Mar 31, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez during the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Brooklyn Nets at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

NBA Analysts Praise Nets' Jordi Fernandez, Predict Shockingly Low Win Total

Originally posted on Brooklyn Nets on SI | By Jed Katz | Last updated Oct 16, 2025 2:40 PM ET

The Brooklyn Nets are set to enter another year in their early process of a rebuild, but this time, it's with pieces that actually matter. Last season, the Nets were rebuilding, but it seemed like they had one foot in and one foot out.

The foot in was the amount of draft picks they accumulated from the Mikal Bridges-New York Knicks trade, as well as the other picks they have. The foot out was the number of veterans they had on the roster. Brooklyn featured experienced players like Dennis Schroder, Dorian Finney-Smith, Cam Johnson and D'Angelo Russell throughout the season.

Now, with the 2025-26 season underway, the rebuild is being fully embraced. With that comes a great amount of losing. It's an unhealthy amount, but it's also necessary.

Many people aren't thrilled with the Nets' draft picks, as well as the rest of their roster. Bill Simmons, Zach Lowe and Joe House of The Ringer recently predicted Brooklyn to go under its 19.5 win total this season, but not without praise for head coach Jordi Fernandez. They also criticized the roster, specifically the rookies.

Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe predict that the Brooklyn Nets win UNDER 19.5 games and think the front office has “Jordi-proofed” the roster.

Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/hmVSH72T5G
— Brooklyn Netcast (@BrooklynNetcast) October 16, 2025

"I'm going under, I'll just tell you guys now," Simmons said. "They're going to be awful... I said this in June, the draft picks they made are all guys who need the ball. Even Danny Wolf, he needs the ball. They drafted all these dudes who need the ball."

"The only thing to talk about is how good that coach is," House said. "I'm super impressed. He's another one like Will Hardy [of the Utah Jazz] to me. He deserves the shot, once they get the talent, to stay and coach some legit talent."

"The front office Jordi-proofed the roster this year," Lowe said. "The only argument for the over is, three of their starters are Cam Thomas, Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton... Those are representative NBA, starter-level players. And one of them, Cam Thomas, can handle the ball and run the offense."

It will be interesting to see how the 'veterans' mesh with the rookies. Most of Brooklyn's 2025 first-round picks are playmakers, except for Drake Powell, who was drafted as one of the best perimeter defenders in the class.

Lowe noted that Thomas, Porter and Claxton are all trade candidates leading up to the February deadline. The Nets could go further into the youth movement by moving on from their 'best' players. That would almost certainly put them under the win total, even with a promising coach like Fernandez.

This article first appeared on Brooklyn Nets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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