NetsDaily Off-Season Report – No. 21

Basketball: NBA Playoffs: Brooklyn Nets fans in stands holding up letters that spell BROOKLYN during game vs Milwaukee Bucks at Barclays Center. Game 7. Brooklyn, NY 6/19/2021 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163667 TK1)

With the signing of 7-footer Grant Nelson to a two-way deal on Friday, the Brooklyn Nets roster seems set, barring some huge surprise. They now have the full complement of 15 players on standard NBA deals and three on two-way contracts. They will invite players to training camp which starts September 29, ultimately sending four of them to Long Island for G League duty. That should be it.

The roster is very young, no doubt the youngest in the league for the second straight year with eight of the 15 on rookie contracts, and five of them unable to legally drink in New York because they’re under 21. Two of the 20-year-olds — Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. — will be the highest drafted rookies in back-to-back years since 1995 and 1996. Only one player will be over 30 — Julius Randle who will turn 32 . They will also reflect the team’s new mantras of positional height and versatility — no more small ball. Ten of the 18 are 6’9” or taller, topped by Nelson at an official 7’0” in bare feet.

Will they win some games? They think so. Jordi Fernandez eschews gloom and doom, thinking his team will win a lot more than any pundits think (and we’re not going to dwell on what they think. No we are not.) Julius Randle told Mikel Brown Jr. they “will shock the world.” And Ben Saraf in an interview with the Jerusalem Post, published Thursday laid out the players’ goal.

“I think this year we want to win as many games as possible. Last season, there were more opportunities for the younger players, and I think that really helped all of us. But this year it’s about winning. Whoever helps the team win is going to play,” he said. “Making the playoffs is definitely a dream. I think this year our team has been built well, and I really believe we can do it. That’s our goal.”

Not the “play-in,” not the more…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/netsdaily-off-season-report-no-164514823.html

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Publish date : 2026-09-07 16:45:00

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