Top 3 Priorities for Brooklyn Nets During 2026 NBA Offseason
That's a wrap for the 2025-26 Brooklyn Nets. Now comes the hard part: nailing their offseason.
The stakes are at an all-time high for this current Nets era. They just wrapped Year 3 of the rebuild and still don't have a clear franchise cornerstone to show for their struggles.
Brooklyn's draft obligations complicate matters even further. It doesn't control the rights to next year's first-rounder. That considerably raises the level of urgency ascribed to this offseason. The Nets can't spin their wheels for another two years, until 2028, waiting for draft-day salvation.
Fortunately for them, they have oodles of cap space and assets to work with this summer. What should they do with it? That's why we're here: to offer them unsolicited instructions.
3. Figure Out Michael Porter Jr.'s Future
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Calls for the Nets to trade Michael Porter Jr. will reach a fever pitch this summer, just as they did around February's trade deadline. But if they're trying to win during a year in which they don't own their draft pick, he should be viewed as a potential keeper…for now.
Godfather offers are the clear exception. Brooklyn shouldn't turn down an opportunity like the one it seized to acquire him in the first place (landing Denver's 2032 first). The question is, if that package didn't exist in February, why would it surface now, when his new team has less time with him before free agency?
Extending MPJ may be the Nets' most palatable route. Tacking on a few years to his contract worth noticeably less than the $40.8 million he's owed next season may actually help his future trade value. In the interim, Brooklyn could aim to be competitive, then reevaluate where it's at closer to the 2027 deadline.
The calculus changes if MPJ isn't willing to put pen to paper for a price point with which the Nets are comfortable. Moving him becomes the default course in that case.
Whatever the end result, Brooklyn needs to provide clarity on his future. Letting him go into 2027 unrestricted free agency should not be Plan A.
2. Use Cap Space to Land a Veteran Creator
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Brooklyn can chisel out more than $40 million in cap space if it renounces all its own free agents and moves on from various team options and non-guarantees. General manager Sean Marks must be prepared to throw that financial weight around.
A lead creator who doesn't infringe upon the development of current youngsters and this year's top pick is the top priority. Nolan Traoré doesn't look ready for that role and still needs to expand his range. Perhaps Egor Dёmin can develop into one, but the Nets haven't heavily used him in this capacity.
Poking around Austin Reaves (player option) is a no-brainer. He has shown he can operate as the first, second or third option, so he would fit alongside whomever Brooklyn has or plans to add.
Free-agency options are wearing thin after him, unless the Nets want to enter the LeBron James business or reunite with James Harden (player option). Luckily, cap space can be used to facilitate trades.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is expected to pop up on the team's radar, according to the New York Post's Brian Lewis. Investing in an over-30 superstar is a demonstrative risk, but if Brooklyn can land him without forking over this year's draft pick, it's worth a discussion.
Beyond Giannis, players like Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Paolo Banchero and De'Aaron Fox could become available depending on what happens in the play-in and playoffs. If the Nets want to aim smaller, players such as Ryan Rollins or Keyonte George could make sense.
Second-draft opportunities (like Scoot Henderson) or depressed-value assets (Ja Morant) are worth pondering as contingencies. But targeting the right proven commodities should be the primary objective.
1. Nail the Draft
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Although the general premise of hitting on this year's draft pick goes without saying, the level of angst and alarm in Brooklyn is more nuanced.
Nobody on the roster is currently tentpole-star material. Michael Porter Jr. or Egor Dёmin is the best bet. Neither is a particularly good one.
With a better than 50 percent chance of landing a top-four pick, the Nets need to select their face of the future. If they don't luck into AJ Dybansta, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer or Caleb Wilson, they better hope another franchise-altering talent is available elsewhere.
Failing to do so now would squander Brooklyn's last best shot at landing a centerpiece in the draft. Lottery reform is right around the corner. Most of the proposals on the table severely limit a team's ability to achieve a high floor in the draft order.
If the Nets don't get their guiding light from this year's class, they may have to acquire him by other means.
Dan Favale is a National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.
