By pairing veteran muscle in Julius Randle with high-upside rookies, Brooklyn has pivotally reshaped its roster to hunt for a play-in spot and ignite a new era.
The Brooklyn Nets were among one of the more active NBA teams this offseason, making multiple key additions through trades, free agency, and the 2026 NBA Draft.
On Monday, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey released his list of each team's offseason grades, with the Nets coming in at a B+.
"The Brooklyn Nets will almost certainly be more competitive this season," Bailey wrote. "The incentive to tank is basically gone, Julius Randle is an innings-eater who'll put up good regular-season numbers and his slashing fits well with Michael Porter Jr.'s shooting. That and a little development from Egor Dëmin might even have Brooklyn in the mix for a play-in spot."
Randle was the most notable get, as the Nets acquired the three-time All Star one night before the opening round of the draft.
Randle scored 21.2 points per game, adding 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists on solid 48.1-percent shooting, but struggled in the playoffs.
It was later reported that Randle was the lone Minnesota Timberwolf to skip exit interviews following the end of their season, highlighting the rising tensions between team and player.
Considering what the Nets had to give up, getting a player of Randle's caliber definitely raises the bar of competitive ability for this roster.
I love his fit next to Porter, as the two wings play contrasting styles of basketball on the offensive end.
Randle, who is an underrated playmaker at his position, likes to use his size and physicality to impose his will on the inside, while Porter does his damage with jump shooting and perimeter play.
Dëmin is another interesting piece, as the second-year BYU product looked like one of the most-improved players in the recent NBA Summer League.
The projected starter shined, averaging 21 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
Alongside No. 6 overall pick Mikel Brown Jr., the Nets' front office has to be feeling good about the future of the backcourt in Brooklyn.
"But the biggest swing player from this summer is undoubtedly incoming rookie Mikel Brown Jr. If he becomes the kind of volume-scoring combo guard Brooklyn believes he can be, it could have a dynamic, sort of inverted backcourt that gets the points from the point guard-sized player and the assists from the wing-sized one (Dëmin)," Bailey added.
Like Porter and Randle, the potential fit from Dëmin and Brown is exciting, as both players are willing passers and have good size at the guard position.
In mid-July, Dëmin talked about his budding relationship with his newest teammate and a nickname for the duo circulating around social media.
"The Aura Bros? I've seen that a little bit. He's been a really good friend of mine ever since he's here..." Demin told ClutchPoints reporter Kris Pursiainen. "I think we have a really good opportunity to be around each other a little bit, get to know each other. Get to feel what it is for the regular season, for the main team... I'm very happy with the idea of me and him being a duo, backcourt. I'm very happy."
Other solid pickups like Keon Ellis and Moritz Wagner in free agency provide good depth and experience to Brooklyn's bench unit, while later draft picks Joshua Jefferson and Tyler Bilodeau round out the Nets' front court.
Expect Brooklyn to be much more competitive this upcoming season.
