Brooklyn Nets Drop Final Summer League Contest; What's Next?

The Charlotte Hornets proved to be too much in Brooklyn's Las Vegas Finale.

Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets' 2024 NBA Summer League is officially over.

With last night's 97-90 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn finished with a 3-2 record. Newly-signed guard Keon Johnson led all Nets scorers with 15 points, but a 30-point explosion from Hornets' forward Brandon Slater was too much to overcome.

Having no draft picks in this summer's draft, Las Vegas allowed the Nets to evaluate already-standing members of their roster.

Brooklyn's experience should be viewed as a success, despite only finishing one game over .500. Johnson earned himself a shiny new contract due to his summer league emergence, Jalen Wilson appears to be a prime breakout candidate for next season and Noah Clowney displayed an apparent improvement to his deep ball. The biggest disappointment by far was Dariq Whitehead, who had high expectations coming off of season-ending left shin surgery last season. While largely due to the recovery process, Whitehead will have the chance to prove himself in training camp and preseason ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.

The conclusion of summertime competitive play now allows Brooklyn management to shift focus back to roster construction. Wilson's performance makes Dorian Finney-Smith as expendable as ever, and may result in the 31-year-old wing being dealt in the coming weeks. The same reasoning may also be applied to Cam Johnson, who has been rumored to be available since the Mikal Bridges trade.

Wilson appearing to take the next step in his development is likely the biggest Nets storyline to come out of summer league, as it gives the franchise great flexibility in whatever their next transaction will be. Finishing with a 3-2 record isn't anything to write home about, but the strides made from Brooklyn's young core certainly helps general manager Sean Marks evaluate the future for some of their veteran players.

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