One Change the Nets Should Make for the Last Month of Their NBA Season

Brooklyn's season is nearly over at 17-48. What are some changes we could see over the next month?

Mar 10, 2026; Brooklyn, New York, USA; The Brooklyn Nets coaching staff watches from the bench in the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

With just about one month left in the regular season, the Brooklyn Nets are locked into garnering the best odds possible in the NBA Draft Lottery. At 17-48, they're in a heated battle with about three other teams, hoping to sneak into the top three and have a 52.1% chance at a top-four pick and a 14% chance at No. 1.

But at the same time, Brooklyn's players aren't going to blatantly participate in bad basketball. These athletes still want to perform at a high level and compete, and the coaching staff will still make proper adjustments. Head coach Jordi Fernández has given veterans heavy minutes on multiple occasions, and Michael Porter Jr. most recently voiced concerns with tanking.

So with just 17 games left in their season, the Nets could make some adjustments that may not necessarily get wins, but at least show a blueprint for success down the road. These games will be crucial for development. Here is one change they should make in the final stretch of the season:

More Rookies Sharing the Court

For the majority of the season, it was rare to see more than two rookies on the floor for Brooklyn. Egor Dёmin, who is out for the rest of the season (plantar fasciitis), was getting solid minutes with Drake Powell, but heavy playing time among Danny Wolf, Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf was rare.

Now, Traoré has taken his game to another level over the last month and a half, and minutes are starting to even out. This could be the perfect opportunity for Fernández to go all in on the youth.

Fans would appreciate seeing more lineups featuring four of the five first-round rookies. That group is the next era of Brooklyn basketball, so it would only be fair to get Traoré, Powell, Saraf and Wolf comfortable being on the court together all at once.

Traoré has shown immense improvement in both scoring and facilitation, averaging 11.6 points, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals over his last 15 games. Saraf is the rookie who probably needs the most development, as he has struggled to find his footing on offense.

It's important for the young core to learn from the veterans, but there's no telling if they'll be on the roster next season or down the road. Over these last 17 games, Fernández should be more keen on developing on-court chemistry between the rookies.