Nets Might Not Have Luxury of Lengthy Rebuild in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the league’s worst teams for the past couple of years, and that might not change any time soon.

Entering next season, the Nets are expected to be in the mix for the top pick in the draft. With a roster filled with young players and a few veteran role players sprinkled in, the Nets are in for an interesting season, but there won’t be any spotlight on them.

Given that the Nets play in one of the biggest markets in the league, there will always be some expectation to be good. While rebuilds happen around the league all the time, and the Nets don’t have much history in terms of NBA success, being in Brooklyn puts some pressure on Sean Marks and company that wouldn’t exist in many other situations.

Recently, Marks even acknowledged that he has taken some inspiration from the rebuild that Sam Presti put together in Oklahoma City. While that rebuild went quite quickly, the Thunder already had their franchise player when the rebuild began, a luxury the Nets don’t have.

Considering Brooklyn has its 2026 first-round but not control of its 2027 pick, there are some obvious issues that could come up for the Nets as they look to return to being competitive at some point in the near future. The Nets have already tried their hand at star chasing, and it started well before ending miserably.

Perhaps if the Nets even still played in New Jersey, the pressure to win wouldn’t be quite as high. However, with the crosstown rival New York Knicks entering next season as a title contender, the clock is ticking in Brooklyn.

Maybe there isn’t much pressure internally, and Joe Tsai could easily be comfortable seeing the process out with a GM he trusts. But at some point, the Nets will need to realize that they are to the Knicks what the Clippers are to the Lakers.

Trying to co-exist with a more storied team with a larger fanbase doesn’t go well if you aren’t even competitive. Maybe it would be well worth the wait for Brooklyn to try and wait out the rebuild before making any big decisions about its direction.

As of now, however, the Nets don’t have much to show for multiple years of rebuilding already. Brooklyn would probably be wise to stay on its current trajectory, but in New York, it might not have that luxury.