Yes, the Nets have played hard under Jordi Fernandez this season, but the tank may be inevitable

The Nets were 4-4 as of Nov. 4. They have fallen four games below .500 since and enter Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on a season worst three-game losing streak.
General manager Sean Marks will never admit to an intentional tank, and he may not have to in 2024-25. Despite the exciting brand of hard-nosed basketball first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez has brought to Brooklyn, injuries are beginning to pile up, the Nets will not have any help at center for a while, and losing is starting to come organically.
“We don’t use some of those words [like tanking], so it’s go compete, go compete and let the chips fall where they may,” Marks said in a recent interview with Adam Zagoria of NJ.com.
After Tuesday’s game at Barclays Center, Brooklyn will finish up the month with road games against Philadelphia, Sacramento, Golden State, Phoenix, and a home game against Orlando. As hard as Fernandez’s Nets have played in recent weeks, things could potentially get ugly in a hurry.
Because of that, Marks’ veteran fire sale could be coming soon, and apparently no one on the roster is safe. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Brooklyn is not taking anyone off the table in trade talks. That includes guys such as Cam Thomas, Nic Claxton, Cameron Johnson, Dennis Schröder and Bojan Bogdanović.
Thomas did not reach an agreement on a rookie extension with the Nets ahead of the season. Claxton and Johnson are both signed to long-term deals. Schröder has been playing some of the best basketball of his career since arriving in Brooklyn at last season’s trade deadline and Bogdanović — still recovering from offseason foot surgery — has not appeared in a game for the Nets since being acquired from the Knicks.
“I think you navigate the season as it goes, and you don’t go into a season saying this is where we’re going to be, this is how it’s going to end,” Marks told Zagoria. “There’s a lot of unforeseen things.”
According to the Tankathon 2025 NBA Draft Lottery Simulator, the Nets would own the No. 6 (own), No. 7 (via Bucks), the No. 25 pick (via Rockets) and possibly the No. 19 pick (via Knicks) if the season were to end today.
Whether Brooklyn keeps all its 2025 picks is a mystery at this time, but Marks will still have plenty of scouting to do as the draft picture becomes clearer.
“This year specifically, with all the picks that we have, we have to be scouting a very wide range,” Marks told Zagoria. “And that’s fine, that’s exciting, we’ve never had that opportunity before.”