Much of the Nets’ current rebuild will be determined by how well the team’s 2023 draft class develops. After all, rebuilds require the right building blocks. Brooklyn had zero selections in the 2024 NBA Draft but owns four first-round picks in 2025. This season, with a new coaching staff in place that is solely focused on player development, Noah Clowney, 20, Dariq Whitehead, 20, and Jalen Wilson, 23, will have a chance to earn their keep and prove that they are worthy of being part of the franchise’s future. Will these second-year standouts embrace the challenge and take the leap? The Nets will have until Oct. 31 to exercise Clowney and Whitehead’s club options for 2025-26. Wilson’s club option deadline is June 29, 2025. If the Nets exercise the team option, they keep the player for another year. If they decline it, that player would enter free agency. “From the front office side, we’re looking at it from, ‘Who are the next Nets?’,” general manager Sean Marks said. “Who do we look at and say, OK, this person can be part of this rebuild and this person is on the team for the next two, three years. “That’s going to be important for us. What contracts look good for us, how our guys are developing. Development is going to be, if it’s not 1A, it’s certainly 1B, for sure, in terms of some of the young guys we have and the young guys we’ll be bringing in.” Of the three, Clowney undoubtedly has the highest upside. The 6-10 forward did not receive consistent minutes right away under former head coach Jacque Vaughn, but after interim Kevin Ollie took over down the stretch, he averaged 10.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game in four starts and averaged 12.1 points per game during the final month of the season. That included a 22-point, 10-rebound game off the bench against the Indiana Pacers on April 3. Clowney also looked fantastic when given an opportunity to share the frontcourt with Nic Claxton — now $100 million richer — as the duo combined for 12 blocks in a 106-102 win against the Toronto Raptors on April 10. He shot 47.1% from deep over the final eight games of his rookie season. The Nets’ front office covets Clowney’s versatility. First-year head coach Jordi Fernandez views him as a multi-positional player capable of playing the 4 and 5. That only makes him more valuable at both ends of the court as the franchise transitions into the future. “It’s going to be important to find groups that they can play together,” Fernandez said. “How we impact the game, the style of play, how we play, how we’re efficient, how Noah can do that at the four and the five… I’m not going to have all the answers, but I’m willing to work through it and see it at some point.” Wilson is also seeking an expanded role with the Nets in 2024-25. The four-year college product played his fair share of minutes at the G League level as a rookie, but his hustle eventually earned him a permanent spot in Brooklyn’s rotation. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds across 43 total appearances last season while shooting 42.5% from the field and 32.4% from 3-point range. However, his true value was showcased by his willingness to do the dirty work — often when no one else would. After dominating the competition at NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas, Wilson was named MVP, joining Cam Thomas as the second Nets player to earn that honor. He averaged 21.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists across five games, shot 55% from 3-point range, and hung 33 points on the Orlando Magic on July 18. “There was one guy that got the MVP, Jalen Wilson,” Fernandez said. “But I think that speaks of everybody’s work, what his teammates did. He got the award, but I think he said the group of the coaches that we put together here, they did an amazing job. I wasn’t around to [see] it, but I [did] watch it, and I think that that was a good first step.” Whitehead has had the roughest go among the Nets’ incoming sophomores. The former five-star recruit appeared in just two regular-season games for Brooklyn and spent most of his rookie campaign with G League affiliate Long Island, when healthy. He underwent season-ending surgery in late January to address a stress reaction in his left shin. He shot just 15% from the field and 8% from deep in his four summer league appearances in July. While Whitehead may have the longest road to relevance compared to his sophomore teammates, this season will still offer a fresh slate for everyone on the roster. Who’s to say Whitehead will not eventually find his rhythm and steal minutes from Trendon Watford on the wing. Perhaps Clowney starts the season at the 4 over a veteran like Dorian Finney-Smith. Or maybe Wilson emerges as Fernadez’s trusted sixth man. There are so many variables at play. The situation in Brooklyn will be fluid and flexible. And whoever steps on the court consistently will be the guys who earned it, according to Fernandez, so these Year 2 players are in control of their own fate. “I’m not guaranteeing anything to anybody; No minutes, no starting spots, no rotation, nothing,” Fernandez said. “And I want everybody to work, show up, get 1% better every day and compete. That’s what we’re going to be about, part of our identity. And all these young guys have to come in ready, same as the vets and everybody else.”