SHOCKING Wild Cards That Could DEFINE the Brooklyn Nets’ 2025-26 Season
Hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. These four players could make or break the Brooklyn Nets 2025 2026 season. Hello everyone and welcome into an August 2nd edition of the Brooklyn Boys. I am Josh Woliver. Thank you so much for joining us for sparing part of your Saturday evening here on August 2nd. Make sure you drop down below this video, smash that like button, hit subscribe on our road to 500 subscribers. Any and all help would be appreciated. Share this with all your friends and family. Like and subscribe for your comments down in the chat, thoughts, questions, concerns, anything related to our Brooklyn Nets. We are in the heart of the off season, folks. But we’ll make it through and as we do, we are here to talk about four Nets players that will make a huge impact deciding how many games this Net team win, how many they lose. Josh Wolver here. August 2nd, the Brooklyn Boys show. Thank you all so much for tuning in. The first person that I need to highlight, someone who I think has gotten just a little too much hate from this Nets fan base. He had a big-time regression last year after getting a four-year hundred million paycheck an off season ago. But this player in my eyes, what he did for two seasons before getting that salary and how much hate he has gotten from this Nets fan base this season. I understand the trade talks, but it is Nick Claxton who of course needs to bounce back from a terrible year last year. I’ll be the first to tell you all about it. He basically regressed in every statistical offensive and defensive category in steals, in blocks, in rebounds, in the same amount of minutes played. He started eight less games than he did in the 2023 and 2024 NBA seasons. But Nick Claxton, a person who when at his peak, got defensive player of the year votes, averaged two blocks a game, was an anchor in this team’s paint. When at his peak, the value he brings to this Net’s team, rebounding, getting high quality shots within six feet of the hoop is ginormous. It could be the difference in winning and losing games this year for the Nets. You talk about Nick Claxton, a guy that, let’s be honest, I think all Nets fans have at least the thought in the back of their mind of being able and being ready to move on from them after the field goal percentage went from 70% in 2022 and 23 to just 56% this last season. A big one that pokes eyeballs out. 2.5 blocks a game in 2022 23. 2.1 in 23 24. Last year 1.4 blocks a game. So he wasn’t getting it done on the defensive end of things. You look at assists, those stayed pretty constant. You look at points, those dip down almost two points a game. And overall, it felt like Nick Claxton, as the season went on, brought less value to this team because of how much they were losing with his paint presence. So, let’s say you get this guy back on board, back on that same trend he was on a season, two seasons ago. You’re talking about a team that gets consistent big man play 30 minutes a night. You know what to expect. You get a guy who can go up against some of the league’s best center and start to give them problems when they try to bully their way in and score. But when he doesn’t and when he’s not rebounding as well and when he’s scoring less at less efficient rates, the free throw percentage, personally, I think it is I mean at at a certain aspect from the free throw line, NBA players shooting 51% from the free throw line is genuinely embarrassing. If I’m neglecting, I’m embarrassed by those numbers. Look, it wasn’t much better when he was playing his best basketball. His peak was around 58%, but 51% of the free throw line, I mean, come on, Claxton. That’s embarrassing. Even as a center who leaguewide have trouble shooting free throws, 51% is terrible. And that alone costs two games down the stretch. You’re in there, Jordy Fernandez is trusting you to get rebounds, to collapse on the ball, especially when you have the lead and the other team’s intentionally fouling to put guys at the free throw line. They’re actively looking to foul Nick Claxton because they know he is that bad of a free throw shooter. They know how much of a different in a basketball game getting Nick Claxton versus a guy like Cam Thomas versus a guy like Michael Porter Jr. at the line can be. Now, on the flip side of this coin, we go from Nick Claxton, a guy severely underperformed to a guy in Dron Sharp who has really elevated, who has taken that next step to that next plateau. He just got paid for a two-year deal, and now he needs to step up, especially if Claxton is not. Dron Sharp compared to Nick Claxton averaged just as many rebounds in just above half as much time played on the basketball court than Nick Claxton. Dron Sharp only got two starts and has only had 14 starts in his entire NBA career, but he sure as hell made the most of it. Eight