The Brooklyn Nets add Julius Randle and Mikel Brown to their rebuild

Sooner rather than later, the Brooklyn Nets’ numerous roster changes must translate to winning. The two newest additions may move them closer to being a playoff squad. The Nets landed former Knicks forward Julius Randle via trade late Monday, then on Tuesday selected 20-year-old combo guard Mikel Brown Jr. from Louisville with the No. 6 overall pick in the NBA Draft, which was held at the Barclays Center, the Nets’ home arena.

After finishing 20-62 this past season, the Nets are in desperate need of difference-makers. The three-time All-Star Randle, Brown, and Michael Porter Jr., who led the team in scoring last season at 24.2, could form a trio that could help the Nets make a major leap in the standings. When trades can become official on July 6, the Nets will acquire Randle from the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the three-team deal, center Nic Claxton, Brooklyn’s longest-tenured player last season, whom they drafted in the second round (No. 31) in 2019, will go to the Chicago Bulls.

The Nets will also receive Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, who was taken at No. 28 by the Timberwolves on Tuesday, and the Wolves will get the No. 33 pick, a second-rounder, from the Nets. Round 2 of the draft was held last night (Wednesday).

With Randle, who averaged 21.1 points and 5.0 assists a season ago as Minnesota’s second-leading scorer behind Anthony Edwards, Brooklyn now has a reliable second option to Porter Jr., who had the best statistical season of his career in his first season with the team. This year’s draft has added importance for the Nets as the Houston Rockets hold the right to swap their 2027 first-round pick with Brooklyn’s 2027 first-round pick.

As a freshman this past season, Brown averaged 18.2 points and 4.7 assists while shooting 41% from the field overall and 34.4% from 3-point range. Brooklyn selected Brown over Arkansas freshman Darius Acuff Jr. Brown was considered the better pro prospect coming out of high school, but Acuff’s emergence as the nation’s top college point guard changed a lot of opinions.

At 6’5”, Brown is two and a half inches taller than the 6’2 1/2” Acuff. The Nets’ decision-makers consider him a better fit for their roster makeup. Brown said he also sees himself as an ideal component of the team.

“I just felt like I was the right pick,” Brown Jr said on Tuesday.

“I think I fit into the system really well and what Coach Jordi [Fernandez] is building with them. I got to see the team. The team was there when I came to work out. You could see the bond and the maturity and the camaraderie that they had.”

Last June, Brooklyn selected guards Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, and Ben Saraf in addition to forward Danny Wolf. The Nets, the youngest team in the NBA last season, now have an abundance of unproven talent that will battle for playing time alongside Porter Jr. and Randle.

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