DALLAS — The Nets’ game Friday in Dallas could’ve been a reunion with Kyrie Irving, and a stark reminder of their ill-fated Big 3.

Instead, it’s a cautionary tale about star hunting, and reinforcement for Brooklyn’s new holistic approach in the apron era: Tank. Draft. Develop.

“Well, I have to say that we’re in a rebuilding year,” Nets team owner Joe Tsai said recently at an “All-In” podcast event. “We spent all of our [2025] picks — we had five first-round draft picks this past summer. We have one pick in 2026 and we hope to get a good pick, so you can predict what kind of strategy we’ll use for this season.”

That strategy is still intact.

Michael Porter Jr. of the Brooklyn Nets and Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks battles for the ball during the game on December 12, 2025 at Ameri

See Full Page