points a game. You’re looking at not exactly the same guy in the black category as Claxton, a power forward center combo out of Sharp. Still averaging a block a game. Still shooting 75% at the free throw line. When Dron Sharp entered the league, he was a 58% shooter from the free throw line. And boy has he elevated his game. He went to 63% in 22, 61 in 23, and 75% last season. That alone makes a difference. So Dron Sharp, albeit only two starts last season, truly earned his way into more playing time. And you see with the stats rising, so did the minutes played from 12 all the way up to 18. So Dron Sharp truly can make an impact in the most positive way. Now, he has to keep those progressions going. He’s got to prove that, you know, what what the Nets paid him, he absolutely deserves. So, what Don Sharp needs to do is rebound off of Claxton’s poor playing and, you know, maybe he takes that opportunity and runs with it and becomes this team starting center at the end of the year. That is not out of this world to think about right now. Third guy I want to talk about my pick to start at the small forward spot come opening night. A guy that the Nets turned picked a needle in a hay stack but turned out to be a diamond in the rough. Zire Williams. There was not a guy I like to see more on the court for the Brooklyn Nets last year than Zire Williams. went from 19 games played in two years in Memphis to starting 45 games last year. Progressed in every statistical category after his shift to Brooklyn, he brought a ton of value. 6’9, 185, but he played much bigger than he looked. Averaging above four and a half rebounds a game. doing it on the defensive end with a steal a game overall was a very positive impact on this Nets team, averaging double digits in the statistical category. So to me, what Zire Williams does for this Nets team, not only does he bring you value on both ends of the court, but I think he’s a great glue guy. like Zyra Williams just a guy in the locker room to be around, a positive influence for the five rookies coming in for these younger guys. It doesn’t feel like it, but he’s entering his fifth season in the NBA already. Same with Dron Sharp. And again, earning those minutes from the coaching staff, that’s something Zyra Williams did. 63 games played, 45 of them were starts. And that’s not how Nets and Nets fans in the front office imagined it to be when they first brought him in, but he has earned his way onto the court and he’s made it very tough for this coaching staff to take him off the floor. He’s a guy that is hungry for minutes and wants to be out there. I think Zyra Williams has a huge impact on this team’s win loss uh ratio, win loss changes. And I think overall a very positive in impact on Brooklyn in his first year and now it’s his time to grow on it. And then my last guy before we get to the comments, Jagor Deman. And I get it. It’s a lot of pressure to put on the number eight overall pick. A rookie coming into the building saying he’s going to be one of the four guys that wins or loses this Brooklyn Nets team games. But to me, if he can be the solid primary ball handler, dishing the ball out well, he’s got to improve on the three-pointers for sure. Shot around 25% in college last year. He was awful. But that Net staff got to go to work. You got to sharpen up Domen. You have to make him into a true scoring threat because if you do outside of his already amazing playmaking abilities, you sharpen up that three-point shooting, you make him a threat to attack you in the paint as a 6 foot n or however tall he is point guard. Yeah, he’ll get favorable matchups. He’ll get smaller 6’2, 6’3 guys that he’ll have a field day with. But to me, what I see Jagor Domen bringing the most value with is facilitating this Nets offense, spreading out the ball, making good passes, not stealing the show for himself, but no doubt if he can just be that solid facilitator that the Nets picked him to be, I think absolutely he makes an impact on this Nets team’s win, loss, ratio. Make sure you smash that like button, hit subscribe. Both free ways to support this show. August 2nd, the Brooklyn boys show deep in the heart of the offseason. But those are four guys that I think make a big time impact on this Brooklyn Nets team. Your thoughts, your comments, your questions. Toss those into the chat and we’ll react to those in just a second after a word from today’s presenting sponsor, Shaw Line Sports Cards. You are listening to the Brooklyn Boys Show with your host Connor Long. If you’re enjoying the show, drop us a sub and leave a like. It helps more Nets fans find us. Quick break, then back to talking Brooklyn Nets basketball. Today’s episode of the Brooklyn Boys Show is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Shoreline Sports Cards, located at 137 Main Street in Port Washington, New York. Whether you’re chasing the newest hobby boxes, grabbing