The Post’s Brian Lewis answers the biggest Nets questions, makes bold predictions and picks the five biggest games of the 2025-2026 season:
From five
Can the Nets take their tank to another level?
The Nets committed to the tank before last season when they traded Mikal Bridges. But between rookie coach Jordi Fernández exceeding expectations and veteran point guard Dennis Schröder leading them to improbable victories, they pulled off victories that proved Pyrrhic and costly. General manager Sean Marks hastily shipped Schröder off to Golden State on the very first day the Warriors were able to make the deal work, but the Nets still finished with just the sixth seed in the lottery and just eighth. This time around, Marks isn’t taking any chances, re-signing veteran floor general D’Angelo Russell and giving Fernández three teenage rookie point guards to work with. A top 3 placement in the lottery seems a must.
Is this Cam Thomas’ Brooklyn swan song?
Not only is Thomas their top returning scorer, but he is also arguably the best homegrown product on the Nets roster. He is offensively gifted and immensely popular and has inherited a number of fans from Kyrie Irving after the All-Star’s departure. But the 24-year-old shooting guard is also a polarizing player who could spend his final season in a Nets uniform. After averaging a team-high 24.0 points last season — but being limited to just 25 games due to a trio of hamstring injuries — Thomas failed to land a long-term contract extension as a restricted free agent this past summer. Instead, he reverted to the $5.99 million qualifying offer, a deal that is almost always a precursor to an exit. If history is any guide, this could be Thomas’ last season with the Nets.
How do they really develop five rookies?
The Nets enter this season not only as the youngest team in the league at an average of just 23.7 years, but also as the youngest team by a significant margin. They are the only team with an average age under 24 and they clearly want the youth to be catered to. The Nets landed a record five first-round draft picks in June and will have to figure out how to develop that quintet of rookies in Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf. Despite Fernández’s well-deserved reputation as a development coach, this will be a tall order, not just for the Spaniard, but for the entire organization. The Nets have used the G-League well over the years and expect most, if not all of the five, to spend time developing and mentoring Long Island coach Mfon Udofia.
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