Nets Poised to Make Splash in East Next Season

With an important offseason ahead, the Nets could position themselves to make a splash in the Eastern Conference as early as next year.

Apr 3, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Dennis Schroder (17) and Brooklyn Nets / John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets 2023-24 regular season didn’t go as expected.

Just 32 wins to 50 losses wasn’t the anticipated result after three-straight seasons of winning 44 games or more, no matter the roster construction.

Now, the team will position itself for next year, and the next few months will be pivotal in competing once again. Or even making a bigger splash than intended.

The biggest and most important aspect of that will be using cap space wisely. The team currently boasts $32.5 million in cap space, with the ability to clear even more in the short and long-term with certain contracts coming off the books.

As we’ve seen before, Brooklyn is an attractive market for the leagues biggest players. If the Nets play their cards right, they could land stars once again, this time surrounding them with the likes of Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas and more.

Retaining Defensive Player of the Year candidate Nic Claxton will be high on the to-do list. Nets brass and newly-inked head coach Jordi Fernandez have already made clear their desire for the upcoming sixth year player.

"Nic is a big that has defensive versatility," Fernandez said at his introductory presser. "I believe he'll be Defensive Player of the Year. For us, he's a priority in this summer.”

There’s plenty more Brooklyn can do to improve. Doing due diligence on the upcoming 2024 NBA Draft, getting players like Ben Simmons and Dariq Whitehead back from injury to shore of the fringes of the roster, and continuing to develop already rostered players in hopes of one breaking through to stardom.

The bones of a competitive roster are there, with pathways towards some success following a 32-win season.