Inside The Nets

One Key Item for Every Brooklyn Nets Player This Season

The NBA regular season is only one sleep away.

Wilko Martinez Cachero

Oct 18, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets small guard Cam Thomas (24) dribbles the ball against Toronto Raptors forward Bruno Fernando (24) during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets small guard Cam Thomas (24) dribbles the ball against Toronto Raptors forward Bruno Fernando (24) during the second half at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images / Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
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The NBA tip-off is only one day away and so is a new era of Brooklyn Nets basketball. 

First-year head coach Jordi Fernández and Sean Marks will lead the Nets into this new timeline off the court, but it remains to be truly seen who the long-term leaders of Brooklyn’s rebuild are outside of presumably Nic Claxton. 

The Nets’ roster is not as drastic as popular perception makes it out to be. There are plenty of NBA rotation or rotation-upside players in there, albeit without a true leader — at least so far — to bind everything together. Most of those players, though, are either on expiring contracts or still incredibly young.

In number order, here is one key question for every member of the Nets squad this season:

Dariq Whitehead will spend this season with the Long Island Nets after battling years of injuries. Whitehead had a tough time ramping up in Summer League, but that should not be considered a long-term concern yet. Since the former Duke Blue Devil is unlikely to spend much time with Brooklyn’s first team, he needs to be productive in the G League and confirm that his physical health is getting back to where it needs to be.

Ziaire Williams is rebuilding his NBA stock after being traded to Brooklyn from the Memphis Grizzlies. Williams has been an early preseason standout and has been lauded by Jordi Fernández for his defensive intensity and offensive simplicity. Williams will be asked to defend some of the best players in the NBA on a nightly basis, while maintaining his production down the other end as well. The former tenth-overall pick is still streaky. 

Cam Johnson might not be a Brooklyn Net for too much longer — but he’s not focused on that. The 28-year-old sharpshooter is a steady veteran presence for a youth-filled team, as well as quite a good basketball player. With Mikal Bridges now on the other side of New York, there’s a chance for Johnson, should he stay with the team, to continue expanding his game to be known as more than a three-point shooter.

Cui Yongxi is on a two-way contract and about to kick off his rookie season. “Jacky,” as Nets fans more commonly know him, will likely spend time in the G League as he acclimates to the NBA and the American basketball world as a whole. Cui shows potential as a wing-sized shooter, but needs more reps because he is still unproven outside of China. However, the Nets’ no. 8 is on a two-year two-way, so this season is about how he adapts to his new environment on and off the court.

Trendon Watford missed all of preseason with a hamstring injury, but he can be an important component of Fernández’s first-year plans. The former LSU forward came into the NBA as more of a center, but can now comfortably play the 4 and even the 3. Watford is a clever decision-maker and smart ball mover with real skill, so Brooklyn will likely give him plenty of elbow touches and hand-off opportunities in the team’s new system. He’ll give the Nets frontcourt optionality once he is healthy.

Ben Simmons is back after two consecutive season-ending back injuries. The three-time all-star is the most talented player on the Nets’ roster, but his preseason performances have been irregular. Simmons had a shy first game, a dominant second one and a mixed third one. Even though he’s Brooklyn’s best passer, his playmaking can be nerfed by his non-shooting. “BEN10” is on an expiring contract, which could even make the Australian facilitator an interesting trade piece if he rediscovers some of his previous form. But before anything, Simmons needs to prove that he can string together a full season again at a high level.

Shake Milton was strangely one of the biggest beneficiaries in preseason of Nic Claxton, Day’Ron Sharpe and Watford not playing. Since Simmons and Dennis Schröder started together, that meant the Nets’ needed a backup ballhandler. Enter Milton, who did decently in preseason although with questions going forward about whether he can handle this role in higher stake situations. Can Shake fulfill that function during the season? 

Jaylen Martin is on a two-way contract and is still looking to solidify himself in the NBA. The Overtime Elite product first spent some time with the Westchester Knicks before joining the Nets organization. Martin is a physical, slightly undersized wing who can put the ball on the floor some. He needs to produce and make his threes with Long Island to get himself further looks either in Brooklyn or in other cities. 

