Brooklyn Nets Starting Five Disrespected in Latest Rankings

The Brooklyn Nets have the potential to be one of the league’s most interesting teams next season, but some expect them to remain among the NBA’s worst.

This offseason has been a chaotic one across the league, and Brooklyn has been no exception. Acquiring Julius Randle via trade to help kick off the wild summer and adding Mikel Brown Jr. through the draft, the Nets have made some significant additions this summer.

With a new-look roster will come a new-look starting five for Jordi Fernandez’s bunch. In a recent Bleacher Report article, Greg Swartz predicted Brooklyn’s starting lineup to feature new additions Brown and Randle, alongside Michael Porter Jr., Day’Ron Sharpe and Egor Demin.

While the starting five has an intriguing mix of young players and veterans, Swartz clearly doesn’t seem to value the five-man group Brooklyn will likely tip off the season with. In his ranking of the NBA’s 30 starting lineups, Swartz pinned the Nets at No. 29, ahead of only the Milwaukee Bucks in the post-Giannis Antetokounmpo era.

“Randle and Porter are the veterans of this team and have their spots guaranteed, unless either are traded before the season begins,” Swartz wrote. “Sharpe should take over the starting center duties for Claxton and averaged 11.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocks on 59.3 percent shooting in his seven starts last year.

“Dёmin (6'8") and Brown (6'5") are both technically point guards, but have the size necessary to play next to each other. As Brooklyn's only top-10 picks during this rebuild, they both need to be on the floor.”

Swartz’s reasoning for who will get the starting nods is sound, but he left plenty of room for Brooklyn to prove him wrong with his ranking. Sure, the Nets were one of the worst teams in the league last season, but this revamped starting group could be the catalyst for a postseason appearance in 2027.

The backcourt is certainly a question mark still with Brown and Demin being inexperienced, but the frontcourt picture should be steady enough to make the Nets’ starting group more than capable of competing on a nightly basis. Of course, there’s no guarantee that Brooklyn will be much better next season, and its starting lineup ranking could prove true.

Still, the ceiling in Brooklyn is far higher than it’s been in recent years, and if things go according to plan, this starting unit will be ranked much higher than 29th next season.