For the third straight season, the Brooklyn Nets are projected to be one of the NBA's worst teams. Yet the rebuilding squad is sitting on a treasure trove of assets that could be its ticket out of the league's basement. According to General Manager Sean Marks, the Nets are waiting for the right moment to cash their chips in.
How will they know when that right moment is?
“Internally, it’s going to be about how these guys develop, right? Whether it's Egor [Demin], Nolan [Traore], or Julius [Randle]. It runs the gamut right across the whole lot of them,” Marks said. “Who can take that next step where we'll get a good feel that he's playing above our expectations, or that he's developed a little earlier than we thought? We've got a couple more rookies this year to add into the fray as well. But then it's also a combination of what becomes available. I can't predict when players from other teams become available or what free agency looks like down the road.
So I think that's where you just keep your flexibility and you know, okay, when's the right time to go for this? We're always listening. I'm not sure we're going to be any more active than we have been in the past, but that doesn't mean we're not listening. That doesn't mean we're not shaking trees and seeing what's out there. So I think a lot will be predicated first and foremost on what this roster looks like, and we'll get a good feel for that pretty early.”
Sean Marks said the Nets are waiting for the right moment to "push their chips in." How will they know when the right moment is?
“It’s going to be about how our guys develop… It's also a combination of what becomes available. I can't predict when players from other teams… pic.twitter.com/JjDg1k40em
— Erik Slater (@ErikSlater_) September 29, 2026
The Nets have an NBA-leading 13 first-round picks over the next seven years, nine of which are currently tradable. They're projected to lead the NBA with over $60 million in cap space next summer and have no guaranteed money on their books past 2027-28.
Brooklyn declined to use its assets this summer, setting up a 2026-27 campaign focused on player development and evaluation.
Article Continues BelowSean Marks, Nets waiting for right moment to cash in treasure trove of assets
Julius Randle (31) and Michael Porter Jr. (27) headline the team's roster this season. However, the development of the Nets' young prospects, namely Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr., will determine how fast or slow they move along their timeline.
Ten out of Brooklyn's 15 standard contract players are 24 or younger, the most in the NBA. That group includes seven first-round picks from the last two drafts: Brown, Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf and Joshua Jefferson — as well as fourth-year forward Noah Clowney, fifth-year forward Josh Minott and sixth-year center Day'Ron Sharpe.
“I think it's exciting that we've been able to add this youth to this team and watch these guys develop… We've always said over the course of the last couple of years, we're looking for the next Nets,” Marks said. “Who are those guys? So we have a training camp and another year to figure this out as we build. We've kept flexibility over the last couple of years and know that we're poised when the time is right… I think there are certainly some players here on this roster who will be Nets long-term. That's exciting for [Jordi and me], but to see how they develop over the course of this next year is going to be really important, too. And it's not just the young guys; it's everybody we brought in here.”
Regardless of this season's results, Marks and co. will face pressure to make a splashy move in the near future, given the Nets' irrelevance for the last three-plus years. Brooklyn has posted a 91-183 record since trading away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the 2023 deadline and is projected to win 24.5 games in 2026-27.