The Brooklyn Nets will kick off the 2025-26 season with Practice in the Park at Potomac Playground in Bed-Stuy on Sep. 27, giving fans a first look at drills and community buzz. The event, presented by Ticketmaster, blends on-court work with neighborhood festivities—Gersh Park vs. Zone 6 Park, a Brooklyn Celebrity Game, and a basketball combine—building excitement as five rookies join the squad.

Cam Thomas and Michael Porter Jr. headline the on-court action, with Egor Demin, the eighth pick in 2025, also slated to appear. Nets leadership stresses community connection as a foundation for a season aiming to flip last year’s 26-56 mark and propel a younger, more dynamic identity.

NBA gambling investigations intensify as Malik Beasley faces an NBA inquiry tied to 2023-24 season prop bets while with Milwaukee. Beasley cooperates as the probe nears a conclusion, and federal scrutiny lingers. The piece also notes a lifetime ban for Jontay Porter and exposes a troubling perspective from Michael Porter Jr. about leveraging betting for personal gain, underscoring a widening integrity challenge across leagues as sports betting expands.

Beyond Beasley’s case, the story frames a broader risk landscape: players’ off-cloor behavior, league enforcement precedent, and the lingering possibility of more cases ahead. It closes with a tongue-in-cheek plug for a fictional pro football plot, signaling the public’s appetite for cautionary tales about inside information and easy money in sports.

Brooklyn’s off-season pivots to salary shedding ahead of 2025-26, re-signing Day'Ron Sharpe and Cam Thomas while waiving Tosan Evbuomwan and adding EJ Liddell on a Two-Way deal. The Nets have executed three trades netting multiple future picks and cap relief, shipping out Highsmith and bringing Terance Mann (via a trade with Hawks) and Michael Porter Jr. from Denver to pair with 2032 picks. The likely plan: accelerate salary-dump moves while retaining core pieces, signaling more roster pruning before the season.

The strategy narrows the Nets’ immediate win-now window but preserves future flexibility. Fantasy readers should watch Sharpe and Thomas for minutes and usage, while noting Mann and Porter Jr. could influence rotation dynamics depending on how Brooklyn reshapes cap space and roles. EJ Liddell’s Two-Way status adds uncertainty around his early-year workload, but long-term upside remains intriguing if he secures a stable two-way path or a larger role via injuries or trades.