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Nov 9, 2022; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks speaks during a press conference before a game against the New York Knicks at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Brad Penner-Imagn Images

What is the Brooklyn Nets’ Strategy Moving Forward?

Originally posted on Brooklyn Nets on SI
By Derek Parker | Last updated Aug 21, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Not long ago the Brooklyn Nets had a star trio comprised of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving.

They competed in the East playoffs, and were thought of to be one of the best teams in the NBA. Things crumbled quickly, though, leaving Brooklyn in the NBA’s middle-ground without a true shot at contention.

From there, the organization made a clear choice to rebuild, s tarting from scratch to build things from the ground up.

The 2025 NBA Draft signaled what was effectively the first milestone of that plan, as the Nets took an NBA-record five first-round prospects, shocking experts.

Now, the team moves forward with youth for the first time in years. But what actually is the team’s plan? The Nets will look to rebuild as so many have over the last several years: through the NBA Draft.

Just how they’ll do so, though, remains to be seen. The Nets’ 2025 draft could be looked at through a few different lenses.

The first is that they’re simply banking on one or multiple of the five becoming stars. Several of the players they gambled on — Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf — have major upside as handlers and play-makers. Though they’ll need seasons worth of development to even have a shot of reaching their ceiling.

Egor Dëmin ran 442 possessions as the pick-and-roll ballhandler in college at BYU, but he was really used as a wing by the Nets during Summer League.

23 of Dëmin’s 27 field goal attempts were three-pointers, and he only shot two free throws in 75 minutes of action.

The Russian… pic.twitter.com/HXZI03r2ZA
— the center hub (@thecenterhub_bb) July 26, 2025

Should they reach stardom, the Nets would then fill out more traditional roles via further drafting, trading and the free agent market.

The second lens is that the Nets truly will be building with handling and play-making versatility front of mind. It’s certainly not the worst option — the NBA Finals were littered with versatile ball-handlers and play-makers. And general versatility seems to be the theme of the league moving forward.

Brooklyn's next few years will be tough. They'll undoubtedly rank near the bottom of the league — many experts expect them to — as they look to both develop current talent and add new prospects at future drafts. But should they stay the course, they could join the Thunder, Rockets, Magic and numerous others who have spent only a few seasons acquiring talent at the draft before ascension.

The Nets could also deviate from a full scale rebuild. They haven't yet offloaded every win-now asset available — with Nic Claxton, Michael Porter Jr. and more still rostered — and that could mean they don't plan to take things down to the studs. If that was the case, they'd need a contingency plan — likely a massive free agent signing — though that's hard to bank on years out.

Regardless, the Nets have an interesting season ahead, starting on Oct. 10, with a preseason bout against the Suns.

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

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