The Brooklyn Nets ended the 2025-26 NBA season with the third-worst record (20-62) in the league, so they’re hoping that they will get lucky in the upcoming 2026 NBA Draft. Brooklyn was one of a few teams that were criticized by the larger NBA public for not being better than what they were and it seems that the Association is determined to shake up the future of the draft.
“The next step toward NBA Draft reform will take place on Tuesday, when league officials are hosting a general managers’ meeting on Zoom that was added to the schedule as a way for all 30 front offices to continue taking part in this pivotal process,” Sam Amick wrote for The Athletic. As Amick noted, the NBA is going to have a call with all 30 general managers, including Brooklyn’s Sean Marks, to further discuss the options to curb tanking.
“Yet according to league and team sources, a heavy front-runner has emerged among the three proposed solutions to curb the widespread tanking problem that put such a stain on this season,” Amick continued. “Option No. 1, in which 18 teams would be part of the draft lottery (rather than the current 14) and the bottom 10 teams would all have an 8 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick. The remaining odds — 20 percent in all — would be divided among the remaining eight teams.”
Essentially, if the aforementioned proposal is voted on by the time the Board of Governors have their meeting next month, per Amick, the 2027 NBA Draft could look significantly different for a number of reasons. As it stands right now, the Nets are tied with the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers with a 14.0% chance of getting the first overall pick, but Brooklyn could also drop back as far as the seventh overall pick depending on how the Lottery shakes out on May 10.
The Nets do not own their first-round pick in 2027 as it goes to the Houston Rockets so it’s possible that these new changes wouldn’t affect Brooklyn as much as it would someone like the Rockets. Marks and Nets governor Joe Tsai have not been shy about discussing how the draft would benefit their franchise as they rebuild, but it seems like this summer could bring yet another change to how the NBA operates.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: How could the Nets be affected by the impending NBA tanking call?
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
