2 players Nets must trade after 62-loss season

At present, Demin is the crown jewel of the Nets’ rebuild. Drafted with the eighth overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, Demin has flashed brilliance with the basketball, as he combines patient decision-making with excellent marksmanship from beyond the arc.

Only 20 years of age, Demin has a lot of room to grow as a player. Perhaps as he develops more muscle and fills out his frame, he can be a more effective driver towards the basket. He is overly reliant on the three-point shot, that’s for sure, but he did shoot 38.5 percent from deep on over six attempts per ballgame as a rookie, and rookie point guards are never expected to be efficient from the floor.

As for the other Nets youngsters, it is too early to give up on any of them. Traore is only 19 years of age while Saraf is only 20, and having those three guards compete with one another for minutes has to be helpful; as the old adage goes, iron sharpens iron.

Wolf is a multi-talented big man with flashes of ballhandling and three-level scoring ability. Standing at 6’11”, the 21-year-old big man has so much raw skill that the Nets have to be patient with the mistakes he’s making as he’s trying to round out his game.

Powell has prototypical size for a wing and one would think that he has all the tools to be a 3-and-D wing, but he has yet to develop both the three-ball and the defensive side of his game.

As for Clowney, he may be on the final year of his deal, but he is a combo forward who’s developing his offensive game, and he’s worth keeping simply because he’s easy to slot into any lineup. Sharpe is always productive when given minutes and he’s on a cheap deal worth $6.25 million next season.

Brooklyn’s question marks

Up in the air: Nicolas Claxton, Ziaire Williams, Josh Minott, Malachi Smith

Claxton has been involved in trade rumors for quite some time now, and it’s easy to see why; the 27-year-old center is in the middle of his prime, and he’s toiling away on a bad Nets team that’s not going anywhere anytime soon. A lot of contending teams can use an athletic rim-protecting lob threat like Claxton, especially when he’s on a reasonable contract over the next two seasons (two years, $44.4 million left on his deal).

However, the Nets shouldn’t exactly feel that much urgency to trade Claxton away. For one, he’s the elder statesman of the team, so he’s an influential voice in a locker room filled with many young players. Secondly, it’s not like Brooklyn has much use for its cap space. And even bad teams like the Nets need quality players like Claxton as they try to build winning habits.

As for the other three, it’s likely that the Nets keep all of them in some capacity. Williams is a good fit in any lineup for Brooklyn considering his floor-spacing ability and athleticism. Minott had his excellent moments after the Nets picked him up later on in the 2025-26 season. Even Smith, who had his contract converted in early April, showed he was productive, albeit during silly season.

Michael Porter Jr. headlines Nets’ undisputed trade candidates

Trade candidates: Michael Porter Jr., Terance Mann

Porter’s name was being bandied around in trade rumors all season long, as it was evident from the moment he stepped foot in Brooklyn that he wasn’t long for the team. His ability to score in bunches and shoot above 40 percent from deep on high volume is very valuable across the association, and he only helped his trade value by averaging 24 points on 46/36/86 shooting from the field as the number one option in Brooklyn.

The Nets ended up holding onto him past the trade deadline, which is understandable if they think that they could get better offers come offseason time. But that is highly unlikely. Porter will be in the final year of his contract making $40.8 million, so any interested team have him for just one season instead of one and a half seasons including a playoff run.

This may end up dampening Porter’s trade value, but the Nets have to at least be thinking that getting something in return is better than losing him for nothing. It’s not like they’re in the roster-building phase where holding on to a veteran like Porter makes sense.

As for Mann, he still has two years left on his contract worth a total of $31.5 million. That is not a very good contract, to say the least. The Nets can afford to bite the bullet, but with Brooklyn being loaded in the backcourt anyway with their young prospects, it might be for the best to clear out even more space — both on the roster and on the cap sheet — by giving Mann up.