The Brooklyn Nets (6-17) came into the 2025-26 NBA season looking to develop some of the younger players on the team while still playing respectable basketball on a nightly basis. Brooklyn has had a recent stretch where they have won three of their last four games thanks to the team playing better while also taking advantage of playing against competition more on their level.
Heading into the Dec. 10 slate of NBA games, the Nets currently have the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, putting them behind five teams, including the New Orleans Pelicans. With the current Lottery odds being flattened for the first three picks, Brooklyn would be best served trying to finish the season with one of the three-worst records in the league to give themselves the best chance at a franchise player.
Last season, the Nets finished with a 26-56 record, garnering them the sixth-worst record in the league, meaning that they theoretically should have ended up with the sixth overall pick in the draft. However, as Nets fans know by now, Brooklyn had some bad luck in the 2025 draft as they fell from the sixth pick down to the eighth pick, giving them the chance to select BYU guard Egor Demin.
With the Nets having their own pick in the upcoming 2026 draft, the hope is that they get lucky enough to be able to take BYU forward AJ Dybantsa, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, or Duke forward Cam Boozer. While some Nets fans are worried about the team winning too many games at this point in the season, plenty of moves could be made prior to the trade deadline.
As ESPN’s Shams Charania reported earlier this week, the Nets are expected to be active in trade talks by using their salary cap to help facilitate trades for other teams that should give them assets in the process. Prior to any of those moves, the Nets are in a good position to get a premium pick in the 2026 draft and if they’re lucky, they should be able to select their next franchise player heading into next season.