Brooklyn rebuild around Randle and their young players
After winning just 20 games, the Nets add Julius Randle to Michael Porter Jr. Around those two leading figures, Jordi Fernandez must develop a large group of young players and revive an offence and a rebounding game that ranked last in the NBA.
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Brooklyn enter the new season with two jobs to handle at once: becoming more competitive again and developing their young players. The Nets come off a season of 20 wins and 62 defeats, finishing thirteenth in the Eastern Conference. They did not just lose a lot of games: their offence, at 105.9 points per game, was the least productive in the league.
In Jordi Fernandez's third season in charge, Julius Randle joins Michael Porter Jr. Their presence gives Brooklyn two players to build an offence around. It also obliges the coach to keep a place for the young guards, whose progress remains an important part of the project.
Third season in charge, 20-62 record
per game, the lowest-scoring of the 30 teams
per game: 10.3 offensive, 29.0 defensive
points scored per 100 possessions
points conceded per 100 possessions
points behind per 100 possessions
Rankings among 30 teams, 2025–2026 regular season.
New reference points, one departure inside
Randle arrives from Minnesota. Moritz Wagner and Keon Ellis also strengthen the group, while Nic Claxton has joined Chicago. In the draft, Brooklyn took Mikel Brown Jr. with the sixth pick; Tyler Bilodeau and Joshua Jefferson are also in the new squad.
- →Julius RandleMinnesota · 21.1 points in 2025–2026
- →Moritz WagnerOrlando · centre
- →Keon EllisSacramento then Cleveland
- →Mikel Brown Jr.2026 Draft · 6th pick
- →
- ←Nic ClaxtonChicago · 11.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks in 2025–2026
These moves change how responsibility is shared. Porter, who averaged 24.2 points per game in 2025–2026, remains a go-to finisher. Randle must add another threat and stop every opposing defence from concentrating its efforts on the same player. That will only help, however, if their team-mates keep contributing to the playmaking.
Michael Porter Jr., the finisher
23 % of the team's points
18 % of the team's rebounds
Shares calculated by SNA from per-game averages (Porter: 52 games). Order of magnitude, not an official statistic.
Porter and Randle, and then who?
The 2025–2026 scorers
Points per game, 2025–2026 regular season. Randle: Minnesota. In the current squad, behind these two reference points, nobody exceeded 12.3 points.
Who leads, who finishes, who protects the rim?
Egor Dëmin and Nolan Traoré begin their second NBA season. Mikel Brown Jr. and Ben Saraf round out a backcourt where Fernandez has several point guards to develop. Mikel Brown Jr. is listed as questionable on the SNA sheet consulted on 14 October. Their pecking order remains to be settled: being in the squad guarantees neither a place in the starting line-up nor identical playing time.
A 20-year-old point guard
Age on 14 October 2026, based on SNA player profiles.
For Traoré, this season is about decisions as much as points. Knowing when to push the pace, when to find a team-mate and when to hold the ball is essential for a point guard who is still learning the demands of the league. The veterans must ease that learning, not replace it on every possession.
Ellis and Terance Mann offer other options on the perimeter. Around Porter and Randle, Noah Clowney, Danny Wolf and Josh Minott must earn their place. Day'Ron Sharpe and Wagner give two options at centre after Claxton's departure. A group built around Dëmin, Ellis, Porter, Randle and Sharpe is one possible line-up projected by SNA, without prejudging Fernandez's choices.
The other point guards
- Nolan Traoré
- Mikel Brown Jr. (uncertain)
- Ben Saraf
On the wings
At centre
SNA projection, without prejudging Fernandez's choices. Each player opens his SNA profile.
The group: 19 players
The official NBA list consulted has 19 players. The positions below group together versatile profiles; they do not set the future rotation.
| Player | Status | Pts | Reb | Ast | 3PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guards | |||||
| Mikel Brown Jr. | Draft · 6th pickDoubtful | – | – | – | – |
| Keon Ellis | Newcomer · Cleveland | 6.7 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 36.3 % |
| Egor Dëmin | 10.3 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 38.5 % | |
| Nolan Traoré | 8.9 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 31.8 % | |
| Ben Saraf | 7.5 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 21.1 % | |
| Terance Mann | 7.2 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 36.4 % | |
| Drake Powell | 6.5 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 28.0 % | |
| Chaney Johnson | 8.2 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 30.0 % | |
| Forwards | |||||
| Josh Minott | 10.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 39.5 % | |
| Danny Wolf | 8.9 | 4.9 | 2.2 | 32.2 % | |
| Joshua Jefferson | New | – | – | – | – |
| Grant Nelson | 4.3 | 1.5 | 1.3 | – | |
| Michael Porter Jr. | Leader | 24.2 | 7.1 | 3.0 | 36.3 % |
| Tyler Bilodeau | New | – | – | – | – |
| Centres and big men | |||||
| Julius Randle | Newcomer · Minnesota | 21.1 | 6.7 | 5.0 | 31.5 % |
| Noah Clowney | 12.3 | 4.1 | 1.6 | 32.9 % | |
| Day'Ron Sharpe | 8.7 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 23.1 % | |
| Moritz Wagner | Newcomer · Orlando | 6.9 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 31.4 % |
2025–2026 regular-season averages, with Brooklyn unless stated. Randle: Minnesota; Ellis: Sacramento then Cleveland; Wagner: Orlando; Minott: 16 games at Brooklyn. Ben Humrichous, on the NBA roster, does not yet have an SNA profile. “–”: no NBA game in 2025–2026 or unverified data. Each name opens the player's SNA profile.
The rebuild will also have to show up on the boards
The new arrivals give Brooklyn more offensive reference points. But the team grabbed only 39.3 rebounds per game in 2025–2026, the lowest total in the NBA. Scoring more will not be enough if the opposition keeps the ball after its missed shots.
Who grabbed the rebounds
Rebounds per game, 2025–2026 regular season. Claxton's departure removes the team's second-best rebounder; Randle brings almost as many.
The work involves the whole group: the big men must finish off defensive possessions, and the perimeter players must help win the ball back. The young players need minutes, but also collective routines stable enough to learn from. A team that keeps changing its solution at the first sign of difficulty risks delaying that progress.
Strengths
- Two offensive anchors: Porter (24.2 points) and Randle (21.1).
- A generation of point guards to develop: Dëmin, Traoré, Saraf, Brown Jr.
- Two options at centre after Claxton's departure: Sharpe and Wagner.
Areas to fix
- Rebounding: 39.3 per game, the lowest total in the NBA.
- Attack: 105.9 points per game, the lowest in the league.
- Giving the youngsters minutes without changing approach at the first difficult spell.
- Porter's and Randle's team-mates continuing to drive the offence.
For SNA, the priority is to climb out of the bottom of the table by building a more reliable game.
The play-in can become a target if this improvement is confirmed; it should not be taken for granted on the strength of the list of new signings alone.
Thursday 22 October 2026 at 00:30, Brazzaville time · match centre
- The team’s live schedule appears here.
Countdown to tip-off.