Nets banking on future as rebuild takes full shape

The Nets’ offseason has been one big balancing act. As Luke Adams of HoopsRumors wrote in his season preview, this is a rebuild, but it’s not one without a plan.

Brooklyn entered the summer sitting on cap space and draft picks, then decided to spend both in creative ways.

They grabbed Michael Porter Jr. from the Nuggets (along with a 2032 first-rounder) for Cameron Johnson. They picked up Terance Mann and the rights to Drake Powell from Atlanta, and took Haywood Highsmith off Miami’s hands in exchange for a future second-rounder.

Three solid vets, three different storylines, and one big theme. And that would be to collect assets, stay flexible, and see who rebuilds their value.

Then came the draft. The Nets didn’t just use their picks. They used all five first-rounders — Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Powell, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf. No NBA team had ever done that before. General manager Sean Marks is clearly betting on volume and development, even if it means some growing pains under first-year coach Jordi Fernandez.

Brooklyn also brought back a few familiar faces. Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams signed two-year, $12.5 million deals with team options for Year 2, while Cam Thomas took his $6 million qualifying offer. Translation? Short-term flexibility and trade chips if things head that way.

The Nets’ salary sheet remains clean, with around $13 million in cap space and plenty of wiggle room. They’ve trimmed camp numbers — waiving Dariq Whitehead, Drew Timme, and a few others — and still have one two-way slot open.

Basically, this should be a young, scrappy group with a coach who doesn’t seem interested in bottoming out.

The results might not be pretty, but the direction is clear. Brooklyn is playing the long game, and that’s something Nets fans haven’t been able to say in a while.