Nets' Performances Against Lottery Teams is Hurting Draft Odds

Brooklyn defeated the 14-37 Washington Wizards and 16-37 Utah Jazz in its last five games.

Feb 7, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Saraf (77) shoots a three point shot against the Washington Wizards during the fourth quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Ethical tanking and building a culture are good things to instill in an NBA team, but it can also be a double-edged sword. The front office and coaching staff should always be working to make the future of their organization brighter.

The Brooklyn Nets seem to be going down the route mentioned above under head coach Jordi Fernandez and general manager Sean Marks. They are currently tied for the fifth-best odds at the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Brooklyn moved down to those odds after defeating the Washington Wizards on Saturday night, putting their season series at 1-1.

If a tiebreaker is needed, the Nets and Wizards have one more game on Apr. 5 that will decide lottery odds. Being in the bottom three of the league standings means even odds at the No. 1 pick in the draft, and in a potentially generational class, the difference between a top-five and top-three pick could be franchise-altering.

Along with a win over Washington, Brooklyn took down the 16-37 Utah Jazz on Jan. 30. Utah currently has the sixth-best odds at the No. 1 pick and has gone 2-8 in its last 10 games.

Former Brooklyn Net and NBA legend Paul Pierce said that the Nets have no direction as an organization on a podcast with Kevin Garnett on Saturday. Part of his reasoning was that this upcoming draft class has generational talents in it and that they're playing themselves out of a true franchise cornerstone.

Brooklyn elected not to make any big trades at the deadline, which may cause it to win more games down the stretch, especially against teams that made trades to commit to rebuilding. Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton are well-above-average NBA players who could help bring the Nets out of their rebuild, but also slow the process down if they can't get another young building block.

At this point in the season, moral victories can only do so much for the team. Teams like the Wizards and Jazz have shut down their best players in fourth quarters and, in some cases, for the rest of the season.

Fernandez wants to build a competitive culture in Brooklyn while focusing on player development. The question isn't whether or not the organization needs more young talent –– it does –– but the level of talent needs to be above average to complete a successful rebuild.

The Nets will have another matchup with a team aiming to improve their lottery odds tonight against the 11-seeded Chicago Bulls. Losses against playoff teams should be expected, but more losses need to come against teams with similar records if the goal is to get as good a pick as possible in 2026.