The Draft is two weeks and two days away. Free agency is three weeks away. And all we have is speculation – a lot of it – which is exactly how Sean Marks & co. want it. The number and range of possibilities is near infinite, at least by NBA standards: Stay at Nos. 6, 33 and 43, move up, move down, add a pick. When you have as many draft assets as the Nets do — the most picks (32), most first round picks (13), most tradeable first round picks (nine), most first round swaps (two) and most second round picks (19) plus $34 million in cap space, there’s plenty of ways to move. You’ve heard it all before but it remains true.
One bet we’d make, based purely on history, is that it is highly unlikely that the Nets will come away from the draft with picks taken at Nos. 6, 13 and 43. We at NetsDaily learned that lesson back in 2019 when the Nets had two first rounders at Nos. 17 and 27 plus a pick at the top of the second in No. 31. We wrote endlessly about the top prospects at those first round slots, only to see Marks trade both picks to add the cap space needed to sign Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. Then, they took Nic Claxton at No. 31. One surprise after another.
Here’s another bet: Whoever they take in the Draft will not be close to a finished product, even in the most basic sense. Nate Ament told Marc J. Spears in May that he’s been told he could grow another two inches from his current 6’9.5” in socks. He also has “projectable frame,” meaning he can fill out, tweeted Jonathan Givony. They’ll all likely be 19 or 20 years old and be in need of a lot of work in the weight room, on the practice court, etc. No team in the Nets situation drafts for the next season.
Moreover, the roster will change …. a lot. We can only speculate on who they plan to target and how. Will Marks try to lure a veteran like Austin Reaves? C.J. McCullum? Donatas Sabonis? Or maybe toss an offer sheet at Peyton Watson and see how much the Nuggets are willing to spend to keep him? Or how about Tari Eason of the Rockets? He’s also restricted. Ayo Dosunmu of the Timberwolves? He’s unrestricted. Will he put together a big trade offer? We have no idea … none … really. (A side note: is it possible the wheels are already in motion on such moves? Sure. The Nets shocking blockbuster trade for Joe Johnson in 2012 was a done deal well before the NBA Draft. It was just announced afterwards.)
Also, not all the young players the Nets suited up at the end of last season will return. Already, we know that E.J. Liddell won’t. He signed this weekend with Aris Basketball in Thessaloniki in the Greek League…
Liddell, 25, played 26 games for Brooklyn last season, averaging 5.7 points and 2.7 rebounds. He also played 22 games for Long Island before his contract was converted from a two-way to a standing deal, putting up 18.0 points and 8.4 rebounds. Tyson Etienne’s future seems uncertain. Chaney Johnson will get another chance.
Three players have team options that come up in the days after the Draft: Day’Ron Sharpe and Zaire Williams at $6.3 million each and Josh Minott at $2.6 million.
The bottom line that often seems lost on Nets fans is that last season’s team was built to lose and little can be drawn from that experience when looking forward. A big part of the rationale in taking a record five first rounders, playing eight rookies — the Flatbush 5 plus Chaney Johnson, Grant Nelson, Malachi Smith — a record 6,400 minutes and building the youngest NBA roster in 20 years was to pre-tank the season. The goal was to get top three odds in the Lottery so they had a 51% chance at a top four pick. They did but they lost in the Lottery. Unfortunate.
Still in the Salary Dump game?
We all know, because dozens of fans and pundits remind us daily, that the Nets have no incentive to tank next season since they may have to swap first rounders with the Houston Rockets. (We say “may” rather than “will” because you new never know about the NBA, but yeah it’s likely.)
So no need to tank again, but what about salary dumps which were also part of the Nets strategy last year? At the end of 2024-25, the Nets had $60 million in salary cap space — easily the most in the NBA — and used virtually all of it between April and February. They didn’t even get to the salary cap floor until the trade deadline. This year, they have around $34 million per Bobby Marks which is likely to be third in the NBA. As noted above, they could use it in a lot of ways to help with free agency, the Draft, etc. … and salary dumps, that is, taking on bad salaries (or salaries seen as bad by other teams) in return for future assets whether picks or young players. There are still a number of teams that will need to shed salary to avoid luxury tax payments or the limitations posed by being over aprons 1 and 2. So there may very well be opportunities.
