals and not be impacted by the apron,” Charania continued. “Brooklyn could also work with Cam Thomas’ agents at Octagon to navigate his future, potentially via trade, as he plays the remainder of the season on the qualifying offer and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer.”
As Charania mentioned, the Nets and the Jazz are the only teams in the NBA with positive cap space, meaning that both teams have the opportunity to act as third-team facilitators in trades around the league. Probably the biggest example of Brooklyn using its cap space to acquire assets was acquiring forward Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets in exchange for forward Cam Johnson, who is making around $20 million less than Porter.
As this report pertains to guard Cam Thomas, the Nets still have to figure out what they’re going to do with Thomas in terms of keeping him on the roster or maximizing his value at the trade deadline. Thomas, 24, is averaging 21.4 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 40.2% from the field and 35.6% from three-point land, but he has played in just eight of Brooklyn’s 23 games this season due to a left hamstring injury.