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Nets Vs. Wizards Preview: A Tank Battle

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 05: Bub Carrington #7 of the Washington Wizards jokes around with Sharife Cooper #13 of the Washington Wizards as Cooper is interviewed after the win against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on February 05, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images DETROIT, MICHIGAN – FEBRUARY 05: Bub Carrington #7 of the Washington Wizards jokes around with Sharife Cooper #13 of the Washington Wizards as Cooper is interviewed after the win against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on February 05, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Now we move. The NBA trading deadline came and went, and the Nets roster is looking a bit different. We’ll get to that in a bit. The Nets lost again to the Orlando Magic and are riding a three game losing streak.

The opponent tonight is coming off one of the biggest upsets of the season. The Washington Wizards were on the road t0 face the Eastern Conference leading Detroit Pistons on Thursday night. Washington surprised everyone and came away with a 126-117 victory. This is the first leg of a weekend back-to-back. They return home for an afternoon matchup against the Miami Heat on Super Bowl Sunday.

Where to follow the game

YES Network on TV. Gotham Sports on streaming. WFAN on radio. Daytime affair so tip after 3 PM.

Injuries

All clear on the injury front for Brooklyn. Again, all clear.

However, the other tanking team has nearly half their players in street clothes. The following are out:

Anthony Davis
Dante Exum
Jaden Hardy
Tre Johnson
D’Angelo Russell
Cam Whitmore
Trae Young

Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Bilal Coulibaly are all questionable.

???? The game

Brooklyn won the first meeting while Washington won the second. These teams wrap the season series up in April.

The Nets had a middling trade deadline. They made some small moves on the margins, but the biggest news came when they waived Cam Thomas. It was an especially rough end for Thomas as he had the worst season of his career at the absolute WORST time. Shame it ended the way it did. Best of luck to him.

The Wizards are looking pretty different from when we last saw them. They acquired Trae Young and Anthony Davis in separate trades leading up to the deadline. In 2019, that would be a massive pickup. In 2026, it’s not so certain. However, Washington got them on the cheap and they pair nicely with what they’re building. From Kevin Broom at Bullets Forever:

If both Davis and Young are disastrous, the Wizards can keep right on building with the kids. Sarr has been excellent for a 20-year-old in his second season. George has much to work on but made a significant jump in a single offseason. At worst, Coulibaly is a perimeter defensive stopper. And they’ll add another youngster this offseason. And they have all their own first-round picks going forward.

Is this trade nuts? Nope. Not for Washington. It is something of a gamble, which is true of every player acquisition. Decision makers are tasked with predicting the future — something that’s always best guess. In acquiring Davis (and Young before him), the Wizards front office calculated the risks and costs and wound up paying relatively low prices for potentially elite production.

Now, Wizards fans will need to be patient. Young won’t play at least until after the All-Star break. My guess: if he does play this season, it won’t be much. He’ll “suffer” some kind of debilitating soreness and sit a bunch of games so the Wizards can finish losing a bunch this season and keep their draft pick.“

Good bit of business if I may say so myself.

You can take a peek at the injury report and see what time the Wizards are on. They are currently fifth in the Tankathon standings, a few percentage points behind the Nets. And late last night, Chris Haynes delivered the latest Haynes Brief…

BREAKING: Washington Wizards star Anthony Davis (hand, groin) expected to sit out the remainder of the season to fully get healthy for the 2026-27 season, league sources tell me. pic.twitter.com/HKqEL9mBFC
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 7, 2026

We know what time they on.

If Sarr plays, he’ll look to control the interior. Washington has gotten him more shots on the inside this season, and he’s paid it off to the tune of 78 percent shooting inside of three feet. When the Wizards are eventually at full strength, it’ll be exciting to see how he fits in with the increased talent around him. For Nic Claxton and Day’ron Sharpe, they’ll look to push him away from the rim and make shots tough on him.

This is a game that the Nets need to lose for draft pick purposes, but it would be nice if the game was close for most of the night. Hard to get people to invest in the product if the games are non-competitive early and ugly to watch.

???? Player to watch: Bub Carrington

This season is all about development for Washington, and Carrington’s rise will help immensely. He’s had the ball in his hands a bit more this year, but the turnovers have gone up a fair amount. On the positive side, he’s shooting 40 percent from three point range. It’ll be a lot of rough moments for the sophomore, but these lead guard reps will do him plenty of good when it’s contending time.

Egor Dёmin is gonna get all the shots and minutes he can handle. He scored a career high 26 points on Thursday and made six more three pointers. He might be the most interesting player to watch for the Nets going forward. All the vets are basically what they are at this point of the season. But a young point guard? There’s plenty to watch for and get excited about if you’re a Nets fan.