{"id":368930,"date":"2026-10-09T14:22:43","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/368930\/"},"modified":"2026-10-09T14:22:43","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T14:22:43","slug":"nets-need-to-develop-their-young-players-do-julius-randle-and-michael-porter-jr-help-the-cause","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/368930\/","title":{"rendered":"Nets Need to Develop Their Young Players. Do Julius Randle and Michael Porter Jr. Help the Cause?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note:\u00a0For the\u00a0upcoming Sports Illustrated 2026\u201327 basketball preview magazine<\/a>\u00a0that will hit newsstands in October, SI spoke to anonymous scouts around the NBA about all 30 teams.<\/p>\n

The Nets have one player left on the roster from their last playoff team: Day\u2019Ron Sharpe.<\/p>\n

In 2023, Brooklyn made the playoffs with Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson in town, a few months after the franchise blew it all up and traded Kyrie Irving to the Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Suns. Bridges and Johnson were the prized pieces alongside the considerable draft capital Brooklyn got for its two stars. Both have since went on to greener pastures, while the Nets remain in a rebuild.<\/p>\n

Bridges netted a haul of first-round picks from the Knicks, while Johnson brought back Michael Porter Jr<\/a>. and one more first-rounder. Porter was a bright spot for Brooklyn until his season was cut short as a high-level scorer who rebuilt his trade value with more freedom on a young, developing team.<\/p>\n

The offseason brought along Julius Randle<\/a>, whose salary was dumped by Minnesota so the team could acquire LaMelo Ball. The Nets\u2019 front office, presumably, wanted a low-cost veteran scorer to help raise the floor of their youthful team. But will it work out that way? We had an NBA scout weigh in.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrooklyn has a couple of the young kids that are interesting. Mikel Brown Jr., I’ll be interested to see what he can do. If Egor D\u00ebmin takes a jump, that’ll be interesting,\u201d an anonymous scout told Sports Illustrated. \u201cThe thing that I don’t understand is you bring in Randle and you have Porter, I know you’re trying to win some games, but those guys aren’t going to help your young guys develop, which is critical for your team. Those guys are about themselves. So it’s not like they’re going to be helping those guys along to make them better. And I don’t know. I didn’t get the Randle trade at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown, the highly-touted guard out of Louisville, arrives as the No. 6 pick in the draft. The Nets chose him over other guards like Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Brayden Burries, who each were taken within the next four picks in what could be a franchise-altering decision depending how the group shakes out. <\/p>\n

D\u00ebmin was the eighth pick in the 2025 draft. The Nets made five selections in the first round last year, four of whom were guards (depending how you classify Drake Powell). D\u00ebmin looks like the brightest of the bunch as he hopes to build off a strong rookie season which was cut short in early March.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought D\u00ebmin had a good summer. He played Summer League, which is impressive for a guy that played a ton of games this year,\u201d the scout said. \u201cHis shooting really translates. He can really shoot the ball. He’s got size, can handle and pass. I don’t think he’s a point guard. I think he’s just a ballhandling wing. And if they use him that way, I think it’ll benefit him. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo he doesn’t have the pressure of having to bring the ball up, now having another creator that can create some shots for him could help, but Julius, he throws some crazy ass passes, so I don’t know if that’ll help. And I’ll be interested to see if Brown can do some of that too and they can play off of each other. I just feel like there are a lot of mismatched pieces on that roster.\u201d<\/p>\n

&amp;amp;lt;section data-block=&amp;amp;#34;SingleChoice&amp;amp;#34;&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;h2&amp;amp;gt;Who will win the NBA championship in 2026-27?&amp;amp;lt;\/h2&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;span style=&amp;amp;amp;quot;font-size: 12px;&amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;gt;Make your pick and continue to the final results page to see how your answer compares&amp;amp;amp;lt;\/span&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;span style=&amp;amp;amp;quot;font-size: 12px;&amp;amp;amp;quot;&amp;amp;amp;gt; \u27a1\ufe0f&amp;amp;amp;lt;\/span&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;\/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;\/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;ul&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;gt;Spurs&amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;gt;Thunder&amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;gt;Knicks&amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;li&amp;amp;gt;76ers&amp;amp;lt;\/li&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;\/ul&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;\/section&amp;amp;gt;<\/p>\n

Brooklyn hopes to thread the needle with Randle and Porter alongside its most important pieces in D\u00ebmin and Brown, which makes sense with the NBA\u2019s new anti-tanking rules<\/a>. But does the cost of winning some games here and there with a noncompetitive roster come at the price of what should be the franchise\u2019s top priority? That\u2019s the most fascinating storyline that will follow the Nets throughout the upcoming season.<\/p>\n

Offseason recapWho\u2019s in: Julius Randle, Keon Ellis, Moritz Wagner, Mikel Brown Jr. (draft), Joshua Jefferson (draft), Day\u2019Ron Sharpe (re-signed), Josh Minott (re-signed)Who\u2019s out: Nic Claxton, Ziaire Williams<\/p>\n

Brown and Randle were the two significant adds over the offseason, but Keon Ellis was a nice free-agent signing that will provide some strong perimeter defense. Nic Claxton was dealt to the Bulls in the Randle trade, which made Brooklyn\u2019s decision to lock down Sharpe as the starting center key. Sharpe signed a two-year, $20 million deal to remain with the Nets with a team option for the 2027-28 season. Still only 24 years old, he\u2019s the longest tenured member of the team and has grown steadily over the past few seasons. With Claxton gone, he gets a chance to prove he\u2019s the center of the future while the backcourt works itself out.<\/p>\n

NEXT: One Thought on All 30 NBA Teams Heading Into Preseason<\/a>SI\u2019s prediction for the 2026-27 NetsRecord: 26\u201356 | Predicting the 2026\u201327 NBA Standings: Which Teams Will Rise, Fall and Surprise?<\/a><\/p>\n

Last season, Brooklyn finished 20\u201362. It was the third-worst record in the NBA in front of only the Pacers and the Wizards. The Nets should be somewhat better this season with Randle, who scored 21.1 points per game last season with the Wolves. Putting him next to Porter raises this team\u2019s floor, but it doesn\u2019t move the needle even close to enough to compete in a stacked Eastern Conference. Realistically, Brooklyn is two years away from being two years away (shout-out to the Brazilian KD, Bruno Caboclo<\/a>). D\u00ebmin, Brown and even Nolan Traor\u00e9 will be fun to watch, but you have to hope their development isn\u2019t stunted by the score-first vets.<\/p>\n

PODCAST\u00a0\ud83c\udfa7: Listen to SI\u2019s NBA podcast,\u00a0Open Floor, below or on\u00a0Apple<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Spotify<\/a>. Watch the show on\u00a0SI\u2019s YouTube channel<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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