So we looked at last season’s dumps to help us figure out what and how they might move now. There were eight in all and they were varied. We graded each one.
—June 24: Sent $1.1 million in cash considerations to Celtics to facilitate a three-team deal involving Brooklyn, Boston and Atlanta, receiving Terance Mann ($47 million over 3 years) and draft rights to the Hawks #22 pick in 2025 Draft which became Drake Powell. Took on roughly $19 million in space, the combined salaries of Mann and Powell, their biggest dump overall. (B+. The only reason it isn’t an A is that Powell needs time to develop.)
—June 25: Nets traded #36 pick from the 2024 Mikal Bridges trade in what became a seven-team deal. Nets got future second pick in 2026 (least favorable of Clippers or most favorable of the Celtics, Pacers and Heat) which became the No. 43 pick in this year’s draft plus Celtics pick in 2030. No increase in cap space in this one, just assets. (B. Not needing a second when you have five firsts, they moved one pick forward and got another.)
—June 28: – Traded Cam Johnson to Nuggets for Michael Porter Jr. and Denver’s unprotected first rounder in 2032. Took on #17 million in space. (A+. CBS Sports rated this deal the fourth best move of the 2025 off-season.)
—August 15: Traded a Nets’ heavily protected second rounder in 2026 to Heat for Haywood Highsmith and Miami’s second round pick in 2032. Took on $5.6 million in space. Highsmith didn’t play a minute for Brooklyn due to injury and was later waived to open roster spot. (D. They still got a pick.)
—September 15: Sent $110,000 in cash considerations to Hawks for Kobe Bufkin. Took on $1.6 million in space. Later waived. (D. They took a chance and it didn’t work. It’s a luxury you have.)
—February 5: Sent $110,000 in cash considerations to Celtics for Josh Minott. Took on $2.5 million in space (B+. He’s looked good and is only 23.)
—February 5: Traded the less favorable of 2026 Clippers and Hawks second-round pick to Denver in return for Hunter Tyson and a Nuggets second in 2032. Tyson waived immediately. Took at $2 million in space. (C. They simplified their draft picks. No big whoop.)
—February 5: Traded draft rights to Serbian PG Vanja Marinkovic to Raptors in three-team deal that also included the Clippers, receiving Ochai Agbaji, Toronto’s second rounder in 2032 and $3.5 million in cash considerations. Took on roughly $3 million in space. (B. If he makes the team, the grade may go higher.)
Bottom line: The Nets used the dumps as much to take on risks as much as to secure picks. The CamJ-for-MPJ deal was both and overall the best. They wound up taking on five other players — Mann. Highsmith, Bufkin, Minott and Agbaji (as well as Tyson who they immediately dumped) while picking two unprotected firsts — the Hawks 2025 first rounder and the Nuggets 2032 first rounder; and a net of three seconds, coming away with the Heat’s in 2032, the Clippers in 2026, the Celtics in 2030 and the Nuggets in 2032. (They gave up one to get two in the trade of the second from the Bridges trade.)
So, since they seem to have more picks than they would need, don’t be surprised if they take another risk or two on young players.
Joe Tsai, Hall of Famer
Pro Lacrosse Hall of Famer, that is.
Three days ago, the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame announced its 2026 class and Joe Tsai, who is basically the godfather of professional lacrosse in the U.S., was among those honored as the hall’s first “contributor.” Said the hall in a release:
Joe Tsai loves this game the way the rest of us do, and he’s used everything he has to push it forward,” said Paul Rabil, co-founder and President of the PLL and member of the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame. “He’s grown lacrosse at every level, from the grassroots to the Olympics, and he’s done it because he believes in what this sport can be. There’s no one more deserving. We’re proud to welcome Joe into the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame.”
The 2026 Hall of Fame class reflects the full range of what it takes to build a sport – elite players who set records that may never be broken, and a contributor whose investment made professional lacrosse’s growth possible at scale,” said Mike Rabil, Co-Founder and CEO of the Premier Lacrosse League. “Brodie, Greg, and Drew each defined their positions for a generation. Joe Tsai’s commitment to this game has shaped the PLL and the sport in ways fans and players will continue to benefit from for decades. We’re honored to welcome all four into the Professional Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
Tsai began his lacrosse career at New Jersey’s Lawrenceville School as a 13-year, continuing his love of the game at Yale where he played four years and recently financed a $40 million training center for the school’s team. He currently is the principal owner of two teams in San Diego and Las Vegas (it’s permitted) in the indoor league, the National Lacrosse League, and is a principal financier of the outdoor league, the Premier Lacrosse League.
