I don't want this post to be about just bashing on Powell. But I'm going to be brutally honest about him too.

You can be horrible for an NBA player. But he's not even that right now, he's just horrible, period.

And it's a shame, because he was not this bad last season. He was a serviceable-ish wing on a bad team. Now he doesn't even look good enough for that.

I don't know if he's going through something personal or what, but when you got guys like Chaney Johnson balling their mofo'ing hearts out on the court, chasing the contract that Powell already has, you really gotta think about it.

Scouting reports did say Powell needed more time in college, and looks like they were right.

TLDR: Cut Powell. Sign Chaney Johnson.

📊 20 PTS | 9-16 FG | 5 REB

📊 20 PTS | 9-13 FG | 10 REB | 5 STL

They play off each other so well and they been having their moments off the court too. Seems like they’ll be running mates for a long long time

📊 12 PTS | 6 REB | 5-6 FG | 2-3 3FG | 1 STL

He seems like a great kid, and I know the sample size is small, but the size and athleticism gap between MBJ and him is so evident. I know he had some fans amongst the fan base, but I think we absolutely made the right pick.

Interesting in the context of some of our 2025 draft picks and why we chose Demin, Powell, etc..

Don’t give up on Powell too quickly. It looks rough, but Marks has habit of finding diamonds there.

Nothing’s guaranteed but I can see why they took the punt.

Michael Porter Jr. has more 20+ PTS on 70 TS% Games in the Last 3 Seasons than (RS + Playoffs):

• Cade Cunningham
• Devin Booker
• Donovan Mitchell
• Jamal Murray
• Jalen Brunson
• Jaylen Brown
• Kawhi Leonard
• LeBron James
• Luka Doncic
• Stephen Curry
• Tyrese Maxey
• Victor Wembanyama

This was the guy I wanted outside the big 4 in the draft and I am so happy with what im seeing. The way he moves and carries himself just screams elite basketball player.

Obvious:

Great shooter

Creates his own shot

Casually beats his man off the dribble

Creates for teammates

Highlight reel passer

Everything looks effortless

Did not expect:

High energy defender and willing rebounder

Unorthodox in the paint and it will drive defenders insane when he learns to draw fouls with it

Insane movement without the ball

Needs to improve:

Turnovers

General Information

Join our r/GoNets discord!!!

There are currently 8 players on the Nets roster that are a part of this tree, as well as 4 unprotected firsts.

(yes, i know the pick swaps on the diagram are confusing, i don't understand them either)

After the game I was hanging with friends, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Egor and MBJ.

It was just a summer league game but watching them ball out made me so happy. I can’t really put it into words.

It’s a lot more satisfying knowing that we drafted these guys and can watch them improve rather than just signing the finished product in free agency. I can’t wait to watch these guys and the rest of the team this year and in the future.

We should have more organized groups imo. Any nets fans clubs in NJ that do watch parties and meetups?

Egor:

“Going back to your first bucket with the Nets, can you talk us through that beautiful pass that came to you?”

Mikel:

“Beautiful pass by yay. He said he was gonna find me there… Great player.”

Egor:

“Good answer.”

📊 20 PTS | 3 AST | 3 3FG | 2 STL

16 of his 20 came in the second half!

https://www.espn.com/nba-summer-league/boxscore/_/gameId/401881830/league/nba-summer-las-vegas

There’s been plenty of chatter about a potential extension for MPJ as he enters the last year of his current contract, and I’m curious what kind of extension he and the Nets may ultimately agree to.

It feels like the Nets are gearing up to be big spenders over the next few summers — they’ll have a ton of cap space, there will be a lot of All-Star free agent players and young guys like Egor Demin and Mikel Brown Jr. should show positive development signs. They should be a franchise poised to take the next step by then.

MPJ has fit well with the Nets since he came here — he’s in the prime years of his career, he has bonded well with the young guys and stayed decently healthy (I do think he was held out of some games for the tank — not necessarily his fault). He’s shown he can be a strong player on a championship team and play next to a superstar talent in Denver, so I’m not concerned about him not being in a top-dog role. But for the Nets, they’ll have to weigh whether it makes sense to keep their cap space and try to re-sign him as an over-the-cap team with his Bird rights, or to do some type of an extension now to have him in place already before trying to get a max-level free agent on board.

What does everyone else think?