singles, or just want to talk cards with fellow collectors, Shoreline is the spot. They’ve got a massive selection across basketball, football, baseball, and more with new inventory hitting the shelves every single week. If you’re local, make sure to stop by the shop at 137 Main Street in Port Washington and check it out for yourself. If you’re not in the area, no worries at all. You can still keep up with Shoreline by following them on Instagram, eBay, and whatnot for product shops, live breaks, deals, and hobby updates. All links are right in the description down below. Huge thanks to Shoreline Sports Cars for supporting the show and the Brooklyn Nets community. And we are back here on the Brooklyn Boys Show. Appreciate you all tuning in. Smash that like, hit subscribe. Josh Williver here with you on this Saturday night talking all things Nets basketball. I named the four guys I thought could make a huge impact on this team. Nick Claxton, Daron, Sharp, Zire, Williams, Jagor, Deon, just a few, just to list a few. Now, I want to hear all your opinions from the chat. We appreciate all you guys tuning in. We got Marlene starting us off in the debate side of things. I still believe in Claxton. He had a down year. It happens. He’ll bounce back playing with multiple playmakers. Marlene, that’s exactly the point I was trying to bring across. Even though Nick Claxton has gotten a ton of the hate from this Nets community, I think absolutely there’s a world in which it makes sense to trade away Claxton, but to me, you believe in the guy that you paid for four years. Certainly Shawn Marx does because he we’ve seen Nick Claxton being hoarded away from the trade market so far this off season. You believe in Nick Claxton. You hope he can get back to what he was two or two two three years ago. Do I think that he makes huge strides and go goes above and beyond those statistical numbers? Do I think he is, you know, a bonafide top seven center in this league? No. But I hope he gets back to where he was before. Marlene. So, I think absolutely and and that’s one of the reasons why I was a bit hesitant to talk about trading Claxton. You got to give him another chance. This was a down year for him and I truly believe he’s still can have a bounce back. Ben Ross, Claxton started the year injured, didn’t he? Yes, he did. Charlie Adler, my good friend Charlie, how you doing? Appreciate you tuning in the show here in the chat. What is Tra Claxton’s trade deadline potentially a deadline deal? What I’ll tell you about a deadline deal is that it’s it’s all going to depend on the market, right? Like like a team that we thought would be a good suit for Claxton was the Lakers. They ended up getting eighton. So, it’s all about the contending teams that are truly think they’re a center away and I think that Nick Claxton can be that guy. his trade value right now, I would say a first a and a salary replacement because I don’t think there’s any team that would be able to just take on Claxton’s $und00 million contract. So, you would need probably to eat salary in return, but in terms of his value, just like Claxton feels like a first round pick at this point. Uh Marlene goes, yes, he had a hamstring injury and dealing with a back issue. So, the both of those Marlene back at it. Dron got underpaid. Marlene, I agree. I think this Nets team got off the hook very easily. Let me look up uh Dron Sharp’s exact uh contract, but yeah, it was an underpayment. It was uh two-year $12 million contract. So, I think absolutely I think Don Sharp brings a ton of value to this team. So, for only $6 million a year, I think you absolutely take that deal. He was a double digit scoreer, seven seven uh seven rebounder a game kind of guy. So almost a double double there for Sharp. And uh and beyond just the stats, like what he gave you as a team player, I think absolutely Dron Sharp, Ben Ross, I expect Claxton to perform better this year. That’s the hope. That’s what Marlene was saying earlier. So, uh, so all eyes on Claxton, I would say that’s why he’s one of those wild cards because if he does perform back to that elite top 10 center in the league caliber, this next team, you know, could be going big time places at the center position. And if he continues to regress, I mean, boy, what the heck is his role here? Claude comes in for the first time tonight. Appreciate you being a consistent viewer, Claude. Zyra at the four, lol. No, he’s a small forward. So, he’s going to start at the three. That would be my pick. Apologies if I said four, but I I thought I said I I had him starting at the small forward. MPJ is likely going to get the start at small forward. Ben back at it. I like his length, and with Jaor being near the same height, it’ll be interesting to see how the defense comes together. Uh by length, I assume you’re meaning Zyra Williams. Um and yeah, so Jagor and him can kind of uh can kind of