The Brooklyn Nets head into the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday with as many picks as any team looking for young talent could ask for. Brooklyn acquired their fifth first-round pick on Tuesday in a multi-team trade with the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics, but it seems like the Nets could be looking to make more moves as the offseason continues.
Brooklyn ended up with the eighth overall pick in the Draft after the Lottery dropped them there from the sixth spot, a result that wasn’t ideal for a Nets team that finished the 2024-25 season with a 26-56 record. Not only would that mean that the Nets wouldn’t be able to draft Duke forward Cooper Flagg, but it also meant that they would presumably miss out on players like Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe and Rutgers forward Ace Bailey.
Ultimately, time will tell if the Nets decide to keep all of their picks to use on players or if they will package some of their picks to achieve some other goal. Either way, Nets Wire will be keeping up with everything Brooklyn-related in the draft with live updates:
Nets Take Egor Demin 8th Overall
With the eighth overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Nets took BYU guard Egor Demin. Demin profiles as one of the players in the draft that can provide size and ball-handling at either of the guard spots, most likely point guard.
This pick for the Nets is somewhat surprising given that Demin was expected to be available later in the draft, but it’s possible that Brooklyn thought that he wouldn’t be available at the No. 19 spot. Demin ended the 2024-25 season averaging 10.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game while shooting 41.2% from the field and 27.3% from three-point land.
Nets Take Nolan Traore 19th Overall
The Nets took French guard Nolan Traore with the 19th overall pick in the Draft, making him the second international player taken by Brooklyn after selecting BYU G Egor Demin with the eighth pick. Traore, who played in France for Saint-Quentin, has some positives in his physical profile in terms of his quickness and flair when trying to make plays for others.
Traore, 19, is listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds and while there have been bigger point guards that have come into the Draft, but Traore seems to have enough there to convince scouts of his being a first-round pick. Traore wasn’t as much of a surprise as Demin was given that the Frenchman was expected to be taken in the latter half of the first-round and now, Brooklyn has two young guards on the roster.
Nets Take Drake Powell 22nd Overall
The Nets took North Carolina forward Drake Powell with the 22nd overall pick in the Draft, giving them three players that could contribute for the team next season. Powell, listed at 6-foot-5 and 200 pounds, profiles as the kind of player that teams would love to have on the wing given his ability to defend on the perimeter and shoot the ball from behind the three-point line.
What is concerning about Powell’s profile is that despite having his physical ability to complement his shooting, those traits did not earn him a big role on a Tarheels team that struggled their way to the NCAA Tournament. For Brooklyn, Powell could be the kind of guy to back up forward Cam Johnson (assuming he remains on the roster next season) as the small forward.
Nets Take Ben Saraf 26th overall
With the 26th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, the Nets took Israeli guard Ben Saraf. Saraf has some parts of his profile that appeal to most teams in terms of his ability to handle the basketball and make plays while standing at 6-foot-6 and 199 pounds.
The issues with Saraf are his inconsistent shooting and lack of any elite physical traits, but those are flaws that he should be able to overcome if he puts in the work. Saraf is similar to Demin in the sense that he has elite size for his position if he plays at either of the guard spots and he should be able to provide enough playmaking and scoring to overcome some of the negatives in his game.
Nets Take Danny Wolf 27th Overall
The Nets took Michigan center Danny Wolf with the 27th overall pick in the Draft, giving them five players by the end of the first round with Brooklyn having one more pick to make in the second round. Wolf is an interesting prospect for the Nets to take a chance on given his ability to handle the basketball and create plays within a 6-foot-11, 250-pound frame.
Like most of the players in every draft, Wolf will have some flaws to overcome, notably his long-range shooting and his ability to take care of the basketball when he has it in his hands. The good thing is, Wolf has the versatility to play either power forward or center and with his ability to be a secondary ball-handler for a Nets team looking for more playmakers.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets 2025 NBA Draft live updates: Pick results, trade rumors
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
