The 2024-25 NBA season is here! We break down the biggest questions, best and worst case scenarios and fantasy prospects for all 30 teams. Enjoy!
2023-24 end
Offseason moves
Additions: Head Coach Jordi Fernandez, Bojan Bogdanović, Shake Milton, Ziaire Williams
Subtractions: Mikal Bridges, Lonnie Walker IV, Keita Bates-Diop, Dennis Smith Jr.
Complete roster
The Big Question: Who is even on these Webs in two years?
The Brooklyn Nets are a team in transition. Long gone are Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. So is Mikal Bridges, their best player from last season’s 32-win team. In their place are Ben Simmons, Cameron Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith and a collection of draft picks that could one day bear fruit.
Not today though. Simmons has played 57 games over the past three seasons, mostly poorly. Johnson and Finney-Smith are substitutes. Don’t be surprised if one or both are traded for more draft assets. The goal now: Pray that one or more of those picks – his own or someone else’s – becomes The Guy.
That’s why they traded a bunch of picks from the Phoenix Suns to get back the rights to their own in 2025 and 2026 from the Houston Rockets. They couldn’t have signaled their desire to tank any louder. They want the NBA’s worst record, which could deliver Cooper Flagg or Ace Bailey at the top of the draft.
In the meantime, they should assess what few prospects they have. In recent years they have drafted Cam Thomas, Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead in the first round. Thomas is the closest thing the Nets have to a reliable scoring threat, though that may be because he’s the one ready to take. everyone the shots Can he improve his efficiency enough to convince us that his production will translate to winning basketball?
Clowney is a big who bounced back and forth from the G-League last season. Can he shoot well enough to justify playing him next to starting center Nicolas Claxton? If not, can Clowney make enough of an impression that they consider moving the four-year, $97 million deal they just signed Claxton to?
Foot and shin surgeries cost Whitehead almost the entirety of his rookie season. Can the 6-foot-7 Duke product rediscover the potential that made him the top-ranked wing in the high school Class of 2022?
Don’t waste time trying to win games with Dennis Schröder and Bojan Bogdanović. Taking flyers on Killian Hayes and Ziaire Williams, a pair of recent top-10 picks who didn’t catch on with the teams that drafted them, was smart business. Why not see if they can revive their value as the losses mount?
And then there’s Simmons. He’s the only one on the roster who’s sniffed an All-Star team, and he’s made three of them — before his back gave out, he lost his faith, or both. He finished runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year three years ago. Is any of that still in him? He is 28 years old. This past season, he averaged 9-12-9 per 36 minutes in 15 games and barely made a blip on the radar. His career has one of the most bizarre arcs in the history of the league. He is in the final year of a max contract. Is he even a minimum wage player next season? At least we should know the answer to that by April.
As for who is even on this roster two years from now, who knows. That’s for them to figure out this season.
Best case scenario
Thomas is legit. Maybe Whitehead is too. Clowney is a stretch 4 who can play with Claxton, and the two of them together could be the foundation of a strong defense. The Nets are finding takers for Johnson and Finney-Smith, adding to their draft stock. One way or another, Simmons is finding peace with his basketball career. And the team is absolutely terrible, so bad that they get enough Ping-Pong balls to win Flagg.
If everything falls apart
No one is that good, but the Nets are trying like hell. First-year head coach Jordi Fernandez is falling in love with his veterans, knocking together Schröder and Johnson and Finney-Smith and Bogdanović and Claxton and blasting their way to another 30 wins — enough to fall late into the lottery. And we’re right back here next season in the same predicament, wondering who even belongs in Brooklyn.
A fancy spin
Thomas is in for a breakout season. The 23-year-old bucket taker was one of four guards, 23 and under, to average at least 20 points per game last season, with a 30% usage rate. Add in his developing playmaking and he’s a better pick in the sixth round.
Claxton is a good source of blocks, rebounds and FG%, while Johnson will look to build off a disappointing and injury-plagued season. Johnson finished 128th in per-game value mainly because his efficiency dipped across the board.
Clowney is an interesting late-round flyer, but he will become more valuable once the Nets fully commit to the Cooper Flagg spot. Schröder will also have his moments, and I have more faith in him contributing this season than Simmons. – And Titus
schedule 2024-25
Whatever the number, take the sub.