counteract each other. We all I feel like we always see this Brooklyn Nets team going small, but that’s another thing I want to bring up. Like I feel like that’s one of the reasons why this Nets team could be interesting. They have a ton of guys they could throw out as power forward center combinations behind MPJ. There’s a chance we’re seeing like Clowny and Sharp on the on the floor at the same time. Maybe even later in the season, we’re seeing Sharp and Danny Wolf on the court at the same time. So, this Brooklyn Nets team could go with a really tall lineup at times. And then you’re right, Ross. Uh, both 69 guys in Sharp and Jagor. So, this Nets team has that as as a big-time advantage on the defensive end of the floor. It’ll be very interesting to see how coach Jordy uses those matchups and those height advantages to his strength. Zer’s a great perimeter defender, but his offense is questionable. That’s the thing, like, can he be a very efficient score? I agree. Like, that lengthiness contributes a ton on the defensive end of the floor. Um, and and he was a he was an all right scoreer for what he did. Definitely some improvement from his Memphis days, but you got to be able to consistently knock down. I mean I mean free throws he did well 82% three-pointer at 34%. So that’s not bad at all. Uh but but he’s got to be consistently able to score, elevate his mid-range game would be a big plus. Uh, Orin says, “You should be able to trade Claxton for a first, like I mentioned earlier, but which lab threat are you getting back?” Uh, depends who you’re trading him to. Like, do you want an aging contract in return? Like, I don’t I I guess the Nets need somebody to replace him uh contractually, but does that have to be a center? I don’t know. Like would I be confident in Dron Sharp being this team’s starting center post trade deadline for the last 40 games of the season? I personally would. I think I’d love to see it. That’s how you fully see what you can maximize out of Dayron Sharp. So I’m not even sure that you need a lab threat in return. obviously sharp. Like I mentioned this earlier in the show, not the traditional like how many blocks, how much how many rim stuffs are you going to get center like Claxton is, but uh but I don’t even know if you need a live threat back or Jaor needs time to be his best self. It’s going to take time for him to get stronger and and that’s one of the reasons why it might be a stretch by some eyes to put in this team’s big wild card for win losses this year. But let’s think about it on a more practical level. Marlene, even if he needs time, first of all, I thought he did his job well in the summer league. Even if he needs time to truly develop, like I’m not talking the best version of Jagor Demon this year. I’m talking he gives you a solid 25ish minutes, 30 in the starting lineup as a solid facilitator. I mean, how much more do you need? I’m not expecting him to bump up his three-point percentage by 10% in his first NBA season from college. That’s something that’ll happen two, three years down the line from now. You just have to have him be solid as a playmaker, contribute some of those stats that allowed him to be that number eighth overall pick. If those can translate to the NBA level, you’re looking at exactly what you want at a Jagore Demon in his rookie year. Anything above that, especially development in the shooting game, would be a plus. But I think as long as you can get that playmaking ability, that’ll be good enough. At least for me. Smash that like button, hit subscribe. I see 13 of you watching right now. So, all of your support would be much appreciated here on the Brooklyn Boys show. Josh Wuliver here with you tonight. Throw all your questions and comments in the chat. We’ll wrap up shortly before taking these last couple questions and we’ll get to Collins in just about a week. So, you’ll get to voice your opinions live on the air if that’s something you’d like to do. So, look out. Stay in the stay in the Brooklyn Boys community for that. Share this with all your friends and family. All helps us grow a ton. We appreciate it. Ben back in hell have some trouble with the faster one. Not sure what you mean by this, but you can clarify. Orin, all these young guards without a lob threat like Clax will be problematic. Yeah, you’re right that if you don’t have that true center, I guess what you’re saying is a couple of these young guys would be would be, you know, lost a little bit. like they wouldn’t have an anchor that they had played with at previous levels. But to me, I’m not concerned about right about that right now. This is not a Brooklyn Nets team that needs to make a deep playoff run. I don’t think that’s an area where you could develop Dron Sharp. Maybe Danny Wolf as that seven foot body. He needs to develop much more as a shooter, but he could absolutely be the big beefy guy down low in the paint. Uh, you