The Brooklyn Nets exited the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery with the No. 6 overall pick after entering the Lottery with the No. 3 pick while being tied for the best odds to get the No. 1 pick. Given that Brooklyn is looking to add as much talent as possible over the course of this offseason, the organization could take a look at a player who knows what his game is.
“I definitely say my vision, going along with my height, being a tall guard, is something really good to be able to come off ball-screens and read defenders, see over defenses, and be able to read the defense, make the right play,” Illinois guard Keaton Wagler said about his skillset at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago earlier this month. Wagler seems to be one of the players expected to be selected around the range of where the Nets will be picking.
“Keaton Wagler figures to be highly attractive in the No. 5-9 range with his crafty creation, special shotmaking, high IQ and adaptable game,” Jonathan Wasserman wrote on Wagler in his latest mock draft for Bleacher Report. In Wasserman’s mock draft, he projected Brooklyn to take Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr., but that could have been with the assumption that Wagler is more of a fit for a team like the Sacramento Kings, who have the No. 7 pick.
In most mock drafts, it seems that the expectation is that the Los Angeles Clippers, who have the No. 5 pick, would take Wagler to pair him with Darius Garland, whom the Clippers acquired from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the February trade deadline in exchange for James Harden. At this point, the Nets will likely be choosing from Wagler, Brown, and Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr., depending on who general manager Sean Marks prefers at that spot.
Wagler, 19, is coming of an impression season with the Fighting Illini in which he put himself on the draft radar after not being considered a Lottery pick heading into the 2025-26 season. In 37 games for Illinois, Wagler averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 44.5% from the field and 39.7% from behind the three-point line while leading the Illini to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Potential Nets 2026 NBA Draft pick Keaton Wagler talks skill set
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
