![\"Brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-9.3-12.06PM-1024x683.jpg\")
(Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n(Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images)<\/p>\n
For our second annual offseason outlook series, Hot Hot Hoops senior writer Matt Hanifan will provide his take on the offseasons of all 30 teams for the next 30 days! We will proceed in alphabetical order, starting with the Eastern Conference. Today, we will be hitting the Brooklyn Nets.<\/p>\n
Past Previews:<\/p>\n
Evaluating the Brooklyn Nets\u2019 2025 offseason<\/p>\n
Additions:\u00a0Haywood Highsmith, Terance Mann, Michael Porter Jr.<\/p>\n
Subtractions:\u00a0Cam Johnson, De\u2019Anthony Melton (free agent), D\u2019Angelo Russell, Day\u2019Ron Sharpe (free agent), Cam Thomas (free agent), Trenton Watford, Ziaire Williams (free agent)<\/p>\n
Re-signed:\u00a0None<\/p>\n
Draft:\u00a0Egor Demin (No. 8 overall), Nolan Traore (No. 19), Drake Powell (No. 22), Ben Saraf (No. 26), Danny Wolf (No. 27)<\/p>\n
Hanifan\u2019s outlook:\u00a0While they were still one of the four worst teams in the East last season, the Brooklyn Nets pleasantly surprised me under then-first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez. I think he did a great job given the sum of parts he had. Brooklyn entered the offseason with an ungodly amount<\/a> of cap space. And I wasn\u2019t a fan of how they used most of it.<\/p>\n To begin with, I like acquiring Terance Mann with the No. 22 overall pick. But they still used all five of their first-round picks in June\u2019s draft, which is \u2026 interesting.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing wrong with having plenty of bites at the apple. However, now all five of their first-round rookies will have their clocks start at the same time. <\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say I didn\u2019t like who the Nets picked. I was not a fan of Egor Demin pre-draft (23 on my board). But I had Traore, Saraf and Wolf Nos. 20, 11 and 19, respectively. I don\u2019t know if I would\u2019ve taken the gamble of Powell at 22, but his long-term upside is intriguing, too.<\/p>\n Four of their five picks have duplicitous skillsets \u2014 three of whom all project to be lead playmakers with questionable floors as shooters. Brooklyn needed ballhandlers, but did it need them that much? I\u2019m not sure. A part of me is genuinely surprised it didn\u2019t secure a pick in future drafts with one of their first-round picks \u2014 or, at the very least, trade back and collect more future capital. Maybe there wasn\u2019t a good enough deal there; I\u2019m not in those rooms!<\/p>\n Perhaps there will be egg on my face in four years if Fernandez and his staff do a good job developing their rookies! I welcome that because I think, independently, there\u2019s something there with their selections \u2014 even if I have questions about their collective fit.<\/p>\n Furthermore, I can\u2019t say I was a fan of the Cam Johnson-Michael Porter Jr. swap \u2014 even though they acquired a 2032 first. The counterargument is that Nikola Jokic will be entering his age-37 season that ensuing fall \u2014 which is what Brooklyn\u2019s really banking on here. But it added ~$17 million to its books for a polarizing wing (Porter), entering the penultimate year of his $180 million contract. And it came at the expense of a better player (Johnson) on a team-friendly contract. <\/p>\n Maybe I\u2019m wrong, but I think Johnson could have fetched more than Porter and one first (seven years down the line) either this upcoming deadline or next summer, when he would\u2019ve been expiring.<\/p>\n Oh, and you\u2019re probably well aware of them adding Haywood Highsmith for nothing. They saw the stock was low and struck! Good move by them! And I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if they flipped him for more at the deadline!<\/p>\n The Cam Thomas thing is still looming over Brooklyn\u2019s head and I don\u2019t fault them for how it\u2019s been handled. All in all, I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve loved everything they did, but a part of me earned trust in Jordi Fernandez last season long-term. The roster is weird, though.<\/p>\n Grade: C<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n To check out our other content, click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Twitter\/X\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Follow Hot Hot Hoops on Instagram\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Subscribe to our YouTube channel\u00a0here<\/a>!<\/p>\n \t\t\t