Among the teams in the Atlantic Division, there’s only one that’s heading into the 2025-26 without the label of a playoff-contender: the Brooklyn Nets.
Now approaching the third year of their rebuild, the Nets eventually have to show that they’ve made progress in the process. Nonetheless, looking at Brooklyn’s roster, they clearly lack the All-Star talent that playoff teams typically have. As a result, any vision of them clinching a postseason berth is likely an optimistic optical illusion. That isn’t to say it’s impossible, but a lot would have to go right for the Nets and go wrong for their opponents.
All in all, due to the state of the franchise, the question for Brooklyn isn’t whether they’re a dark horse playoff candidate. The ones that they must answer in the near future are far more player-specific than team-specific.
3 Burning Questions For Nets Heading Into 2025-26 Season
What Will Become Of Cam Thomas?
At this very moment, there’s likely no bigger question for the Nets than what the future of Cam Thomas holds.
The 6-foot-4 bucket-getter is one of several restricted free agents currently in a holding pattern, the others being Quentin Grimes (Philadelphia 76ers), Josh Giddey (Chicago Bulls) and Jonathan Kuminga (Golden State Warriors). Like Grimes and Giddey, Thomas was pretty productive last season, averaging career-highs of 24.0 points and 3.8 assists per game. Yet, like Kuminga, he didn’t exactly capitalize on the opportunity he got from his play in 2023-24.
That being said, while Kuminga’s problem was a poor fit within the team framework, Thomas’s hurdle was his health. To that point, the 23-year-old played just 25 games in 2024-25. On the one hand, he’s a microwave scorer and passionate about improvement. On the other hand, he’s an injury-prone offensive-minded guard with flawed shot-selection, efficiency, playmaking and defense.
The Nets are likely better with Thomas given their overall talent deficiency. Still, they’re just 27-52 when he scores 20+ points. As a result, determining his value and how long he’ll remain in Brooklyn is difficult.
Which Rookies Will Separate Themselves?
This summer, the Nets were rumored to want to consolidate their first-round picks to move up in the 2025 NBA Draft. If true, that plan didn’t work out for Brooklyn, who instead kept all five of their first-rounders for themselves. With that in mind, there isn’t necessarily a problem with any of the players they took, in a vacuum. However, the positional overlap left many scratching their heads.
With their first two first-round picks, the Nets added point guards Egor Demin (No. 8 overall) and Nolan Traore (No. 19 overall). With their next two first-round picks, they picked up wings Drake Powell (No. 22 overall) and Ben Saraf (No. 26 overall). They then drafted center Danny Wolf with the 27th overall pick.
As Brooklyn didn’t have a starting point guard at the time, their selection of two elite facilitators in Demin and Traore made sense. The head-scratchers were Powell and Saraf. There’s no guarantee that either will be better than Keon Johnson, Tyrese Martin or Dariq Whitehead, let alone Terance Mann. With Nic Claxton and Day’Ron Sharpe expected to both be in the rotation, Wolf wasn’t really an ideal pick either.
All that being said, the Nets in rebuild mode. Who’s to say that they aren’t just waiting for the cream to rise to the top?
Can Michael Porter Jr. Thrive As The Top Option?
Ever since they traded Kevin Durant, Brooklyn’s been looking for a lanky sharpshooting forward to feature as a scorer.
In 2022-23, it was Mikal Bridges, who averaged 26.1 points per game. However, Bridges was unable to sustain that level of excellency, averaging 19.6 points per game the following season. Then in 2024-25, Cam Johnson averaged a career-high 18.8 points per game. Though Johnson was unable to score at an All-Star level, he became the team’s No. 1 option following the trade deadline.
Now the Nets no longer have Bridges, having traded him to their in-state rival in the 2024 offseason. Johnson himself was recently traded to the Denver Nuggets. Instead, they’re left with Michael Porter Jr., who was the 14th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. An elite 3-point threat at 6-foot-10, Porter averaged 18.2 points per game last season. Yet, there’s at least one member of the organization that believes he can compete for a scoring title.
If Brooklyn plans to use Porter more like Durant, is it possible?
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