Brooklyn Nets Land Low in The Athletic's NBA Offseason Rankings

The Brooklyn Nets drew a lot of the early NBA offseason headlines, from trading for Julius Randle to drafting Mikel Brown Jr. to signing key veterans like Moritz Wagner and Keon Ellis. However, that buzz quickly drowned out due to other moves around the league or simply silence from the organization after early July.

The Nets still have to handle Michael Porter Jr.'s potential contract extension, a task with more volatility than people believe. The 28-year-old could either be a long-term member of the organization or a trade candidate in the blink of an eye.

August—the dead period of the NBA offseason—is upon us, and Brooklyn isn't necessarily walking away THAT much better, but there's an opportunity to compete. That much was reflected in The Athletic's offseason power rankings from David Aldridge.

Purely based on the moves teams made this summer and not solely based upon last season's record or their place in the league's hierarchy, Aldridge placed the Nets 22nd on the list, one spot in front of the Cleveland Cavaliers and one spot behind their cross-town rival, the New York Knicks.

"I’ll be surprised if Randle is here long term (the 31-year-old has a player option for the 2027-28 season at $35.8 million)," Aldridge wrote. "But for now, he and Michael Porter Jr. can put the ball in the basket, Egor Dëmin should take a Year 2 jump, and Brown should finally solve the search for a franchise point guard.

"Brooklyn has a ways to go, but at the very least, this group should be more competitive most nights next season for Jordi Fernández — and get out of the league basement in offensive rating. It’s a start."

The Nets did right by this new NBA (as in the draft lottery changes) and raised their floor by pairing Porter with Randle, creating a high-scoring duo in the frontcourt. Their guard core is still developing, with five backcourt players between the first rounds of the 2025 and 2026 drafts.

But the Eastern Conference got that much more competitive to the point where Brooklyn's moves may not even matter. Most have the team slated to finish at or near the bottom three, known as the 'relegation zone.'

However, as Aldridge noted, this is a start for the Nets, who have the flexibility to exit the rebuild with one or more major splashes. General manager Sean Marks has preached that strength for months, but when will that get put to use?

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