Why Nets are among top 5 teams in future assets after loud offseason
09/16/2024 02:45 PM
The Brooklyn Nets are turning the page to a new era in 2024-25. Owner Joe Tsai and General Manager Sean Marks committed to a full rebuild by trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks and regaining control of their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks from the Houston Rockets. According to several NBA analysts, the Nets have positioned themselves to be a major player in the NBA transaction cycle in the coming years.
Brooklyn landed at No. 4 on HoopsHype’s Team Asset Rankings ahead of the season. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Bobby Marks ranked the Nets’ draft assets as the third-best in the NBA, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.
“The Nets are an example of how quickly things can change in the NBA,” he wrote. “After [James] Harden asked out in 2022, then [Kyrie] Irving and [Kevin] Durant a year later, Brooklyn went from a contender to a team with no identity, despite acquiring eight first-round picks in exchange for the three players.”
“The Nets had no control of their own first-round picks because of the Harden trade in 2021 with the Rockets, and there were no benefits for the team to rebuild at that time. But that all changed this past June when the Rockets traded the Nets back their own 2025 first-round pick and then eliminated the right to swap firsts in 2026. The trade with the Rockets allowed Brooklyn to send their best player, Mikal Bridges, to the New York Knicks for four unprotected first-round picks and the right to swap firsts in 2028.”
A detailed look at the Nets’ future assets
After trading Harden, Irving, Durant and Bridges within the last three seasons, Brooklyn has 15 first-round picks over the next seven years:
- 2025 (Own)
- 2025 via Milwaukee (Top-4 protected)
- 2025 via New York
- 2025 (Least favorable of Phoenix/Houston/Oklahoma City)
- 2026 (Own)
- 2027 via New York
- 2027 via Philadelphia (Top-8 protected)
- 2027 (Own – Houston can swap)
- 2028 (Most favorable of Brooklyn/Phoenix/New York)
- 2029 via New York
- 2029 (Own)
- 2029 (Least favorable of Dallas/Houston/Phoenix)
- 2030 (Own)
- 2031 via New York
- 2031 (Own)
The Nets can trade 12 of those picks. They can add to their draft capital by fielding offers for veterans Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Bojan Bogdanović and Dennis Schroder ahead of the trade deadline. Brooklyn has four first-round picks in next year’s highly-anticipated draft, giving them a shot at Cooper Flagg or other blue-chip prospects before several swings later in the first round.
A less-discussed aspect of the Nets’ favorable future outlook is their 2025 cap space. With Ben Simmons on a $40 million expiring contract this season, Brooklyn could open over $70 million in cap space next offseason, depending on roster decisions.
"Next summer could be controlled by the Brooklyn Nets… if they want to," Bobby Marks said in a video earlier this month. "They've got four first-round picks. They've got their own, which could potentially be a top-three or top-four pick. They've got a New York pick, likely an Oklahoma City pick. They've got a pick that is coming from Milwaukee if it doesn't fall in the top four. They are stacked as far as draft equity."
"And they could have potentially $70 million in cap space [or] even more, depending on what happens with Dorian Finney-Smith and Cam Johnson. Cam Thomas is rookie-extension-eligible. So Brooklyn can certainly rebound rather quickly in their rebuild because this is going to be a lean year. Is it the 12-70 season in 2009-10? Probably not. But I think Brooklyn’s win total is anywhere from 18-20 wins with this group, and it could certainly be lower. So Brooklyn controls [the draft] and free agency.”
Brooklyn is the only team projected to have over $30 million in cap space next offseason. Houston, Washington, and San Antonio project to have $20-$30 million.
The Nets can use their cap space to sign free agents if they want to expedite their rebuild timeline. They can also use it to absorb unwanted contracts in return for draft picks, something General Manager Sean Marks did several times early in his tenure.
"I think we have to be patient. We’re not going to be in a hurry," the Nets GM said after the Bridges trade. "This build, do I think it’s going to take time? We'll be strategic in it. But I do think being in this market, with this amount of draft assets, we’ve done it before. And so again, I'm not saying that it’s gonna be expedited by any means, but I don’t think it’s a long process either."
"There’s great lessons as we built this the first time. The first couple years, we built through offer sheets, we built through cap space, being creative in some of those signings that we made. We’ll take that and try and implement the same things."
"But again, we didn’t have a whole lot of draft picks back then… And this time we can build through the cap space that we’ll have as well. It's also a new CBA. So I think that affects everybody a little differently… Nobody’s quite sure how it’s going to be… So for us to maintain that flexibility into the season is pretty important."
The post Why Nets are among top 5 teams in future assets after loud offseason appeared first on ClutchPoints.
