The Brooklyn Nets made one of the more interesting moves this offseason when they acquired and ended up using five first-round picks in the 2025 NBA Draft. With Brooklyn having five picks in the top-27, they selected forward Danny Wolf with the 27th overall pick, but given how this season has gone thus far, it could be argued that the Nets could have made a better choice.
“Positional-glut issues aside, the Nets might feel better about their draft if they’d taken Ryan Kalkbrenner (No. 34) over Danny Wolf (No. 27),” Bleacher Report’s Grant Hughes wrote when discussing if the Nets have any regrets from the 2025 Draft. The Charlotte Hornets selected center Ryan Kalkbrenner with the 34th overall pick given that they needed another contributor at the center spot, but he is playing far ahead of his draft selection.
“Kalkbrenner would easily make an All-Rookie team if the season ended today, and his combination of rim-protection and efficient finishing make it a lot easier to see him contributing as a starter over the long haul than Wolf,” Hughes continued. As of this writing, Kalkbrenner is in contention for either of the All-Rookie teams as he’s averaging 9.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game while shooting 80.3% from the field.
Wolf, 21, hasn’t spent much time at the NBA level this season as he’s played just three games for Brooklyn due to head coach Jordi Fernandez shortening his rotation. However, at the G League level, Wolf has shown that he can play well against fringe NBA talent as he’s averaging 21.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.9% from the floor and 37.1% from deep.
Obviously, Kalkbrenner has got the head start on Wolf due to a combination of him being able to fill a pressing need for the Hornets along with being ready for NBA minutes right away. However, there are still three quarters of this season left to go so it’s still too early to determine whether Brooklyn made an error in choosing Wolf over Kalkbrenner, but it is an interesting hypothetical to ponder nonetheless.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Should Nets have taken Ryan Kalkbrenner over Danny Wolf in 2025 Draft?
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
