The Post’s Brian Lewis breaks down the Nets roster ahead of training camp:
asserted
Lewis → break → camp
Player, age, position, height, weight
Tyler Bilodeau, 22, F, 6-9, 230
After the Nets traded a second-round pick in 2018, it got moved in three different deals before coming back to Brooklyn in the form of this sweet-shooting forward from UCLA.
asserted
it → trade → UCLA
The two-way’s defense has to prove up to NBA levels.
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defense → have → levels
Rookie point guards have growing pains, and Brown must bulk up and cut turnovers, but he will get every chance to play right out of the gate.
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he → have → gate
Noah Clowney, 22, F, 6-10, 210
After starting 60 games last season, he likely will come off the bench.
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he → start → bench
But entering his fourth season — despite being younger than Danny Wolf — Clowney has to show growth, particularly as a shooter, rim protector and rebounder.
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Clowney → enter → shooter
The Nets saw his aggressiveness, 7-foot-7 wingspan and motor, and brought him to Summer League.
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Nets → see → League
Egor Dëmin, 20, G, 6-8, 200
After doubts about his shooting, Dëmin showed a 3-point shot as a rookie.
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Dëmin → show → rookie
Now the young Russian has bulked up and must build on the improved downhill game he flashed in Summer League.
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he → bulk → League
If that’s real, he’s a legitimate building block.
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he → ’ → ?
Keon Ellis, 26, G, 6-4, 175
Brooklyn has desperately lacked point-of-attack defense.
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Brooklyn → lack → defense
That’s why they signed Ellis, who played in Sacramento while coach Jordi Fernandez was the lead assistant and can provide valuable 3-and-D minutes off the bench.
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Fernandez → ’ → bench
Ben Humrichous, 24, F, 6-9, 224
Went undrafted after being a backup up Illinois’ Final Four team last season.
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Humrichous → go → team
Joshua Jefferson, 22, F, 6-9, 240
Taken with the first-round pick that came attached to salary-dumped Julius Randle.
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that → take → Randle
Jefferson was a versatile do-it-all forward at Iowa State, but comes into a crowded backup forward group that includes Noah Clowney, Danny Wolf and Josh Minott.
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that → come → Clowney
Chaney Johnson, 24, F, 6-7, 220
Got brought up last season and averaged 8.2 points on pure athleticism and hustle despite being undersized.
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Johnson → bring → athleticism
The Nets used Johnson at center in Summer League despite the presence of Danny Wolf, and he showed enough to earn a two-way.
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he → use → way
Does Mann steal late game minutes in nailbiters, or get moved to a contender?
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Mann → steal → contender
Josh Minott, 23, F, 6-8, 205
An analytics darling, Minott has the potential to be a legitimate 3-and-D threat.
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Minott → have → potential
Injuries, Boston’s wing depth and finally Brooklyn’s tanking efforts have conspired to limit his minutes.
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Injuries → conspire → minutes
Now he finally will get his chance, and has to take it.
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he → get → it
Grant Nelson, 24, F, 7-0, 215
Injuries curtailed Nelson’s last season and kept him out of Summer League altogether, both Sacramento and Las Vegas.
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Injuries → curtail → League
But he got a two-way deal, and another shot at the third-strong job.
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he → get → job
Michael Porter Jr., 28, F, 6-10, 218
Coming off a career season, Porter can build on that with more talent around him like Brown and Randle.
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Porter → come → Brown
The forward is set to make $40.8 million and be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
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forward → set → million
Will he get extended, traded, or both?
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he → extend → ?
But Powell is raw offensively and looked horrible shooting the ball over the summer.
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Powell → look → summer
Can he hone his jumper and get his athleticism to translate to production?
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athleticism → hone → production
Julius Randle, 31, F/C, 6-9, 250
Brookyn’s only All-Star, Randle has averaged 21.7 points and 8.9 rebounds over the past eight years.
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Randle → average → years
He’s a floor-raiser who will help, but for how long?
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who → ’ → ?
At 31 and able to opt out next summer, he hardly fits the Nets’ timeline.
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he → opt → timeline
Ben Saraf, 20, G, 6-6, 200
Another 2025 first-round guard, Saraf has a solid frame, physicality and nose for getting downhill.
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Saraf → have → frame
But the young Israeli shot just 21.1 percent from 3-point range as a rookie, a figure that needs to improve.
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that → shoot → rookie
Day’Ron Sharpe, 24, C, 6-10, 265
After years of backing up Nic Claxton, Sharpe finally gets his chance as the starter center.
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Sharpe → back → center
A great rebounder per 100 possessions, he has never averaged more than 18.7 minutes.
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he → average → minutes
Can his production handle scaled up playing time?
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production → handle → time
Nolan Traore, 20, G, 6-3, 185
The young Frenchman is quick and gets to the rim, but of every player who attempted at least 100 layups, his 44.4 percent was dead last.
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percent → get → layups
Will the former first-rounder’s added muscle help him finish?
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muscle → add → him
Moritz Wagner, 29, F/C, 6-11, 245
With Claxton gone and Sharpe the starter, Wagner signed in free agency as Brooklyn’s only other proven center.
asserted
Wagner → go → center
He’s going to play — a lot — but can the floor spacing he provides compensate for a lack of rim protection?
asserted
he → go → protection
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