He will be inducted along with players and coaches during the PLL’s Hall of Fame weekend in Hempstead, Long Island, June 19-20. He’ll no doubt be on hand since the NBA Draft is three days later in Brooklyn.
Congratulations.
Draft Sleeper of the Week
We try to keep track of who’s been in to HSS Training Center for workouts. It’s one of the Nets “state secrets.” There was a time under Rod Thorn and Billy King that not only would the team disclose who had worked out at the Meadowlands then HSS. They would have the chief scout provide reporters with player assessments!
Here’s our best guess at who’s been in.
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Cruz Davis, Hofstra’s high scoring 6’3” lead guard. Could he fit with nearly Long Island Nets;
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Malik Dia, a 6’9” 3-and-D type who played at Vanderbilt, Belmont, then his final two years at Ole Miss;
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Grant Newell, another 6’9” forward who played at California, North Texas and most recently Western Kentucky;
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Jevon Porter, a 6’11’ center for Missouri who at 22, is MPJ’s younger brother.
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Xaivian Lee, a 6’4” lead guard who finished his career at Florida after three solid years at Princeton. A Korean-Canadian.
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Brenen Lorient, a 6’9” wing who shot 38.9% from deep for his career at West Virginia and before that at Florida Atlantic and North Texas.
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Fletcher Loyer, 6’5” 3-point specialist for Purdue who is the brother of Nets head video coordinator Foster Loyer and son of New Jersey Nets assistant John Loyer.
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Tramon Mark, a 6’6” shooting guard who led the Texas Longhorns in scoring.
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Collin Parker, Austin Peay’s 40.4% 3-point wing who at 6’8” is one of several tall sharpshooters who’ve been in.
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Nick Pringle, a 6’10” bruiser who played with Darius Acuff at Houston.
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Jaden Henley, Grand Canyon’s 6’7” wing, a 3-point specialist.
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Isaac McKeenly, Mikel Brown’s 6’4” backcourt running mate at Louisville and another 3-point specialist;
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Corey Stephenson a 6’6” shooting guard who played last season FIU after two years at UCSB;.
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Dain Dainja, a 6’9” forward who averaged 14 points and six rebounds for the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce last season.
And, oh yeah, Darius Acuff, the 6’2” — in socks — lead guard from Arkansas who was in Wednesday, according to Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. Acuff is the first of the leading candidates for the sixth pick who we know has worked out. It’s fair to say he and Mikel Brown Jr. are the fan favorites at this point. (We could have profiled Nate Ament, but Lucas Kaplan has covered that waterfront quite extensively.)
Acuff is the most offensively gifted of the four lead guards draftniks have linked to the Nets. Take a look at his highlights from the NCAA tournament where he cemented his reputation as a top prospects at the 1 or 2:
As Wilko Martinez-Cachero of Floors and Ceilings wrote, he can do it all …. on offense:
Darius Acuff Jr. has a high offensive floor with the ultimate potential to serve as his team’s primary offensive engine. That’s why he is around the top 15-20 range of my board, with the chance to climb into the back end of the lottery depending on how draft declarations shape up.
Acuff can score at all three levels to an extent, handle a heavy playmaking load without turning the ball over much, and he has proven that he can play both on- and off-ball this year.
The Arkansas freshman thrives on getting downhill and is always putting pressure on defenses. He’s comfortable getting to his spots in the midrange and getting to his pull-up on balance. Plus, Acuff’s three-pointer – especially his catch-and-shoot – has been a pleasant surprise, which makes me think he can be more of a combo guard and less of a ball-dominant guard in the NBA.
In 36 games, he averaged 23.5 points and 6.4 assists while shooting 48/44/81. He also showed that quick decision-making the Nets love and has the confidence teams love in a lead guard. Asked by Brian Lewis at the NBA Combine how he saw his future, Acuff put humility to the side: “Definitely a superstar point guard for sure.” Some have even compared him to Allen Iverson!