know, little bounce pass in there for two against a smaller guy. I feel like that’s where I see Danny Wol’s role in this team. He was an inconsistent three-point shooter at Michigan. So, I wouldn’t bank on that anytime soon at the NBA level. Maybe he develops that down the line. Maybe not. But that’s not the reason the Nets took him. I think it’s just more of his athleticism as a seven foot center who can move swiftly is what caught their eye. Timothy Park, where is Connor? He had to hit the hay early tonight to go upstate early tomorrow morning to his upstate house, but he’ll be back on the show. Timothy, appreciate you checking up on our guy Connor. Charlie Adler, back at it. What is your ceiling and floor for the Nets? In my opinion, playing sounds right. The floor, realistically, Charlie, this net team could be the worst in the league. We have absolutely no idea what to expect. Like you have Jaor starting at the one. You don’t even know who’s going to start at the two. You don’t know if Gams is going to be on this team. I personally think he is. Gary thinks it’s going to be a sign and trade. Gary from BK, nothing but nets, who we just had on, thinks it’ll be a signing trade, but the floor for this Nets team top three lottery odds. Like this could go very bad. The plan sounds like a bit of a reach for this Nets team ceiling. I think either way, even if they do hit this season in stride, this is still a below 500 team. So, I mean, I guess the ceiling could be this this team’s true floor. You see third 30 points almost from Cam Thomas. MPJ comes in and plays a fantastic role. Nick Claxton gets back to his once future self. All the young guys take significant strides. That’s a playing team right there. Right there. But you need a lot for that to happen. And there are so many uncertain moving pieces to this Net’s puzzle that that seems a little bit unrealistic right now. Charlie, again, which player on the Nets surprised you most during the summer league? To be honest, I thought Danny Wolf would be better. So, I think he surprised me in a wrong way. I put out a video right after the draft and I said that halfway through this net this year, Danny Wolf, if he does enough, could be a starter on this Net’s team for the last like 20 or so games of the season. I obviously stand corrected on that. I think Danny Wolf did not show me enough that to in the summer league. So, I think at this point he’s an end of the rotation Long Island guy for the 2025 season. Marlene, thoughts on Brooklyn bringing back the Koogie jerseys this season? I saw a report on that. I didn’t see anything from the Nets though, so I’m not sure if that’s totally confirmed. I love those jerseys. What Marlin’s talking about. Um, I can pull up a picture of them right now, but they’re the they’re the oldtimey ones um with the colorful piping on the sides. So, sorry report on that. I would be more than happy for those jerseys to come back. Uh, I personally like I like the cause jerseys. I could go on a jersey sidebar here real quick. I’ll wrap it up soon. I like the cause jerseys. They didn’t do a ton for me. They seemed like more like uh like leveled up children’s jerseys. Like they they didn’t really have that NBA vibe to them. They feel more like a playground style, which is what they were going for. I didn’t love it, but I would absolutely be on board for that coming back. Uh which person surprised you the most out of the summer league on the Nets outside of the four players you mentioned? I already talked about that. and JP Liberty, if that’s how you say that. Net just added 611 610 Fondo Zang to the team. Chinese player. Yeah, I don’t think he’s going to make the team JP like this is another one of these Shawn Marks just do it because you can moves. Uh I think he’s he’s cut. I don’t think he spends basically any significant time in Brooklyn this season. So that’s why I sort of neglected to talk about it on the show today. So that’ll wrap it up for me on the Brooklyn boys show. Unless you have any final thoughts, you can throw those in the chat. But we appreciate all your support grinding with us, grinding with the Nets community all throughout this off seasonason. So I appreciate all your support. Drop down below this video, smash that like, hit subscribe on your way out. Thank you for spending part of your Saturday evening with me. And I’ll end this as I always do with one burst of optimism and one great chant. Let’s go Nets. Good night, folks.
Host Connor Long breaks down the biggest wild cards and X-factors that could make or break the Brooklyn Nets’ 2025-26 season on this episode of The Brooklyn Boys Show. From under-the-radar contributors to potential breakout stars, who could surprise fans and shake up the Nets’ playoff hopes? Don’t miss this deep dive into Brooklyn’s most unpredictable pieces heading into the new year.
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