Dennis Schröder already looks like an important part of the Nets’ locker room this season. The German point guard is a proven NBA player, and Fernández has played through him a fair bit this preseason. Schröder is still trying to figure out his chemistry with Simmons, and there might be something there — but the two-guard fit with Simmons playing as a 5 in the half-court becomes murkier when Claxton returns. It remains to be seen in the big picture whether the 31-year-old is best starting or coming off the bench.

Day’Ron Sharpe sat out preseason with a hamstring injury. The former UNC big is entering his fourth NBA season, but he has never played more than 15 minutes per game. The Nets have plenty of frontcourt options, so the competition exists for Sharpe with Noah Clowney, Watford, Dorian Finney-Smith and even Simmons. Sharpe needs to carve out a bigger role with more minutes for himself.

Noah Clowney had an up-and-down preseason. With all of the Nets’ bigs out, there was a chance for Clowney to consolidate himself in Jordi Fernández’s plans but that might not have happened quite yet. Clowney is an option at both frontcourt spots, but the Alabama product hasn’t really perfected either one yet, as he has admitted. As with Sharpe, the competition is fierce — but Clowney is only in his second NBA season, so he has more time. This season should be about demonstrating tangible growth at the NBA level for a very positive outlook on year three.

Tyrese Martin secured the Nets’ final two-way spot after some steady play in preseason. The former Hawks wing is still trying to find his spot around the league. In order to do that, he’ll probably need to downscale his role and touches, since Martin can want to play on-ball a bit too much. The 25-year-old was drafted in 2022, but has spent his last two seasons in the G League.

Cam Thomas has a superpower: scoring. His head coach is the first to admit that, but Thomas needs to sometimes channel that firepower in a more productive and team-oriented way. At this point, there’s no doubt that Thomas gets buckets, with 22.5 points per game last season. He needs to confirm, however, that he can adapt to what Jordi Fernández asks of him. Compared to the end of last season, that might mean dribbling less, taking more catch-and-shoots and avoiding the tougher shot diet that Thomas sometimes has a propensity for. 

Dorian Finney-Smith seems like an important presence in Brooklyn this season. “Doe” can play the wing and the forward, and has years of NBA experience under his belt. That is important for such a young team. Finney-Smith is scalable to nearly all of Brooklyn’s possible lineups, as he can play with two guards or two bigs if needed. The biggest question with him might be whether or not he’s still on the team next season. Finney-Smith has a player option next summer.

Nic Claxton didn’t play in the preseason, but is expected to be fine for the regular season. Claxton signed a four-year, $100 million contract this summer, so he has long-term security in Brooklyn that many other players for now do not. The Nets’ starting center is one of the best defenders in the NBA, so there are no questions there even if his team’s win-loss record might not necessarily point to that. However, with Fernández set to empower Claxton offensively, let’s see if the latter can develop more of a two-way reputation.

Bojan Bogdanović is back in Brooklyn, but he has been rehabbing his left foot after surgery. The 35-year-old was injured in the New York Knicks' playoff run last season, having already dealt with some other difficulties after being traded to New York. Until more is known about Bogdanović’s recovery timeline, it’s tough to predict his role with the Nets. The Croatian international is an unrestricted free agent in 2025.

Keon Johnson wraps up the Nets’ roster as maybe the most natural shooting guard on the team after Thomas. Johnson is uber-athletic and can score in bunches, but his impact is inconsistent and his decision-making can be frustrating. Johnson played well for Long Island last season and did okay in Summer League, but his style of play hasn’t quite translated up to NBA action. The Nets have a team option on Johnson for next summer.

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Wilko Martinez Cachero
WILKO MARTINEZ CACHERO

Wilko is a journalist and producer from Madrid, Spain. He is also the founder of FLOOR and CEILING on YouTube, focusing on the NBA Draft and youth basketball.

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