How Should The Brooklyn Nets Approach Allocating Minutes?

In ESPN's most recent projection of Brooklyn's depth chart, two rookies are listed as fourth stringers, and players who have flashed potential in past seasons are not slated for minutes.

Whatever happens in the first 20 games of the 2025-26 season should determine how the rotations change throughout the year. An emphasis on competing should be made, and the best players should receive minutes to do so.

The starting lineup should look similar to the one pictured above for the entirety of the regular season, barring any injuries or trades.

Taking a look at the point guards, a rotation of Egor Demin and Nolan Traore may not be the most effective option from game one. Keon Johnson proved to be an effective defender and earned 56 starts. He may not offer much as a playmaker, but he should be one of the 10 players in the opening lineup because of his abilities as a 3&D guard.

Given the veteran pairing at shooting guard, it will be hard for younger options to overtake them. Tyrese Martin may unfortunately be an odd-man out for Brooklyn as he is on cut watch heading into the season. Taking a look at the rookie, Drake Powell, unless a trade is made in the room or he plays a different position, a year of development in the G League is likely.

The small forward group offers the most flexibility. Between Ziaire Williams, Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney, there is not a huge gap in production. Williams is the best defender of the three, and Clowney is the youngest, but Wilson also has three-level scoring potential. Williams should get the start, and Clowney should be the backup to begin the season.

Michael Porter Jr. and Danny Wolf hold down the power forward position firmly. Behind them are a one-dimensional player in Tosan Evbuomwan and also Dariq Whitehead, who has untapped potential. Whitehead needs playing time somewhere, and he makes more sense at small forward, but he will need a good training camp to break into the rotation.

At center, Nic Claxton and Day'Ron Sharpe combine to make the best positional duo for Brooklyn. It would be interesting to see if Drew Timme could work his way into the rotation after a successful NBA Summer League, but a trade or move to power forward may be needed.

This is all dependent on the state of the Nets after the first quarter of the season. If Brooklyn is below .500 after 20 games of the season, they should immediately prioritize development over winning. This means trades and simply giving playing time to those who need game experience to work through their mistakes.