Nets Rookies Can Carry Momentum Into Offseason

The Brooklyn Nets have a few players who can continue developing in the offseason.

Brooklyn Nets forward Drew Timme is guarded by New York Knicks forward Kevin McCullar Jr. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets didn't have a 2024 NBA Draft pick on the roster, but they were still able to find ways to get rookie some minutes for the team.

Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes graded every team's rookie class and gave the Nets a "C-" for the first-year players' efforts.

"The tanking Brooklyn Nets are in the earliest stages of their rebuild, but they haven't given a single minute of game action to a 2024 pick. Every first-year player that has seen court time—and there haven't been many—was an undrafted free agent," Hughes writes.

"One rookie, Cui Yongxi, suffered a torn ACL and was waived as part of the deal that sent Dennis Schröder to the Golden State Warriors in December. Another, Jaylen Martin, saw five minutes all year.

"Reece Beekman, who came over in the Schroder deal, is going to lead Brooklyn's rookie class in appearances but is only seeing about 15.0 minutes per game since the All-Star break. Good news, though: Beekman averaged 18.7 points, 7.3 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 steals while scoring efficiently for the Santa Cruz Warriors. At the very least, he's had some success at the lower levels.

"No one in the Nets' revolving door of rookie pickups—Drew Timme, Tyson Etienne among them—profiles as a keeper."

The Nets gave a bunch of trial runs to players just to give them a cup of coffee, and now they have a number of prospects that can compete for a spot on the roster during the summer.

Those players will compete with the Nets draft picks from this summer (Brooklyn has four first-rounders) to see who could get playing time next season.