Did the Brooklyn Nets Wait too Long to Rebuild?

Just how overdue was the rebuild in Brooklyn?

Mar 16, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas (24) dribbles the ball while Indiana Pacers guard T.J. McConnell (9) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

It's no secret that the Brooklyn Nets will be a tanking team to start the 2024-25 NBA season. After trading away star forward Mikal Bridges in June, a move many saw coming in a matter of time, Brooklyn has made Cam Thomas the center of their organization, surrounding him with young draft picks and a new head coach in Jordi Fernandez.

Other veterans are surrounding the 22-year-old star, but there's speculation that some will be traded as soon as before the start of the season.

While many fans are happy that the team has decided to start over, the rebuild was long overdue. If the Nets didn't wait to trade away their most valuable piece, they wouldn't have been nearly a year late to the punch.

Brooklyn should have ignited the rebuild after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the 2022-23 trade deadline. The Nets played out the rest of the season with Bridges as the star, but ultimately got swept by the Philadelphia 76ers, while going 13-15 to end the regular season after the trade deadline.

It was clear that despite Bridges averaging 26.1 points with the Nets in his 27 games played, the team was on the decline. They instead decided to push to win with Bridges, Cameron Johnson, and other veterans for the entirety of last season, resulting in a 32-50 record.

Brooklyn had the opportunity to deal their most valuable assets for the future, but instead opted not to. The defending argument is that the Nets didn't own their 2024 first-round pick, as it belonged to the Rockets. However, it was reported by Shams Charania that Houston offered the Nets Jalen Green (a young star) and multiple firsts for Bridges, one of which could've been their own.

It seems like Brooklyn had been presented with multiple opportunities to start over and rebuild the right way, but after Joe Tsai and Sean Marks refused to after a first-round exit in 2023, and multiple opportunities in 2024, they finally pulled the trigger in June. Now, the Nets have an abundance of draft picks, and some young talent to build around.

The six first-round picks the New York Knicks gave up for Bridges will have a mix of results. Some belong to playoff teams, while others could result in lottery picks down the road. Did the slew of draft picks make up for the Nets waiting this long for the rebuild?

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Nets on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Nets news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.