You’d have to say that even with a couple of obvious concerns, the Nets Off-Season has been a success, starting from June 23. Their best draft pick in 16 years (think about that!) has been, as his Summer League coach said, “electric” and the development of their second best pick in that timeframe has been exciting. They also got a two-time All-NBA and three-time All-Star who’s still capable of putting up 20 and 7 plus another first round pick in what was essentially a salary dump, much like they did last year. Yeah, they want to win.
Yes, their rim protection and rim running are questionable, Drake Powell has raised questions about his NBA future as a shooter and they didn’t come away with a superstar or even a star in free agency (yet?) but adding Mikel Brown Jr., Julius Randle and another first in Joshua Jefferson while watching Egor Demin dominate has provided, let’s say, some suggestion of hope that the first of many corners has finally been turned.
And they did it without cutting into their cache of draft picks, although their seeming reluctance to move any of their record cache of second rounders was a bit of a head-scratcher.
The big news of the Off-Season of course is drafting Brown Jr., aka MBJ or ‘Kel. Randle has the resume’ but he’s 31 going on 32. While Brown Jr. has played only two games, both were filled with moments that make it less than crazy to say Brooklyn has a lead guard who can play on either end of the court, score from all angles and throw some passes that makes most fans wonder when they last saw a playmaker like him in black-and-white.
Despite bleating, mostly from pundits, that the Nets should have taken Darius Acuff, he of the “sizzle”, “box office” and “star quality,” over Brown Jr., there’s now increasing if begrudging agreement that the players taken before and after Brown Jr. have shown more flaws than the Nets pick at No. 6.
Acuff’s defense has been as advertised, that is somewhere between awful and non-existent and unlikely to improve any time soon. His scoring (19.5 ppg in four games), by his own admission has been inefficient. In two games in Sacramento and two more so far in Las Vegas, he’s shooting 13-of-41 or 31.7% overall and 8-of-31 from deep or 25.8%. Remember it was his shooting that wowed everyone during his time at Arkansas, not his defense. Oh no.
Keaton Wagler taken at No. 5 has only played in two games and while his 23-point effort Sunday night in Las Vegas was solid, it comes after a 1-of-7 shooting night in his Vegas debut. As they did prior to the Draft, critics noted his lack of athleticism as well as his high BBIQ. Wagler, for example, finished 50th in the NBA Combine’s shuttle run out of 72, and he didn’t dunk once at Illinois last season.
Brown Jr., in comparison, has played only two games, one each in the two leagues, and is averaging 15.0 points while shooting 10-of-23 or 43.5% overall and 5-of-11 or 45.5% from deep. He’s also tallied seven assists to four turnovers in 41 minutes. The eye test, as anyone who watched the games, can attest, was even more impressive.
So maybe, the Nets didn’t screw it up? that they won’t regret for all time and a day not taking Acuff? Without explanation on Sunday night, Steven A. Smith, who famously excoriated the Nets for taking Brown Jr. over “box office” Acuff, reposted a positive interview he did with the Nets pick prior to the Draft…
A back-handed apologia from Steven A that he might have been wrong the first time? Is it Brown Jr., not Acuff who’s “box office?” On the other hand, it should be noted that despite Brown Jr.’s play as well as his high pick, Smith’s colleagues at ESPN didn’t even mention him in its discussion of first impressions of the 2026 Draft Class.
Of course, we’ll know more Tuesday when the Nets and Brown face off against the Kings and Acuff at 6:00 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime.
Yes, it’s only Summer League which is after all, the ancestral home of NBA hype, and it’s only been two games, and Coach Dutch Gaitley offered these areas of improvement for Brown Jr. after his first game.
“The thing we’re challenging him now is figuring out his spots in the flow of the offense. Him and Egor together, how can we get both of them going at the same time,” Gaitley said. “And defensively is increasing his physicality. The first part is hitting bigs when they’re rolling, boxing them out. He’s smart, so some of the stuff he’s doing defensively I told him was Level 4, Level 5. We’re still on 1.5 in summer league.
“He’s smart enough that he knows what the next iteration we may not get to until October; but he knows it already. How can we do the little things and the simple stuff perfect before we build on [it]? And the last part is just getting into the ball, more physicality, pick-and-roll, which defensively isn’t what he’s not known for right now, but it’s something that’s going to surprise a lot of people.”
