What surging Nets must weigh if they hope to rescue lottery plans

For the surprising Nets, Decision Day is coming sooner than expected — accelerated by each and every win.

Brooklyn started this month with the third-worst record in the NBA — and on pace to land one of the trio of potential elite prospects in the upcoming lottery. But they’re ending it as one of the hottest teams in the league — and with tough calls to make about the tank they were supposed to be executing.

It’s important to reiterate for the 24,601st time that franchises tank, not coaches and players. Jordi Fernandez and his Nets have always tried to win, and have now seemingly turned a corner from being not just a competitive team to a good one.

That means decisions that at one point looked as if they could be left until the summer now may have to be made by the trade deadline. GM Sean Marks and team owner Joe Tsai may need to push timelines and accelerate conversations from months down the line to the coming weeks, from determining whether Michael Porter Jr. is an asset or a building block to possibly drumming up a market for Cam Thomas.