The gambling houses all say Brooklyn is going to be the worst team in the NBA.
The Nets say don’t bet on it.
Many of them took offense at having a league-worst 19.5 wins set as their over/under betting line. And with training camp tipping off on Tuesday, the Nets can start the work of proving it wrong.
“Yes, I find it disrespectful. Just because we’ve got a lot of guys that people don’t know doesn’t mean we’re going to win just 19 games,” Day’Ron Sharpe said. “You can’t be one foot out and one foot in. I’m trying to win as many games as possible and a lot of people are going to doubt us and we’re gonna show them.”
Dorian Finney-Smith added, “No expectations, man. We’re playing with the church’s money.”
More than one Net echoed that sentiment, of the low expectations simultaneously being used as motivation while also being liberating, fostering an underdog mentality.
“On one hand, you say we have low expectations: then we just get to come out and play how we play without all that added stress that can come with that,” Cam Johnson said. “So, for us, we can use it to our advantage. Use it as a chip on our shoulder and use it as a weight off of our shoulder to go and just play how we do.”
After trading Mikal Bridges and reacquiring their own 2025 and ’26 picks from Houston, the Nets are expected to not only struggle but move more veterans.
“I was with Mikal when he got moved. So, I thought there’s a chance I may be moved,” Finney-Smith said. “But all I can do is be a professional: Come in shape, come in ready to play and be where my feet [are].”
The dual summer deals signaled a rebuild in Brooklyn. But don’t tell the Nets that.
Organizations tank. Players and coaches don’t. While GM Sean Marks can worry about lottery odds and Cooper Flagg, the players are focused on getting Ws.
“I don’t look at it as a rebuild: I’m trying to win. Especially if Ben [Simmons] is Ben [Simmons], I feel like we got a good chance to win some games,” Finney-Smith said. “So, I just try to go all-in and be two feet in and just try to get as many wins as I can, as we can.”
Several Nets internalized the last-place projections and it’s given them a chip on their collective shoulder.
“I look at it as motivation,” Cam Thomas said. “Whenever I see something like that, or my mom tells me about it, I always just laugh, but then always keep a mental note of that in my head and just try to prove everybody wrong…I just use everything as motivation for myself and the team. So definitely laugh, but it’s in the back of my mind as motivation.”
How bought-in will older vets like Simmons, Finney-Smith, Johnson and Bojan Bogdanovic be, with all but Johnson on expiring deals? Johnson and Finney-Smith have been subject of trade rumors all offseason.
“They’ve been really open, and I appreciate that. A lot of times in this league, coaches won’t say anything to you, and they’re just trying to sweep it under the rug like your name ain’t all over the internet,” Finney-Smith said. “[So] I appreciate them.”
Bojan Bogdanovic (foot, wrist surgeries) has started on court individual work but not contact or 5-on-5.
