Nets Need to Develop Their Young Players. Do Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. Help the Cause?

Editor’s Note: For the upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026–27 basketball preview magazine that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.

The Nets have one player left on the roster from their last playoff team: Day’Ron Sharpe.

In 2023, Brooklyn made the playoffs with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in town, a few months after the franchise blew it all up and traded Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Suns. Bridges and Johnson were the prized pieces alongside the considerable draft capital Brooklyn got for its two stars. Both have since went on to greener pastures, while the Nets remain in a rebuild.

Bridges netted a haul of first-round picks from the Knicks, while Johnson brought back Michael Porter Jr. and one more first-rounder. Porter was a bright spot for Brooklyn until his season was cut short as a high-level scorer who rebuilt his trade value with more freedom on a young, developing team.

The offseason brought along Julius Randle, whose salary was dumped by Minnesota so the team could acquire LaMelo Ball. The Nets’ front office, presumably, wanted a low-cost veteran scorer to help raise the floor of their youthful team. But will it work out that way? We had an NBA scout weigh in.

“Brooklyn has a couple of the young kids that are interesting. Mikel Brown Jr., I'll be interested to see what he can do. If Egor Dëmin takes a jump, that'll be interesting,” an anonymous scout told Sports Illustrated. “The thing that I don't understand is you bring in Randle and you have Porter, I know you're trying to win some games, but those guys aren't going to help your young guys develop, which is critical for your team. Those guys are about themselves. So it's not like they're going to be helping those guys along to make them better. And I don't know. I didn't get the Randle trade at all.”

Brown, the highly-touted guard out of Louisville, arrives as the No. 6 pick in the draft. The Nets chose him over other guards like Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Brayden Burries, who each were taken within the next four picks in what could be a franchise-altering decision depending how the group shakes out.

Dëmin was the eighth pick in the 2025 draft. The Nets made five selections in the first round last year, four of whom were guards (depending how you classify Drake Powell). Dëmin looks like the brightest of the bunch as he hopes to build off a strong rookie season which was cut short in early March.

“I thought Dëmin had a good summer. He played Summer League, which is impressive for a guy that played a ton of games this year,” the scout said. “His shooting really translates. He can really shoot the ball. He's got size, can handle and pass. I don't think he's a point guard. I think he's just a ballhandling wing. And if they use him that way, I think it'll benefit him.

“So he doesn't have the pressure of having to bring the ball up, now having another creator that can create some shots for him could help, but Julius, he throws some crazy ass passes, so I don't know if that'll help. And I'll be interested to see if Brown can do some of that too and they can play off of each other. I just feel like there are a lot of mismatched pieces on that roster.”

Brooklyn hopes to thread the needle with Randle and Porter alongside its most important pieces in Dëmin and Brown, which makes sense with the NBA’s new anti-tanking rules. But does the cost of winning some games here and there with a noncompetitive roster come at the price of what should be the franchise’s top priority? That’s the most fascinating storyline that will follow the Nets throughout the upcoming season.

Offseason recap

Who’s in: Julius Randle, Keon Ellis, Moritz Wagner, Mikel Brown Jr. (draft), Joshua Jefferson (draft), Day’Ron Sharpe (re-signed), Josh Minott (re-signed)
Who’s out: Nic Claxton, Ziaire Williams

Brown and Randle were the two significant adds over the offseason, but Keon Ellis was a nice free-agent signing that will provide some strong perimeter defense. Nic Claxton was dealt to the Bulls in the Randle trade, which made Brooklyn’s decision to lock down Sharpe as the starting center key. Sharpe signed a two-year, $20 million deal to remain with the Nets with a team option for the 2027-28 season. Still only 24 years old, he’s the longest tenured member of the team and has grown steadily over the past few seasons. With Claxton gone, he gets a chance to prove he’s the center of the future while the backcourt works itself out.

NEXT: One Thought on All 30 NBA Teams Heading Into Preseason

SI’s prediction for the 2026-27 Nets

Record: 26–56 | Predicting the 2026–27 NBA Standings: Which Teams Will Rise, Fall and Surprise?

Last season, Brooklyn finished 20–62. It was the third-worst record in the NBA in front of only the Pacers and the Wizards. The Nets should be somewhat better this season with Randle, who scored 21.1 points per game last season with the Wolves. Putting him next to Porter raises this team’s floor, but it doesn’t move the needle even close to enough to compete in a stacked Eastern Conference. Realistically, Brooklyn is two years away from being two years away (shout-out to the Brazilian KD, Bruno Caboclo). Dëmin, Brown and even Nolan Traoré will be fun to watch, but you have to hope their development isn’t stunted by the score-first vets.

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