The 2024 Brooklyn Nets: Another Reset

Published: Monday, September 23, 2024

by Kyle Ferreira

There is no sugarcoating this situation: the Brooklyn Nets will be among the worst teams in the NBA this season.

Throughout the organization’s 12 years in the borough, shortsighted decisions and bad luck have plagued this team, season after season. From trading for past-their-prime players to major injuries and an abundance of drama, it was time for a reset. However, better days could be on the horizon for the Nets.

For now, 2024–25 will be a year for the team to regroup and reorganize. One of the first major changes was hiring former Sacramento Kings associate coach Jordi Fernandez as their new head coach. Whether Fernandez will be better than former coaches Steve Nash and Jacque Vaughn remains to be seen, but he seems like the right fit.

Coach Fernandez spent this summer coaching Canada’s men’s basketball team at the Olympics, where he led them to win Group A in the preliminary round. He’s also been praised by numerous head coaches around the league, including Denver’s Mike Malone, under whom Fernandez worked for a few seasons. Fernandez’s hiring will surely be an improvement over the turbulent tenures of Nash and Vaughn.

There is also plenty of young talent on this squad with room for growth. After Mikal Bridges was traded to the New York Knicks this offseason, the focus shifted to players like Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton. There’s also Ben Simmons, who should finally be healthy this season (though that’s never a guarantee, given his track record).

As for Thomas, many hardcore Nets and NBA fans agree that he is primed to lead this squad. Thomas’s points per game jumped significantly from year two to year three of his career, increasing from 10.6 to 22.5 PPG. If he can continue to improve his playmaking and defense (as many analysts suggest), he might have a chance at becoming an All-Star.

Claxton shouldn’t be overlooked either, as he continues to blossom into one of the league’s best defenders. The center is back after signing a four-year, $100 million contract extension this summer. This should be another season where Claxton improves in all aspects as he takes on a larger role.

Other players like Dennis Schroder, Cam Johnson, and a plethora of young talent should keep this squad competitive. Circling back to the aforementioned Bridges trade, the deal brought an incredible amount of draft capital for the Nets. Even if they are competitive, Brooklyn could be picking early in the 2025 NBA Draft.

While this isn’t necessarily a tanking situation like a certain team from Philadelphia in the 2010s, the Nets could accelerate their rebuild. If Brooklyn lands the number one pick, Duke phenom Cooper Flagg will be there for the taking. But the Nets know they need to complete this season first.

The parity in the NBA has evolved significantly in the 2020s. One year, a team might be dominant, only to fall apart the next. This isn’t to say the Nets will magically become one of the Eastern Conference or league’s best teams, but they should be a well-coached one.

By the end of the season, it’s a safe bet that Brooklyn won’t be in the playoffs or the Play-In Tournament. If they can win between 20 and 30 games, that might be considered a successful first season under Coach Fernandez. Let’s just hope they don’t sink to their 2009-10 season form or end up like last season’s Detroit Pistons.

Kyle Ferreira can be reached at kyle.ferreira@student.shu.edu. 

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