The mock drafts will start to come more frequently with the turn of the calendar and the approach of the deadline, lottery and June Draft
The Brooklyn Nets currently have two All-Star point guards, three-timer Ben Simmons and one-timer D’Angelo Russell, but both are lost a lot of luster and their twinkle has faded. Indeed, it seems unlikely both will be back. So with no real backup and no one under contract — unless you count two-way Reece Beekman, it shouldn’t surprise when NBA draftniks, the authors of the big mock drafts, think Brooklyn should be thinking PG at the end of June.
All the caveats apply to mocks this early: there’s a lottery in mid-May that will determine draft order in late June. Even before that, there will be the final standings at the end of regular season in April and the February trade deadline which will no doubt move some picks, not necessarily Brooklyn’s.
Finally, the Nets have a history of picking the best player available. After all the Nets had Jarrett Allen when they took Nic Claxton and had Claxton when they took Noah Clowney. None were clones of the other but they were all 6’10” or taller and athletic. In a more extreme comparison, they took Cam Thomas when they already featured Kyrie Irving.
All that said, in examining the mocks of ESPN, The Athletic and Tankathon — all out with new mocks in the past 24 hours — the 1 is in their minds the big priority for Sean Marks & co. All three assign prospects to the Nets current place in the lottery and where they would use the traded picks they’ve acquired. (The Athletic, filed the earliest of the three have the Nets at No. 7, the two others at No. 6,) ICYMI, Brooklyn currently have five picks, four firsts and one second, having traded the Heat’s protected second to the Golden State Warriors in the Dennis Schroder trade.
There is no commonality in any of the three mocks, meaning no prospect is mocked to the Nets more than once. But the three like European points for the Nets, Nolan Traore of France, Egor Demin of Russia and Kaspars Jakucionis of Lithuania.
First ESPN+, authored by the dean of draftniks, Jonathan Givony, and Jeremy Woo. Givony has said the 2025 is the best best in the 20 years he’s been covering the Draft.
#6 – Nolan Traore, PG 6’5”, France
#19 – Collin Murray-Boyles, PF/C, 6’7”, South Carolina
#25 – Alex Karaban, PF, 6’8”, UCONN
#27 – Carter Bryant, SF/PF, 6’8”, Arizona
#36 – Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, 7’1” Creighton
Of Traore, who had been as high as fourth in pre-season rankings, Woo writes:
It seems the Nets might not be in the tank for long — their forthcoming wealth of salary cap space gives them latitude to upgrade — making this year’s likely lottery pick a critical opportunity to add a core young player. Traore’s season in France hasn’t been totally smooth — role and minutes have been reduced of late.
But NBA teams remain intrigued by his long-term upside and for good reason. He has a strong mix of playmaking talent, speed and shot-creation ability for a lead guard. The exciting flashes have remained amid his struggles, but Traore will need to make a better case for himself to secure early-lottery positioning as a developmental talent. His defense, decision-making and overall consistency are key areas for improvement. — Woo
Next, there’s Sam Vecenie’s offering on The Athletic/New York Times
#7 – Egor Demin, PG, 6’9” BYU
#18 – Noah Penda, PF, 6’8” France
#25 – Khaman Maluach, C, 7’2” Duke
#27 – Bogoljub Markovic, PF, 6’11” Serbia
#37 – Darrion Williams, SF, 6’6” Texas Tech
Vecenie notes that while there are flaws in the big Russian’s game, the “passing is so good,” it will overwhelm the deficits.
The passing is so good with Demin that I can’t get him outside of the top 10. He’s a serious talent and immensely gifted with the ball in his hands. There’s not a better passer in all of college basketball, and he’s legitimately massive. And yet, there’s still a lot to prove here as he continues to get back from his injury and starts to play more consistently difficult competition in the Big 12, as he learned last weekend against Houston.
It’s a safe assumption that if Mikhail Prokhorov still owned the team, Demin, a native of Moscow, would already be sized for a black-and-while jersey. He most recently played for Real Madrid before joining BYU.
Tankathon’s choices are anonymous but 1) aren’t behind a pay wall and 2) updated daily.
#6 – Kasparas Jakucionis, PG, 6’6”, Illinois
#20 – Adou Thiero, SF, 6’8” Arkansas
#26 – Jace Richardson, SG, 6’3”, Michigan Stage
#27 – JT Toppin, PF, 6’9”, Texas Tech
#36 – Michael Ruzic, PF, 6’10”, Croatia
While Tankathon offers statistical breakdown and video clips, it doesn’t offer much analysis so we’ll be borrow ESPN’s for the purpose of this ranking.
The 6-foot-6 Lithuanian is playing fantastic basketball, controlling games with outstanding pace as a scorer and passer, getting to spots on the floor and playing through contact or finishing skillfully around the basket while making high-level pick-and-roll reads and hitting 3-pointers off the dribble.
The 18-year-old has made significant strides physically over the past 18 months and is on an impressive trajectory, making the transition from Europe to college look easy. He has been showcasing his talent on one of the best teams in college basketball. — Givony
If you’re wondering who the three have at the top, it’s no surprise: Cooper Flagg, Cooper Flagg and Cooper Flagg at No. 1; Dylan Harper, Dylan Harper, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, Ace Bailey, Ace Bailey. No surprise there.