Nets’ rebuild not about 2025, all about 2026

On paper, the Nets should be an intriguing team heading into the 2025-26 season. Five first-round picks in a single draft will do that. Brooklyn walked away with Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf — a league record haul.

But intrigue does not equal wins. Outside of restricted free agent Cam Thomas, who still hasn’t signed, and Michael Porter Jr., who has yet to prove he can carry an offense, there is no clear star in sight.

The expectation is that Brooklyn will once again finish near the bottom of the East, which has led many to question the strategy behind loading up on so many young “creators with iffy shooting histories,” as Justin Verrier of The Ringer put it.

Verrier pushed back against the criticism, calling the offseason “perfectly solid.” His argument is simple: this was never about 2025. The front office knows it’s a bridge year.

Even if the Nets had pulled off a miracle trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Verrier wrote, the roster “would’ve been more bereft than what the former MVP has in Milwaukee.”

Instead, Brooklyn overstuffed the rotation with young talent, took on contracts like Porter and Terance Mann for more draft capital, and kept its focus on the long game.

That long game is the 2026 draft — projected to be loaded with star talent — and the Nets are banking on lottery odds and flexibility. For now, the plan is to stockpile assets, develop prospects, and maintain cap space.

Thomas’ unresolved restricted free agency is part of that patience. Brooklyn has all the leverage, since no other team has shown interest in paying him big money.

The most likely outcome is Thomas signing his qualifying offer and playing for about $6 million this season.

It’s not flashy, and it won’t bring wins now. But Brooklyn seems content letting the foundation harden, with eyes on a much bigger swing a year from now.