Everyone needs a sense of purpose. Purpose gives you a reason to what you do, point you on the path you need to go on, and give you a goal to work for. When you don’t have purpose, you find yourself drifting aimlessly. For a while, that’s what it looked like for the Brooklyn Nets. However as the 2024-2025 season progresses, their purpose and vision is clearer than ever.
When the Nets traded Kevin Durant in 2023, they were thrust into a new era. The team didn’t want to say goodbye to Durant, but circumstances forced their hand. Mikal Bridges played well for the most part, but not well enough to push them into contention. With their trade of Bridges to the New York Knicks for a bevy of draft picks, Brooklyn went all in on a rebuild. As they do that, they’ve found some successes along the way.
The Nets try to figure it out
)
Under new head coach Jordi Fernandez, the Nets have played with a spirit and energy that is admirable. Even after blowout losses, the team comes back with renewed energy and maintains their competitive spirit. Even as the team has lost, we’ve seen development across the roster. Each player on the roster brings maximum effort and they’ve impressed people across the league.
“I think these guys have impressed the whole league, impressed us,” Phoenix Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer said prior to their matchup on November 27. “No matter who plays, they bring competitiveness and edge. They play hard on both ends of the court. Defensively, they will disrupt, they get up into you. Offensively, picking up a lot of threes, but they’re driving, they’re attacking. They look like they’re just a team that’s in a good place on both sides of the ball.”
A player that exemplifies this is Cam Johnson. Due to Cam Thomas’ assortment of injuries this season, Johnson has had to take on more playmaking responsibilities. It’s a change for him as he spent most of his career playing off of number one options like Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges. Those increased ballhandling reps have paid off in new and unique ways for CJ and the Nets
Johnson has a career high assist percentage and has shot better than ever even with an increased workload. Johnson’s success has likely secured his spot on the Nets past this season and beyond.
For Brooklyn, this season is all about development. The team has to see if the players on the roster can incorporate new skills into their arsenals. Wins and losses are immaterial to the goal of identifying who the “next Nets” will be. Due to injuries and trades, there’s been a lot of roster turnover. Even with that, the effort remains the same. And for players that have been with the organization in the past, the work Fernandez and the coaching staff has done stands out
Russell’s presence on the Nets has served multiple purposes. He’s helped keep the team competitive while making them more capable on offense. And when things get tight late, he makes magic happen
It’s moments like that which help players remain bought in.
What’s next?
As we approach the trade deadline on February 6th, Sean Marks and Nets management have a lot to decide. Recently, I discussed all things Nets with Dexter Henry of New York Got Game
The Nets find themselves in a pretty interesting position. Although they are only five games behind the rebuilding Chicago Bulls for the tenth and final postseason spot, Brooklyn isn’t due to make any real noise if they were able to somehow sneak into the playoffs. Even still, the foundation is being laid for a return to relevance soon enough.
“But when you look at the big picture,” former Nets superstar Kevin Durant said after a victory on January 25, “you’ve got young guys that are getting experience and playing time. You’re building assets and getting future picks. And hopefully you can draft well, put the team together well. So I think they’re walking in the right direction. I think the fans definitely want to see some great basketball on the floor, and I think it’s coming for this team.”
For Brooklyn, they have to decide if they will will strip the roster down even more to boost their draft odds. As of this writing, the Nets would be picking sixth in the 2025 Draft. Considering everything, the best course of action will be doing everything they can to improve their draft positioning. In a rebuild, you need to find a good coach and players that can grow as you work your way back to contention. The Nets have one part solved due to the great work done by Fernandez. Now comes the hard part of putting the roster together.
If everything goes to plan, the Nets will pick near the top of the lottery for the first time since 2010. In year one of this rebuild, we have seen internal development from veterans and promising play from their youngsters. The players and coaching staff have adjusted to everything thrown at them and still maintained their energy and effort. Although they are years away from championship contention, you have to start building foundation as soon as possible. After years of being stuck in the middle, the Nets are taking steps back so they can take bigger steps forward when the time is right. We’ve got a long way to go, but so far so good in Brooklyn.