The Brooklyn Nets went into the 2026 NBA Draft with three draft picks to use and they used the No. 6 (Mikel Brown Jr.) and No. 28 (Joshua Jefferson) picks on two players with promising futures. While most of the attention Brooklyn received was on its initial pick, but if they are looking to maximize the draft, they have to make sure they make the right choice at No. 43.
“Shooting has always kept interest from building around Jaden Bradley, but as the point guard for a No. 1 seed, he’s done too good of a job running offense and applying pressure at both ends,” Jonathan Wasserman wrote on Arizona guard Jaden Bradley. Following the events of the first round of the draft on Tuesday, Wasserman projected the Nets to take Bradley with the No. 43 selection given his skill set.
“NBA teams could see an interesting two-way playmaker who can penetrate, make good decisions and cause problems defensively,” Wasserman continued on Bradley. Wasserman compares Bradley to former NBA veteran guard Darren Collison, giving an indication of what he’s expected to bring to the floor as part of a guard rotation under head coach Jordi Fernandez.
Bradley, 22, is coming off a senior season with the Wildcats in which he averaged 13.3 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and 39.4% from behind the three-point line. Bradley has a solid frame for an NBA point guard (6-foot-3, 200 pounds), but the main aspect of his game that he has to work on is his long-range shooting given that he attempted only 1.3 three-pointers per game over his four-year collegiate career.
If the Nets were to take Bradley with their second-round pick, he would have an uphill battle with Brooklyn adding Brown to a point guard group of Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, and Ben Saraf, all from the 2025 NBA Draft. At this point, Brown and Demin project to be the starting backcourt so if Bradley wants to earn playing time next season, he will have to beat out Traore and Saraf at the very least.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets projected to take Jaden Bradley at No. 43 pick in 2026 NBA Draft
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire | USA TODAY Network