However… and it’s a big however … he has not shown much inclination to play defense, like any defense, leading to some ugly assessments…
There has been some revisionist history of late about how the Razorbacks didn’t need him to play defense, that John Calipari wanted to make sure he was on the court as much as possible, not sitting in foul trouble. He did play 35.1 minutes a game for Coach Cal while racking up those gaudy numbers. Still, until proven otherwise, it has to be an issue … and the Nets recent draft history suggests they’re not enamored of small guards. The only guard or for that matter only player 6’3” or under who they’ve taken in the Marks era, in either round, was Cam Thomas. Gulp.
Then again, if you look across the river, there’s this lead guard with almost the same measurements as Acuff who has led his team to a 2-0 advantage in the NBA Finals. Indeed, Acuff told Draymond Green a couple of days ago that he’s been studying Jalen Brunson…
Word is that the Clippers who pick at No. 5 like Keaton Wagler and the Kings who pick at No. 7 covet Acuff.
A bit of Nets history to help you through Monday
The Knicks and Spurs will face off at Madison Square Garden Monday in what is almost certainly the most important game at the Garden in 53 years, since the Knickerbockers last won an NBA title. On hand will be the Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who says he will be sitting with some friends (not courtside) and the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, who will likely be sitting with James Dolan … attended by security personnel that will be numbered in the dozens if not hundreds, everyone from MSG security to the NYPD to the Secret Service.
The occasion has reignited interest in New York’s last men’s professional basketball team that won a championship. We mean the New York Nets who took the ABA title back in 1976 three years after the Knicks. (The last professional basketball team in New York to win a title, male or female, was your New York Liberty who won the WNBA championship at Barclays Center two years ago.)
Mike Vaccaro, the New York Post columnist, was at Nassau Coliseum as an 8-year-old that night when the Nets beat the Nuggets, 112-106, giving them the title in six games. He wrote Saturday about his youthful disappointment that the Nets wouldn’t play that year’s NBA champs, the Boston Celtics, in a tournament of champions. The Nets had publicly offered to play the Celts with all profits going to the U.S. Olympic Team but the NBA and Celtics declined, as another Post writer, Paul Forrester wrote earlier in the week.
Vaccaro spoke to a number of people familiar with the NBA and ABA at the time, including Bill Melchionni, the Nets point guard about who would have won the series that never happened. But beyond the opinions, Vaccaro engaged Jerry Milano and John Garcia of Strat-O-Matic, who he called “the market leader in sports simulation” to create mythical matchups between the NBA and ABA championships in both 1974 and 1976. The Celtics were the NBA champs in 1974 as well.
“In the ’73-’74 matchup, The Nets won Game 6 in Nassau Coliseum then went up to the Boston Garden and edged the Celtics, 111-110, in a decisive seventh game,” the results showed. “Julius Erving led all scorers with 37.3 points per game, including 38 and 14 rebounds in Game 7.”
John Havlicek tried to close the Nets out in Game 6 with 47 points and 11 assists but couldn’t quite get it done.
“The simulation from two years later had New York winning again, this time in six games,” the simulation showed. “Erving again paced scoring with 34.7 ppg.”
In Game 6, played at the Coliseum in what would’ve been the last gasp of the ABA — and we assume since it was a Nets home game they would’ve used the red, white and blue rock — the Nets won 123-115. Dr. J had 35 and 10 to lead the Nets and Super John Williamson had 14 and 6; Jo Jo White led Boston with 34 and nine assists while Cowens had 10 points and 15 rebounds.
Can they hang a make-believe banner at Barclays Center for that?
Probably not.
And what about the Nets and Knicks back then? Who would have won in those head-to-heads? Vaccaro didn’t requests simulations there. Both New York clubs were riding high back then. In 1974 through 1976, the Nets were the ABA’s best while the Knicks who had won in 1970 and 1973 but were beginning a slow slide. This was, of course, before the NBA-ABA merger in 1977 when the Nets needed to pay the Knicks an “entry fee” that forced owner Roy Boe to choose between his two teams, the Islanders and Nets. He chose the Isles and sold Julius Erving to the 76ers, paid the Knicks off and joined the NBA.
