How Much Pressure is on Nets' Young Core Next Season?

The Nets want to make it back to the postseason, but how will that truly impact their young core?

Jan 30, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Egor Demin (8) dribbles against the Utah Jazz during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Brooklyn Nets are hoping to get back to competitive basketball next season, and it could lead to some extra pressure for their youngest players.

Over the past couple of years, the Nets have made some significant moves and are now looking to come out of their rebuild in 2026-27. While trading for Julius Randle and the signings of Keon Ellis and Moe Wagner signal that Brooklyn is ready to add some more experienced players to the roster, it still has a lot of young talent to work with.

Most notably, Brooklyn’s young talent is made up of six first-round picks, five coming in 2025. As the Nets head into next season, those six players will be relied upon heavily to try and get the Nets where they want to be.

While the Nets are certainly optimistic for leaps and contributions from all of their young players, it’s no secret that Mikel Brown Jr. and Egor Demin will have the most pressure to perform next season. The Nets’ highest draft picks over the past two years, Brown and Demin project as the best potential bets to be Brooklyn’s next homegrown All-Star.

Of course, neither will be expected to play at an All-Star level next season, but those two will be expected to contribute on a nightly basis and be a key reason winning basketball returns to Brooklyn. After all, Brown and Demin could easily be the starting backcourt in Barclays Center for the foreseeable future. 

Even beyond Brown and Demin, the Nets’ other four first-round picks from 2025 will all have varying levels of pressure going into next season. Given Brooklyn’s situation down low, Danny Wolf likely slots in at third on the pressure scale, with Ben Saraf, Nolan Traore and Drake Powell each being expected to improve but not necessarily be consistent contributors in their second seasons.

That also means that perhaps there simply shouldn’t be too much pressure on any of the Nets’ young core next season. Coming off a 20-win year with an overhauled roster and all of these recent picks still trying to build chemistry after an injury-riddled 2025-26, the Nets shouldn’t have high expectations for their young stars.

Jordi Fernandez should still be holding his players to a high standard and expect them to make winning plays and improve, but it’s perfectly fine if this crop of young players simply isn’t ready yet. The Nets should still prioritize development first, so if none of the young core breaks out and shows star potential next season, there shouldn’t be any panicking done in Brooklyn.