NETS INSIDER

 Sean Marks didn't do his due diligence.  Whether it was James Harden's trade request or hasty decision making, the Nets GM traded for damaged goods.  Ben Simmons himself admits that he was not his healthy self when the Nets acquired him. Waiving Ben's physical and hiring Steve Nash are among Sean Marks's worst decisions as GM pic.twitter.com/NkC2HWX3Di — Nets Insider (@notoriousbknets) October 19, 2026   Simmons didn't play the second half of the regular season or the playoffs in 2023 and underwent back surgery that offseason.  The Nets were swept by the Celtics and that campaign was the last for Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving together in Brooklyn.  Simmons was never the same player he was in Philly.  Now that the point guard suffered a season ending Achilles injury during practice with the Kings, fans can't help but wonder if retirement is around the corner. 

  Bill Parcells once said, "you are what your record says you are." So while the Brooklyn Nets won three out of four during the preseason, a Maddenism comes to mind that rings true for this squad.  "Winning is the greatest deodorant".  Clearly, win/loss records are not an indicator of success in the preseason where starters play limited minutes while coaches have the opportunity to evaluate the roster top to bottom. The Nets had great contributions from Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and a plethora of guys on an individual basis.  The most disconcerting trend of the preseason was Brooklyn's abysmal transition defense and lack of a paint and rim protector.  The Nets were among the lowest scoring offenses last season and are banking on the addition of Julius Randle and Brown Jr. to bolster that weak point.  Brooklyn has volume scorers, but they'll need to outscore teams this season if there's any hope of reaching or exceeding the .500 mark.  S...

Photo courtesy of Dan Rodriguez    The Brooklyn Nets may have just started a yearly tradition for fans of all ages.  The Owens Community Center in Brooklyn was the site of the first ever "Nets Fest" with fans getting an opportunity to get autographs and sit in on panels with former players, including: Buck Williams, Albert King, Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles and more.  Photo courtesy of Dan Rodriguez Current Nets, Egor Demin, Mikel Brown Jr., Julius Randle, Ben Humrichous, Jordi Fernandez, and others were in attendance as well. Brooklyn Nets lottery pick, Mikel Brown Jr., shares his message for fans for the upcoming season. @NetsDaily #NetsWorld pic.twitter.com/A1xovni2pB — Scott Mitchell (@Scott44Mitchell) October 4, 2026   Many took part in a youth clinic with the next gen of players and fans learning from the pros.  Photo courtesy of Dan Rodriguez A good time was had by all reminiscing about yesteryear and honoring the franchise's hi...

 It took 14 seasons in the borough of Brooklyn to honor and acknowledge the Nets history prior to the move, but better late than never.  The Nets will be holding "Nets Fest" this Sunday and it will certainly have some New Jersey Nets flare.  The Nets are partly honoring their history due to the Knicks taking over the New York City market.  With watch parties during the NBA Finals being held in the shadow of Barclays Center, it became clear to the Nets public relations staff and marketing department that they needed to go back and cater to their loyal fans in both New Jersey and Long Island. Kenyon Martin, Kenny Anderson, Buck Williams, Albert King, Isaiah Whitehead, and Kerry Kittles are the Nets “alumni” at Brooklyn Nets Fest this Sunday. Per JfromBk (No Sauces) pic.twitter.com/DEf7s0WUsy — NetsKingdom 👑🗽 (@NetsKingdomAJ) September 30, 2026 The Nets missed a major opportunity to become a regional team with roots in Long Island and New Jersey, but now on the hee...

The No. 8 seed New York Liberty took the court on Tuesday night to face off with the No. 1 seed, Minnesota Lynx.  Off the backs of strong performances from Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu, the Liberty sent the top-ranked team in the WNBA playoffs packing with a two-game sweep, 87-71. The upset capped one of the weirdest paths to the semifinals, maybe ever. It was surprising that New York was able to finish the season the way they did with a 26-18 record. Their regular season was marred by injuries and a lot of inconsistent play.  On the other hand, Minnesota ended their season with a league-best record of 33-11. However, once the series between these teams arrived, it became hard to tell who was No.1 and who was No. 8. Starting with Breanna Stewart, she had quite the last couple of games. Coming off her Game 1 performance, where she notched 34 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocks, Stewart once again proved to be a difference-maker fo...

  The Brooklyn Nets open the preseason slate on October 6 at the Spectrum Center as they take on the Charlotte Hornets.  They'll likely being doing so without number 6 overall pick from the 2026 NBA draft in Mikel Brown Jr.  The Nets point guard tweaked his ankle this past week and is currently working his way back to full health as the team opens up training camp.  Sean Marks and the training staff are notoriously conservative in ramping up injured players and getting back onto the court. The rookie will need to clear a number of benchmarks, despite the injury not being a serious concern in the bigger picture.   Brown Jr. missed large portions of the Louisville Cardinals season during his freshman year with a lower back injury. His inability to stay on the court likely saw his draft stock take a hit and fall outside the top four and land in the Nets' lap.  Beyond his health ailments, Brown Jr. has a high ceiling as a scorer and facilitator, while he g...

 Leave it up to Michael Porter Jr. to make headlines.  Earlier in the off-season, the Nets shooting forward raised a lot of eyebrows with his comments that the team would win 50 games. Nets F Michael Porter Jr. on his statement that Brooklyn could win 50 games this season: "Why not shoot for the stars? I think that the reason a lot of NBA players are where they are is from having delusional confidence... People can clown that answer all they want." — Sharif Phillips-Keaton (@SharifKeaton) September 28, 2026   Brooklyn went into tank mode in 2025-26 and won merely 20 games with the hopes of securing the top pick.  The Nets dropped to the number 6 pick and selected Mikel Brown Jr. out of Louisville.  While veterans Julius Randle, Mo Wagner and Porter Jr. will certainly help bring experience, it's absurd to think that Brooklyn will more than double its win total in a more competitive Eastern Conference.  An unfiltered Porter Jr. is never shy to ...