Nets Praised for Confirming Their Direction

The Brooklyn Nets have committed to a rebuild, and that has earned some praise.

Feb 13, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges (1) warms up prior to the game against the Boston Celtics at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets have officially enabled tank mode after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks.

With the deal, the Nets have stocked up on future draft capital and have regained control of their next two drafts from the Houston Rockets.

That's allowed them to officially embrace the idea of rebuilding, a move that earned praise from Bleacher Report writer Grant Hughes.

"All the losses the Brooklyn Nets were set to endure in 2024-25 wouldn't have amounted to anything positive if they hadn't gotten their 2025 first-round pick back from the Houston Rockets," Hughes writes. "Now that they've reacquired that pick along with control of their 2026 selection, the Nets can lose with purpose. It cost Brooklyn four of the first-round assets it snagged from the Phoenix Suns in the Kevin Durant deal, but those two returning picks from the Rockets simply matter more to the Nets' grand rebuilding plans. Plus, the four first-rounders and swap they got from the New York Knicks for Mikal Bridges offset those losses. Sans Bridges and sitting pretty in the pick equity department, Brooklyn has a great shot to land its next cornerstone as soon as the 2025 draft."

Things will be dark for the Nets at times this season, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

It will be a patient rebuild, but sometimes you have to hit rock bottom in order to begin the ascent to the top.

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