A Year After Hitting a Crossroads, Nets Owner Fully Embraces the Rebuild

Back in July of 2024, the Brooklyn Nets were "at a crossroads," in the words of their owner, Joe Tsai. The proclamation led to the eventual departure of Mikal Bridges, and thus, the franchise's rebuild was underway.

2024-25 was a tough season for the Nets, one full of losses and frustration, yet growth. Head Coach Jordi Fernandez came in and immediately implemented a new culture, setting up his young team for future success.

Ahead of year two of the rebuild, Tsai is prepared for his team to rack up the losses, which may actually all be part of the plan.

“Well, I have to say that we’re in a rebuilding year,” Tsai said on the All-In podcast. “We spent all of our [2025] picks, we had five first-round draft picks this past summer."

The picks Tsai speaks of obviously netted Egor Demin (eighth overall), Nolan Traore (19th overall), Drake Powell (22nd overall), Ben Saraf (26th overall) and Danny Wolf (27th overall), leading to a record-breaking draft haul.

Brooklyn did reload over the summer, but past trades force somewhat of an accelerated rebuild. The Houston Rockets own swap rights to the Nets' 2027 first-rounder, meaning that they need to do everything they can to secure the highest lottery odds possible this season. Tsai knows this, and he has a plan to ensure the organization is poised for success—even at the expense of 2025-26's overall record.

“We have one pick in 2026, and we hope to get a good pick. So you can predict what kind of strategy we will use for this season. But we have a very young team," Tsai continued, intentionally avoiding the word "tank."

Brooklyn utilized the "ethical tanking" route last year, managing to lose games with a sense of pride. The Nets didn't do so shamelessly, rather opting to give the young guys a shot to prove themselves. Oftentimes, the end result was a loss, but there have been far more egregious acts of tanking in the past—even recently, as last season (looking at you, Philadelphia).

While it's likely the fanbase already expected such, Brooklyn isn't going to be very competitive next season, and for good reason. This upcoming year is essentially the Nets' last opportunity to build through the draft, and they need to secure a high pick to do so.

So don't be surprised when you get a sensation of déjà vu from the previous campaign, because the end goal appears to be the same as it was in year one.