By Joel Perez 
The Brooklyn Nets were one of those teams expected to underperform this season, positioning
themselves near the bottom of the standings to maximize their chances of landing the #1 overall
pick in next year’s NBA Draft. With premier talents like Cooper Flagg and Ace Bailey projected
to go at the top of the lottery, the strategy seemed logical. However, new Head Coach Jordi
Fernandez had other plans for this roster. Fernandez has instilled a newfound confidence in the
team, allowing several players to surpass expectations—including lesser-known names like
Jalen Wilson, a Kansas standout now making an impact in his first season with Brooklyn.
Wilson, who led the team in minutes with 41 on Monday night, contributed 18 points and 7
rebounds in an impressive win against the top-seeded Golden State Warriors. The Nets staged
a remarkable comeback in that game, with Dennis Schroeder leading the charge by dropping 31
points to seal the victory. They followed it up with another impressive win this past Wednesday
night against a fully healthy Phoenix Suns squad, with contributions coming from across the
roster. These performances are a testament to Jordi Fernandez’s coaching ability and acumen.
Even with players in and out of the lineup due to injury—including Cam Thomas, their leading
scorer, sidelined with a hamstring injury expected to keep him out 3-4 weeks—this group has
embraced the “next man up” mentality under Fernandez’s leadership.
This franchise has experienced its fair share of ups and downs over the past 20+ years, with
more downs than ups as of late. Yet, the Nets have found ways to retool, even with the chaos
that seems to haunt them at every turn. Back when they were the New Jersey Nets, they made
consecutive Finals appearances in 2002 and 2003, led by Jason Kidd. While they ultimately fell
short of winning it all, those runs were impressive nonetheless. After trading for Vince Carter in
December 2004, fresh off those Finals appearances, the team seemed poised to make another
run—this time with even more talent to get over the hump. Unfortunately, the franchise has yet
to reach the NBA Finals since then.
Following several years of mediocrity in the mid-2000s and bottoming out for high-caliber draft
picks, the team gained momentum in 2012 with a move to Brooklyn, shedding their New Jersey
identity. They bolstered their roster with top-tier talent like Deron Williams, who had grown
frustrated with the situation in Utah, and one of my all-time favorite players, Joe
Johnson—known as “Iso Joe” for his clutch playstyle and ability to close out games. After just
one year with that group, they made a very consequential trade in an attempt to bolster their
roster, offloading all their first-round draft picks for the foreseeable future in exchange for aging
superstars.
As a Heat fan, I hesitate to give the title of “superstar” to Paul Pierce, but I can absolutely give it
to Kevin Garnett—one of the most dominant players I ever had the pleasure to watch and
admire. However, by the time they joined the Nets, both were in the latter stages of their
careers, heading into their late 30s. At the time, I understood why the franchise made such a
move—or at least I can justify their reasoning. The Nets likely believed Pierce and Garnett could
provide veteran leadership, championship experience, and a supporting role to the existing
nucleus of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, and promising big man Brook Lopez, who had just
come off a season averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds per game and seemed poised to
become one of the premier big men in the league.
Unfortunately, the plan unraveled quickly. Lopez, who hadn’t missed a game in his first three
NBA seasons, suffered a preseason foot injury that sidelined him for the first 32 games. Later
that same season, he missed another 28 games due to an ankle injury. On top of that, Pierce
and Garnett showed noticeable declines in their play, leaving little hope for a championship run.
To make matters worse, two of the draft picks traded to Boston in that deal eventually became
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown—players who are now fresh off a championship run with the
Celtics.
You’d assume the Nets organization as a whole learned their lesson after that debacle, right?
Well, no, they sure didn’t. The Brooklyn Nets were able to acquire Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving
in one offseason and eventually traded for disgruntled superstar and former MVP James Harden
in another exchange of future draft capital. Now, to be fair, looking at those names alone, along
with the assets they already had on the roster, this team on paper was destined to make it to the
mountaintop. But instead, they were an inch away (literally) because of KD’s foot on the line in
regulation, and then they didn’t have enough in the tank to win in a Game 7 overtime to get past
the eventual champs, the Milwaukee Bucks. To add to that, injuries seemed to haunt this
organization, with both Kyrie and KD suffering season-ending injuries during that period, along
with the drama surrounding Kyrie Irving at the time. His personal beliefs led to outside noise that
affected the team on a daily basis, which honestly felt like a soap opera.
To make matters worse, James Harden asked for a trade, and the Nets received Ben Simmons
in return. We all know how that turned out. However, Simmons did make a significant impact in
the latest matchup against the Suns, contributing 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, along with 9
boards and 8 assists. But god only knows how long that’ll last. Ben Simmons was an incredible
player during his time in Philly, winning the Rookie of the Year award over Donovan Mitchell in
one of the most exciting “ROY” races we’ve seen in recent memory. Throughout that season,
opinions constantly shifted on who would ultimately come out on top. Simmons went on to
become a three-time All-Star in consecutive years and even earned an All-NBA team selection.
It feels like, almost overnight, Ben lost all his confidence and hasn’t been the same player he
was in Philly. It all seemed to unravel after that infamous Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks,
where he passed up a wide-open dunk, instead forcing a pass to a teammate that led to a
turnover and an eventual loss. Man, I hope Ben figures it out at some point—he’s one of those
players with one of the most baffling career trajectories in recent memory.
And now, as things stand today, the Brooklyn Nets are exceeding expectations and climbing
their way back to .500, while division rival the Philadelphia 76ers are sitting at a dismal 3-14.
Okay, that was a jab at the Sixers, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity. This past summer, the
Nets managed to reacquire their own draft capital in a deal with the Houston Rockets, putting
them in control of their future. They now own the rights to their own draft picks again, in addition
to acquiring four years’ worth of draft selections from the New York Knicks, as well as future
swap opportunities, thanks to the Mikal Bridges trade. The Nets now have four first-round picks
in next year’s NBA Draft and the possibility of securing multiple first-round selections for years to
come, all due to a brilliant offseason by General Manager Sean Marks and the rest of the
Brooklyn Nets organization. The future looks bright in Brooklyn—let’s just hope Nets fans don’t
have to endure another disastrous trade or signing that sets them back for years.
Angel Rivera