The Brooklyn Nets are finally building the team the right way
By Brian Ramos
This 2022-2023 season was exciting and drama-filled for the Nets. After a tumultuous start to the season, including a Kyrie Irving suspension, the Nets traded Durant and Irving at the deadline. Durant was traded to the Phoenix Suns for T.J. Warren, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and draft picks.
Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks for Dorian Finney-Smith, Spencer Dinwiddie, and draft picks.
This new look and younger Nets went 45-37 but were swept in the first round by the 76ers. Bridges and Johnson each had career seasons, while Cam Thomas looked like a solid player off the bench.
The Nets are finally built for long-term success
The Nets added a lot of depth throughout the offseason, bringing in guys such as Harry Giles, Lonnie Walker IV, and Dennis Smith Jr. With young guys such as Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe, this is a very young and athletic team.
The way Brooklyn’s roster is constructed, Brooklyn will be a lower-tier or play-in team, with Bridges contending for All-NBA Honors and Johnson hoping for an All-Star nod. They have one of the best benches in the NBA and are one of the deeper teams in the league.
The Nets have a young roster and a ton of draft capital. In the next seven years, Brooklyn has eight first-round picks and six second-round picks.
Where do the Nets go from here?
The Nets have two options. Their first option is to continue to build this team from within, grow and develop it, and hit on their draft picks.
Their second option is to sacrifice some of their bench and draft capital to acquire a superstar to pair with Bridges and Johnson and bring this team back to the title hunt. Except for the Bucks and Celtics, the East is wide open.
With the Celtics in a tricky cap situation and the Bucks being an older team, the Nets could run the East for a while if they make the right moves
