The Brooklyn Nets are in an incredibly tough spot from a holistic point of view. They're going to struggle to get to contention with their current roster, and it's not worth going all in and jeopardizing the team's future to trade for a superstar once again. It's not a proven method for championships, and that's been shown in the past few seasons, with the Phoenix Suns currently being an example of such.
So, for the Nets -- who don't control their future draft picks and the fate of their picks is in the hands of the Suns -- simply being the most competitive team possible for the meantime makes the most sense. In the Eastern Conference, the Nets should be a consistent playoff team at minimum, given the current make and mold of their roster.
While their recent 32-50 campaign wouldn't suggest they're going to be a playoff team next season, they've got a solid path to doing so. The rave in the NBA recently is solid team-building rather than top-heavy, star-filled rosters. All the teams finding success in the league have balanced approaches and depth on the roster.
The Nets, should they re-sign Nic Claxton, will have a defense-first with plenty of offense to function. With scorers like Cam Johnson and Cam Thomas being solid shooters and scorers, combined with Mikal Bridges and Claxton's strong defense, the team will have a solid balanced approach. Playing an offense involving everyone and playing to each player's strengths would make for a good product and winning basketball.
Hiring new head coach Jordi Fernandez is the perfect hire for the new era, too. Again, there is no clear path to a championship, but being a perennial playoff team until they have control of their picks seems to be the best route as a franchise. He was recently an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings, a well-rounded team with depth playing behind star players.
If Fernandez can get the most out of their depth and get the entire team to play together, there is no reason the Nets shouldn't be able to find their way into the playoffs in some capacity next season.
Bridges and Thomas are going to be able to grow in their role behind Fernandez, but utilizing every other talent on the floor to make things easier for them will be key. With the amount of talent on the roster, though there is no budding star, they should be able to rally behind each other and play playoff-level basketball in a weak Eastern Conference.
Succeeding next season would show optimism for the franchise as the talent isn't the issue right now. Using the talent in the proper way is a great challenge for Fernandez in his first campaign as a head coach and is a great opportunity for him to prove himself as a head coach.
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