When the Nets finally committed to tank, it was planned to be a shorter process rather than long.
That was 2024, and everybody knows the saying about the best-laid plans.
Multiple league sources told The Post that the idea remains the same: The Nets intend to flip the switch and try to compete as soon as next season.
Just how aggressive their rebuild is, and exactly what it looks like, is going to be determined by four or five touch points over the next 18 months.
How the Nets rookies develop, what kind of lottery luck they get, what happens in the upcoming playoffs, if a star becomes available and free agency will all play roles in shaping how Brooklyn’s rebuild goes.
“Yes, it’s all of the above,” a source told The Post. “There’s going to be like five touch points where you go OK, where’s the team.”
This draft is loaded, and the Nets will be in the lottery; the 2027 free agent class could be stacked, and they’ll have flexibility. Whether they become aggressive this summer, next summer or the trade deadline in-between remains unclear.
What’s crystal clear is they expect to compete sooner rather than later.
Think months, not years.
Now, there is a huge gap between the Nets and, say, the reigning champion Thunder, whom they host Wednesday. The play-in is a viable holistic goal next year, but circumstances will determine when they ante up for a star.
Like the lyric says, there’s levels to this. And Brooklyn is just trying to climb up from the bottom one next season, rather than wallow in the basement for the better part of a decade, piling up lottery pick after lottery pick.
Charlotte was in the lottery for nine consecutive years before breaking through. The Pistons are atop the East, but tanked for five straight years — averaging just 18.8 wins from 2019-24 — to accumulate elite talent like Cade Cunningham.
The Nets don’t plan to tank anywhere near that long. But like we said, mice and men…
With Brooklyn not having control of its own first-round pick in 2027, they’re no longer incentivized to lose. They’ll try to emulate shorter tanks like OKC — but that’s easier said than done, with no Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to build around.
“Our wins are not just the ones you see in the standings, and we’ve had that clear from the beginning,” said Jordi Fernández. “I know at times it may sound foreign for other people, but we have a plan. We know what we’re doing, and we’re confident that we’re going to be good for a long time. It’s just [that] it’s a process.”
There are a number of touch points that will steer that process. One highly-placed source suggested five.
Not in terms of importance but timeline. They could break down as follows:
Judging the rookie’s growth. From Egor Dëmin’s driving to Ben Saraf’s jumper to Danny Wolf’s finishing, their development must be evaluated.
“Right now we have this opportunity in front of us. These guys will play,” said Fernández. “We’ll have these different lineups to see what we have with particular players.”
“[The Nets] have a draft class underneath them,” a source told The Post. “How they develop will determine when [they] press go.”
So will what kind of lottery luck the Nets get in May. They entered Monday third in the lottery odds; finishing there could see them pick anywhere from first to seventh, with a drop-off after Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa and Cam Boozer.
Even though the Nets are nowhere near the playoffs, the postseason will shape their offseason. Underachieving can elicit breakups, and make stars available.
Sources told The Post that Brooklyn was interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Donovan Mitchell before entering their tank. If either became available — and the former is largely expected to — could the Nets circle back?
“They’ll have conversations [about stars],” one league source told The Post. “They already had conversations; they just weren’t quite the right time.”
Somewhere over the next 18 months should be the right time for Brooklyn. But circumstances will dictate when.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