Still, gotta be happy. Demin too has been a revelation for those who think the Nets got nothing out of their five-firsts in 2025. It’s no exaggeration that Demin has been the best player on the court in the three games he’s played. one of the top marks in the Summer, and going to the rim as will. From going 1-of-4 in the paint in his first three games last year in Vegas to hitting 11-of-12 in his first two games in Sacramento was a revelation for a lot of people if not the assistant coaches who worked with him since March. Overall, he’s 22-of-42 — 52.4% — even if his 3-point shooting has fallen off at 7-of-23 or 30.4%.
There have been other positives out of the Summer beyond “Brooklyn’s Backcourt” … whose trademark the Nets have controlled since DWill and Joe Jesus. Chaney Johnson, who just turned 24, has continued to show he’s an NBA player, particularly in his Las Vegas debut where he dropped a 20/10 double-double and showed off his 40+ inch max vertical as well as some new found strength, Although somewhere between 6’7” and 6’8”, he’s been playing center at times and Gaitley has noted his position-less possibilities.
“I knew Chaney was a beast. It’s further confirmed,” Gaitley told the media. “In the ESPN thing, they asked about all of our rookies: ‘Who’s the one guy you haven’t talked about?’ I was like, ‘It’s Chaney Johnson.’ And the reason is Chaney has to play at the center just because we need him to play the center.
“If we needed Chaney to play point guard, Chaney would play point guard. He does whatever is called for the team. He’s an outstanding teammate. He plays as hard as anybody on the court. I think he’s got a really bright future.”
Bruce Brown II? In any case, he’s putting up 15.0 points and 8.8 boards while shooting 22-of-34 or 64% overall and 4-of-6 from deep. Not a bad pick-up.
The Nets other confirmed two-way, No. 43 pick Tyler Bilodeau, has had some moments as well in his three games, his most impressive night being Brown Jr.’s debut in Sacramento where he hit 6-of-8 from deep, each time wide open and ready thanks to Brown Jr.‘s gravity. (Nothing official on who will get the third two-way but Grant Nelson, the athletic 7-footer who had nice numbers last year in Long Island then Brooklyn before injuring his knee seems the betting favorite.)
Then, there’s remaining first rounders from last year’s Draft. Nolan Traore, who had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after the season, is in Las Vegas but still recovering. Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf have looked much like themselves in Summer League with Saraf showing more defense, Wolf more shooting. Joshua Jefferson’s first game was disappointing but he had just signed his new contract and put on his first NBA uniform.
The big story though is Drake Powell, the 6’7” wing, is having a horrible Summer League, shooting 1-of-28 overall — that’s 3.7% — in four games. It’s so much of an aberration now that it’s easier to deal with. No one can be that bad. He’s not hurt, he’s still moving well and he even grew an inch over the summer. Is it the “yips” described by Wikipedia as “psychoneuromuscular impediment, a sudden and unexplained loss of ability to execute certain skills in experienced performers such as athletes.” Others have described it as performance anxiety. Whatever, it is real, but for the most part it’s temporary.
And Gaitley, ever the optimist, will remind you as he reminded the media the other night, Powell is still playing good defense, citing how he played vs. Acuff.
“People have talked a lot about his shot. They haven’t talked about his defense, and his defense has been outstanding,” Gaitley told The Post’s Brian Lewis. “He was the primary matchup for [Darius] Acuff in the first game, and [Acuff] had two points on him the whole entire game. He had 11 matchups and only had two points; that’s really impressive.
“Offensively, just trying to simplify it for Drake. Hey, if you’re open, shoot it. If you’re not open, drive it. Sometimes he gets caught in between he maybe should’ve shot it. And then he’s like, ‘Oh, I made the wrong decision. All right, now let me shoot it.’ And it’s like, right now you’ve just got to get off it. So I think hopefully the game slows down for him.”
Powell, one of the top high school players in the country two years ago, spent his freshman year under UNC’s Hubie Green, who saw Powell as a defensive specialist. He got little usage on offense and despite his high school achievements (which included being valedictorian of his graduating class), he fell from a preseason ranking in the top five to No. 22 on Draft Night in 2025. He was the biggest reach of the five-player class in that ESPN’s final mock had him going at No. 32.
The Nets remain optimistic. There are a lot of tools there, but an issue can’t be ignored even if there are reasons it can be dismissed. Maybe Brooklyn would be well served by hiring a dedicated shooting coach. They know about the “yips.”
