Brooklyn Nets The road is only going to get tougher for Nets as new tanking questions loom By Brian Lewis Published Feb. 19, 2026, 8:59 p.m. ET Brooklyn Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez reacts during the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. Ken Blaze-Imagn Images The NBA will make anti-tanking rule changes for next season.
But the Nets tipped off the second half of this one with their own tank very much ongoing.
The Nets came out of the All-Star break Thursday night in Cleveland, the first of their 29-game stretch run toward the draft lottery. If that run has been a brisk jog to this point, it’s about to become an all-out sprint to the finish.
Danny Wolf dunks on Keon Ellis during the first half of the Nets-Cavaliers game on Feb. 19, 2026. AP While NBA commissioner Adam Silver on Thursday warned the league’s 30 general managers of planned anti-tanking rule changes, according to ESPN, those won’t go into effect until next season.
