What Do Nets Fans Really Want From This Season?

Vincent Carchietta—USA TODAY Sports

The opening of NBA training camps is less than a month away and, as a Nets fan, I can’t say that I’m stoked about it.

The franchise has undergone a hard pivot toward irrelevancy, as evidenced by an offseason that featured the trade of its best all-around player in wing Mikal Bridges for a boatload of Draft picks but very little of immediate help.

This Nets season promises to be unlike any since 2009-10 when it comes to fan appreciation (or disgust). Yes, it wasn’t that long ago when Nets fans endured three consecutive seasons of sub-30 wins, but those clubs weren’t tanking, as those ensuing first-round picks belonged to Boston courtesy of the 2012 Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce blockbuster. Back then, we were free to root for any victory, not just moral ones, without fear of ping pong ball consequences.

The 2024-25 campaign promises to be just as bad, maybe excruciatingly so. Oddsmakers are picking the Nets to hit rock bottom in the overall league standings or somewhere very close. Over/under win totals typically range from 19-to-22.

If you ask most Nets fans today, they’ll tell you they’re fine with it, since Brooklyn General Manager Sean Marks recovered the previously dealt first-round picks that were sent to Houston in the 2021 James Harden acquisition. All aboard The Tank! Right?

Still, while fans may say that they’re up for a bottom-three finish, where each club has the same odds for picks 1-through-4 in the Draft Lottery, I’m not sure if they’ve thought enough about how Brooklyn gets there.

The games still have to be played by players, many of whom are very young. As NetsDaily pointed out, with Chinese import Jacky Cui expected to sign a training camp deal, Brooklyn will have 13 players 23-and-under among the 20 competing at training camp for 15 roster slots and three two-way contracts. Four players will start the year in the 25-to-28 sweet spot and three others are over 30. Once the season evolves and Marks gathers offers, I’d expect some of the older guys to be offloaded, hopefully in trades that yield more assets as opposed to buyouts.

So let’s get down to business about what fans really want out of this lost cause season. Specifically, how much should fans hope the young guys struggle so the Nets stay “on mission?” Do they want Cam Thomas to fail miserably in his first go at being the undisputed Alpha Dog? Are they rooting for Dariq Whitehead to be a damaged goods bust? How about a regression from Noah Clowney in Year 2?

Take Nic Claxton, whom the Nets re-signed to a 4-year, $97 million contract in June before he hit free agency. Are Nets fans hoping the big man’s growth plateaus, or would they rather see him continue to expand his game? Even embattled Ben Simmons, who has been plagued by back woes ever since his arrival when the Nets flipped Harden to Philadelphia in 2022—wouldn’t it be better if he shows he can still play at something within a reasonable proximity of his previous All-Star level so he might attract interest at the trade deadline? Or are fans really rooting that a second back surgery didn’t take so that he doesn’t upset the tank with triple-double performances?

Then there’s Head Coach Jordi Fernandez, whom Marks hired this offseason off the Sacramento bench. Despite a quarterfinal loss to host France at the 2024 Olympics, Fernandez has received generally positive reviews for his work as HC for Team Canada in recent international competitions. What would fans think if that translated to NBA locker rooms so he became the guy to truly motivate this team to defend and get after it, as opposed to all the lip service we’ve heard over the years? Or would they rather that Fernandez fumble his opportunity and be sent packing at season’s end?

These questions should not be easy to answer for many long-suffering fans. The instinct is to root for individuals to do well. And by extension the team. Thomas in particular has a growing base of support, many of whom are fervently vocal in ignoring his flaws because of his already voluminous record of bucket-getting by the age of 22. I’m not sure they’d be pleased to have to defend him if his typical night is something like a 9-for-24 shooting line. Or whether they’ll be praying that one of his patented contorted jump shots rims out on a potential game-winner at the buzzer.

Of course, if any Net, not just Thomas, enjoys a leap in development, it might translate into a couple of more wins, which could impact lottery odds. In Nets fans eyes, would that defeat the purpose of the season?  

At this stage, these quandaries remain theoretical. Soon enough, though, it becomes real, and Nets fans will have to decide what they really want to see from their team this season.