Nets: What’s new, season prediction & 2024 free agents
The Nets look to make a return to the playoffs after a first-round sweep last season.
The superstar era is over and the Brooklyn Nets return with the same core that brought mediocre results after Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant were traded to the Western Conference in February. Brooklyn went 12-15 to finish the regular season and was the only team that got swept in the first round of the playoffs. Gone are expectations for postseason success, and in their place are questions about what comes next.
With a plethora of picks from the Irving and Durant trades, the Nets can eventually bid for another star player who wants a trade. For now, the biggest hope for improvement comes from the possibility of having a healthy Ben Simmons playing alongside the players that arrived in the Irving and Durant deals, with the former All-Star having played just 21 total minutes with leading scorer Mikal Bridges before missing the final 24 games of last season.
What’s new?
- Consecutive selections late in the first round of the Draft allowed the Nets to pick for both need (big man Noah Clowney) and potential (wing Dariq Whitehead).
- Four of the team’s best shooters — Seth Curry, Joe Harris, Patty Mills and Yuta Watanabe — are gone, via trades or free agency.
- Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV bring some athleticism to the bench on minimum contracts.
How far can the Nets go?
Without a top-tier star, the Nets have a ceiling. They should be better defensively than they were at the end of last season, but the offense is still lacking some juice. More changes could be coming, but as currently constructed, the Nets are probably not a team that can win a playoff series.
1 player that must take a leap
Ben Simmons. The 27-year-old is much better on defense, but Brooklyn could use his offensive skills as much as anything. While Bridges has become a prolific and efficient scorer, he’s not a playmaker, and the rest of the Nets’ ensemble needs somebody to set them up. Simmons, who’s played just 42 games over the last two years, could be that guy.
In-Season Tournament
The Nets are in East Group C. Here’s a refresher on how the In-Season Tournament works.
Upcoming free agents
The Nets have nine potential free agents in 2024.
- Darius Bazley
- Armoni Brooks (two-way player)
- Nic Claxton
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Royce O’Neale
- Dennis Smith Jr.
- Lonnie Walker IV
- Trendon Watford
- Jalen Wilson (two-way player)
Claxton has made big strides in his four years, turning into a defensive anchor who led the league in field goal percentage last season. He could be due for a big raise, and the Nets won’t want to let him go. Dinwiddie and O’Neale, meanwhile, could be pieces they sell off at the trade deadline if the team isn’t contending with the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
Brooklyn’s full roster can be found here.
New uniforms
Introducing our 2023-24 City Edition uniform, created by KAWS pic.twitter.com/JfK9Aw9eAg
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 6, 2023
* * *
John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.
