Julius Randle gives Michael Porter Jr. a partner and the Nets a way up

The Brooklyn Nets have a plan you can explain in one sentence: put Julius Randle next to Michael Porter Jr. and let two forwards who can score carry a roster that could not. Randle arrives from the Minnesota Timberwolves, Nicolas Claxton and Cam Thomas are gone, and most of the rest stays. The question for 2026-27 is whether two good players are enough to pull a 20-win team toward the middle of the East, or only out of the basement.

Last season was a long one. Brooklyn went 20-62, finished 13th in the East, missed the playoffs and was outscored by 10.1 points per 100 possessions. Porter was the bright spot on a team that did not have many, and this summer brought him some help.

Two forwards, one ball

Porter was the best thing about last season. He scored 24.2 points a night with 7.1 rebounds in 32.4 minutes over 52 games, and our impact rating, which counts the points per 100 possessions a player adds over an average one, had him well above average at 1.89. On a team that lost that often, that is not empty scoring.

Randle is the partner. He played 79 games for Minnesota, 33 minutes a night, with 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5 assists, and he graded above average too (1.49). That is more games than anyone else on this roster played, and his 5 assists are more than anyone in last season's core managed. The fit will take some work, two high-scoring forwards sharing one ball, but a team this short of shot creation will gladly take that problem.

What left, and why it may help

The departures look like losses on the depth chart and gains on our numbers. Claxton, now with the Chicago Bulls, played 69 games at 27.8 minutes and graded below average (-1.33). Cam Thomas played 24 games at 24.3 minutes with a -2.51. Ziaire Williams, now with the Los Angeles Lakers, was below average too (-0.61 in 56 games), Malachi Smith, now with the Toronto Raptors, sat right at average (-0.1), and Trevon Scott played six games.

Keon Ellis, from the Sacramento Kings, is the other newcomer of note: 72 games at 20.5 minutes and a rating just under average (-0.41). Moritz Wagner, from the Orlando Magic, scored 6.9 points in 11.8 minutes a night, though his -1.64 is a warning. Brooklyn keeps 65% of last season's minutes, so this is a tune-up built around two forwards, not a teardown.

The bench that worked

The best number on the roster belongs to a backup. Day'Ron Sharpe played only 18.7 minutes a night, but his 1.91 was the highest in this core, a hair above Porter's, built on 8.7 points and 6.7 rebounds over 62 games. With Claxton gone, the minutes in the middle are there for him to take, and he has earned a longer look.

Josh Minott (1.07 in 17 minutes) and Chaney Johnson (1.03 in 17 games, with 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds) also graded above average in smaller roles. Neither is a sure thing with more minutes, but Brooklyn had few players who helped last season, and these did. Giving them the minutes that used to go to Claxton and Thomas is the cheapest upgrade on the board.

The worries

The worries sit with the players who took real minutes and gave them back. Drake Powell played 63 games at 21 minutes and graded at -4.31, the lowest in this core. Nolan Traoré was not much better at -2.79, with 8.9 points and 3.8 assists in 22.3 minutes. Egor Demin (10.3 points in 25.1 minutes, -0.98) and Terance Mann (-0.67) were closer to average but still below it.

Noah Clowney is the other question. He played 66 games at 27 minutes, with 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds, but graded below average (-0.96). With Randle and Porter taking the forward minutes, his role may shrink, and on these numbers that would not hurt. Among the three rookies, Dain Dainja, Mikel Brown Jr. and Joshua Jefferson, Brown is listed as questionable on the injury report.

Bottom line

Our roster model ranks Brooklyn 28th of 30 and projects about 30 wins, a real step up from 20 but still near the bottom, outscored by 4.8 points per 100 possessions on paper. If Porter and Randle stay on the floor together, Sharpe gets more minutes and the minus players get fewer, the Nets can beat it. If Powell and Traoré take the same minutes again, they will not.

It all starts at home on Wednesday, October 21, at 7:30 PM ET, against the Charlotte Hornets.