As we wrote back in 2012, when the Nets were nearing their move back to New York, the NBA and ABA did hold a series of preseason exhibition games starting in October 1972, prior to the Knicks last championship season of 1972-73 but before Dr. J’s arrival at Nassau Coliseum. In year one, the city guys beat the suburbanites twice, the first time in a blowout.
Then, things changed with Erving in red, white and blue. In pre-season exhibitions in 1973 and 1975, prior to the Nets last two ABA championship seasons, the Nets beat the Knicks all three times the two teams played. Was that the reason that the Knicks demanded a $4.8 million “entry fee” from the Nets on top of the $3.2 million the league required? Did they know the fee would strangle the Nets, require them to undertake a massive cost-cutting, which ultimately included the sale of Dr. J. to the 76ers? Ya think?
Here, thanks to Remember the ABA, are thumbnail descriptions of what went down in each of the five games:
October 5, 1972
Knicks 117 – Nets 88
at New Haven, CT
Leaders: John Roche 26 points; Jerry Lucas 25 points; DeBusschere 15 points
October 6, 1972
Knicks 100 – Nets 91
at Uniondale, NY
Leaders: DeBusschere 19 points; Frazier 19 points; Johnny. Baum 19 points; Billy Melchionni 18 points
October 2, 1973
Nets 97 – Knicks 87
at New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
Attendance at MSG 17,226;
Leaders: Julius Erving 27 points (12 in 3rd quarter); Frazier 25 points
October 8, 1975
Nets 110 – Knicks 104
at Uniondale, NY
October 18, 1975
Nets 103 – Knicks 101
at New York, NY (Madison Square Garden)
Leaders: Erving 33 pts & jump shot at buzzer to win game; Frazier 22 points.
The Nets did get some revenge on the Knicks in 1996, as we also reported in 2012. Taking advantage of the Dolans need to get the Nets vote on a change of ownership, the New Jersey Nets traded their vote in the board of governors for the right to move anywhere in New York. No questions asked. Michael Rowe was president of the team back then and in 2012, he explained to us just how he outmaneuvered Dolan … and paved the way for the eventual move to Brooklyn.
In 1996, the New Jersey Nets had just turned down an offer to sell the team to the late John Mc Mullen, owner of the NJ Devils, and instead the Nets were turning their interests towards maximizing their opportunities for a possible sale/relocation.
At the same time, the lease to play in the Meadowlands was re-negotiated to give the team flexibility to move and concurrently, the arrangement with Sportschannel, [a Dolan-owned entity] who had local broadcast rights for New Jersey Nets games at the time, was re-negotiated to allow the Nets to end the agreement without the broadcaster having a right to ‘match’… something that would prove invaluable if/when the Nets sought other broadcast opportunities.
While all this was going on, an [NBA] ownership vote affecting the Knicks required that the Knicks receive the Nets’ approval and, keeping in line with our Ownership’s strategic plans, we sought to have the territorial restrictions that the Knicks had over the Nets totally eliminated. We were receiving strong interest from the NY Islanders ownership about relocating to Nassau [County on Long Island], but such a move would have surely been blocked by the Knicks under the old provisions.
I met with [MSG CEO] Dave Checketts at the Garden. We hashed through the issue and the League approved the revision. David Stern was very supportive of the change.
In essence, the clause was designed to aid a sale, or move to Nassau Coliseum, not Manhattan or Brooklyn ( although we did have some brief discussions with Garden about moving into their building…ala Staples Center teams –Clippers, Lakers and Kings). So, the NY/NY Rivalry almost happened back in that 1996 timeframe (actually, a few years later, we had a serious offer from Islanders to sell the team and move it to Nassau in 1998).
But the real ‘gem’ of the above accomplishments was that when our new ownership group [Raymond Chambers, Lewis Katz et al] purchased the Team in 1998 there was NO restrictions on where to move, NO restrictions on our cable rights and NO mandate for the Nets to remain in the Meadowlands. These conditions created a perfect storm to form the Yankee Nets Organization and the YES Network.
Yeah, it’s a lot of history, but it should be comforting in these difficult times.
Final Note
Apologies for the length — it’s our longest Off-Season Report ever, but there’s a lot of stuff going on!
Read the full article here