Hail, Hail, the gang’s all here!
Looking at the bench and nearby seating at the Summer League games, it’s hard to figure out who isn’t there, rather than who is. The Nets Summer League roster includes six players under contract: Egor Demin, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf, Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson plus two two-ways in Chaney Johnson and Tyler Bilodeau.
Also seen cheering and checking their mobile phones nearby have been Michael Porter Jr., Julius Randle, Noah Clowney, Keon Ellis, Terance Mann, Josh Minott, Day’Ron Sharpe and Nolan Traore who would normally be on the court except, as noted, he’s recovering from a ‘scope. That leaves only the yet unsigned Moe Wagner! (He has been seen at a Liberty game this week, however, and our Lucas Kaplan notes he’s been living in Brooklyn all summer.)
Same thing with the coaching staff. Jordi Fernandez has been watching from the stands and six of his nine assistants, everyone but his three senior assistants, Steve Hetzel, Juwan Howard and Jay Hernandez, are on the bench. Those three are on hand, however. The Nets have also brought four video assistants, including one, Foster Loyer, who is being promoted to “special assistant to the head coach;” three Long Island Nets coaches, including the newly minted head coach Shawn Swords; and advance scout Brian O’Connor. Sean Marks has been on hand as well, mobile phone in hand.
Randle spoke about how the simple presence of veterans can help youngsters adapt to NBA life,
“They’re really excited to have me here. Jordi [Fernandez] is really excited. He feels like going into every game, we’ve got a chance to win every single game,” Randle said. “To have that confidence from your coach is amazing. … I get to come in and be a leader, show guys how to be a pro.
“We’re coming in trying to win. It’s as simple as that. However we can help give the younger guys experience and confidence and help them fast-track or whatever it is to contribute to winning basketball, that’s really all that matters.”
It’s something Demin says he’s seen already from the 13-year veteran.
“He’s experienced being around many different teams and playing in the different levels of the different stages of the season and playoffs,” Dëmin said. “He brings an amazing knowledge. And he seems a great person.”
Done yet? Probably. but …
The Nets currently have 14 players on guaranteed deals, with Moe Wagner waiting in the wings, plus the two two-ways in Tyler Bilodeau and Chaney Johnson. It would appear that the Nets free agency is done, but depending on how they manipulate and time things, they have a little wiggle room.
Per Yossi Gozlan of Third Apron, they can probably whittle together just a bit less than $12 million without Wagner’s two-year, $19 million contract and that could signal that the Nets are holding on to their last vestige of optionality. The Nets can sign Wagner out of cap space or fit his first year salary into the $9.4 million room MLE that’s available to them. Some have speculated that the similarity between his salary and the first year of the MLE
Signing him out of cap space of course would basically put them at or near the salary cap but still tens of millions of dollars short of the luxury tax threshold or the first apron. Using the MLE would mean delaying his signing till they’re out of other options.
Any trade at this point — and we have no inside information — would likely take full advantage of the Nets cache of draft picks. Other than expending them in the 2026 Draft, the Nets haven’t moved any of their picks in the off-season and in fact added a first, the 28th pick they used on Joshua Jefferson, in the Julius Randle trade.
As more than one league source has told us, gathering this many picks means the Nets want to be opportunistic either now or at the trade deadline.
Of course, we don’t know what the Nets will do with MPJ, but applying logic it would seem they are going to extend him. They had multiple chances to deal him last deadline but decided against it. Instead, they shut him down. Considering that more than one amateur capologist has suggested Marks and Tsai could rework his contract, add as much as $9 million (that number again) to the $40.8 million he’ll make next season, then extend him to a contract with declining salaries. He’s only 28.
Final Note
Adam Silver will speak to the media Wednesday as he always does during Summer League and the press conference is likely to be dominated by the still unresolved Aspiration scandal involving alleged circumvention of the salary cap by the Clippers in signing Kawhi Leonard, the burgeoning gambling scandal that recently snagged veteran Terry Rozier and the revelation in Wired Magazine that James Dolan’s facial recognition programs are a lot more widespread and egregious.
The Nets are not directly affected by any of them, but the league needs to deal with all three. Each affects the most basic trust between fans and the league. Cheating whether in the boardroom or on the court and spying on fans all have the ability to damage the league for a long time.
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