Bleacher Report thinks the Nets will win just two more games than they did last season. But after adding Julius Randle, Keon Ellis, and Moritz Wagner while continuing to develop their young core, that prediction feels far too pessimistic.
The Brooklyn Nets are not expected to be one of the NBA's better teams in 2026-27. That's fair.
But Bleacher Report's prediction for Brooklyn following the release of the NBA schedule feels awfully low.
Bleacher Report has the Nets finishing the season with a 22-60 record, just two wins better than the 20-62 mark they posted last season. Considering how much this roster has changed since then, it's tough to see Brooklyn improving by only two games.
The Nets made several significant additions this offseason, starting with the acquisition of six-time All-Star Julius Randle. Randle gives Brooklyn a proven offensive option and someone who has spent years playing a major role on playoff teams.
Brooklyn also added two veteran rotation pieces in Keon Ellis and Moritz Wagner. Neither player is going to completely change the direction of the franchise, but both should give the Nets some much-needed depth and experience.
Then there's the continued development of the young players already on the roster.
Egor Dëmin is entering his second NBA season after averaging 10.3 points and 3.3 assists per game as a rookie. Nolan Traoré and Danny Wolf will also have a chance to take another step forward, while the Nets added another potential building block with sixth overall pick Mikel Brown Jr.
That's a pretty different roster from the one that won 20 games last season.
Yes, the Eastern Conference has gotten better. There are fewer obvious easy wins, and Brooklyn will have to deal with several teams that made significant additions of their own. That's something that should absolutely be considered when projecting the Nets' record.
But Brooklyn isn't standing still while the rest of the conference improves.
That's what makes Bleacher Report's projection particularly interesting when you look at some of the other teams on the list.
The Memphis Grizzlies, for example, are projected to finish 31-51. That's nine more wins than the Nets, despite the argument that Brooklyn has a more complete roster on paper.
Memphis has plenty of intriguing young talent, including No. 1 overall pick Cameron Boozer, and the Grizzlies could certainly surprise people. But nine more wins than Brooklyn feels like a lot, especially when the Nets added a player of Randle's caliber while also giving their young core another year to develop.
The Sacramento Kings are another interesting comparison. Bleacher Report has Sacramento finishing 20-62, which would put the Nets just two games ahead of them despite Brooklyn having a much more active offseason.
And that's really the point here.
The Nets don't need to make the playoffs for a 22-win projection to feel too low.
They don't necessarily need to reach the Play-In Tournament, either. They might not even get to 30 wins. There are plenty of ways this season could play out with Brooklyn still sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
But going from 20 wins to 22 after everything the Nets have done this offseason feels overly pessimistic.
Last year's team had very little proven veteran talent and eventually had to rely heavily on its young players. This year's roster has more experience, more depth and another year of development for several important pieces.
Maybe Brooklyn still finishes with one of the worst records in the league. That's certainly possible.
But if the Nets are going to finish 22-60, it should probably be because the rest of the conference is exceptionally difficult and the young roster struggles to put everything together, not because the team itself looks nearly identical to last year's 20-win group.
A record in the low-to-mid 20s is certainly possible. But expecting the Nets to improve by only two wins after the offseason they just had feels like a particularly pessimistic view of this team.
Brooklyn may not be ready to compete for a playoff spot yet.
That doesn't mean the Nets can't be significantly better than they were a year ago.
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