Brooklyn Nets

Front office and bench

Ownership

Joe Tsai

General Manager

Sean Marks since 2016

Assistants

• Steve HetzelLead assistant coach
• Juwan HowardAssistant coach
• Jay HernandezAssistant coach
• Deividas DulkysAssistant coach
• Ryan Forehan-KellyAssistant coach
• Travis BaderAssistant coach / Player development

The direction

What the franchise says and what its moves show

Brooklyn remains in full rebuild mode around its 2025 draft class (Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf) and Mikel Brown Jr. Sean Marks wants to preserve cap flexibility and is using veterans like Randle to absorb pressure while the young players get minutes. Michael Porter Jr. is in the final year of his contract and is a trade chip.

Building around

Egor Demin Mikel Brown Jr. Nolan Traore

What they have said

• He said the franchise has always tried not to spend all of its flexibility, and that this is key when you're rebuilding.

  General manager Sean Marks · ClutchPoints · September 2026

• He warned that the incoming veterans won't be guaranteed minutes because of their experience: everyone will have to earn them.

  General manager Sean Marks · ClutchPoints / Roundtable · September 2026

What the data points to

• Seller Very likely

  • Julius Randle is the kind of veteran a contender asks for in February.
  • They are no use to this project in the medium term.
• Losing does not help Very likely

  • It does not own its 2027 first-round pick: if it loses, someone else celebrates.
  • It has to compete every night even without the roster for it.
• Will hit free agency with cap space Very likely

  • It has 119.3 M committed for next season: about 57.2 M under the cap (estimated).
  • Expensive free agents can only go to teams with space or via sign-and-trade.

Moves

Summer 2026

• Multiyear extensions for Jordi Fernández and his entire coaching staff (April, before the lottery).
• 2026 Draft: Mikel Brown Jr. (No. 6, Louisville point guard).
• Three-team trade with Minnesota and Chicago: Julius Randle arrives ($33.3M this season) and Nic Claxton goes to the Bulls.
• They sign Keon Ellis; Moritz Wagner, Day'Ron Sharpe and Josh Minott re-sign.

Latest

• Sep 21 Waived Waived G DJ Rodman and F Aaron Scott.

The roster

15 NBA contracts · 2026-27 salaries

Strengths and weaknesses

Today's roster, facet by facet (league rank)

• Defense 29th
• Rim protection 30th
• Three-point shooting 21st
• Playmaking 19th
• Scoring 30th
• Rebounding 28th
• Offensive impact 30th

Roster holes

• Weak in rim protectionWith today’s rotation it ranks 30th in the league in rim protection.
• Weak in scoringWith today’s rotation it ranks 30th in the league in scoring.

Contracts and extensions

Expiring this season

• Michael Porter Jr. 27 years old · paid 40.8 M Salary coming off the books
• Noah Clowney 21 years old · paid 5.4 M Restricted free agent Re-signing him would cost about 7.0 M a year

With an option next summer

• Julius Randle33.3 M · can leave early

Bargains (produce far above their salary, for several years)

None.

Pricey but short (paid more than they produce, but ending soon)

• Michael Porter Jr.40.8 M · final year

Money and picks

Payroll 160.1 M Cap 165.0 M Tax 200.4 M 1st apron 209.0 M 2nd apron 221.7 M

Payroll

160.1 M · under the cap

Distance to each line

tax: 40.3 M below · 1st apron: 48.9 M below · 2nd apron: 61.6 M below

Next summer

119.3 M committed · 57.2 M in cap space

First-rounders it can trade

2029, 2030, 2031 · holds 4 other teams’ firsts and 8 swaps

Radar and possible trades

Who could ask about its players

• SAS → Julius Randlesigned through 2027-28, produces above his salary

A trade that works under the CBA

Trade pieces

Assets

Julius Randle (worth 12.6 M more than his salary)

Contracts that weigh

Terance Mann (overpaid by 12.9 M)

To match salaries

Michael Porter Jr. (40.8 M)