The 2025 NBA Draft is right around the corner and few teams control the board more than the Brooklyn Nets. GM Sean Marks will have five picks at his disposal — 8, 19, 26, 27, 36 — with four in the first round. There's a good chance Brooklyn looks to consolodate or flip a couple picks to next year's draft, but for a rebuilding team with a relatively blank slate, the Nets should take multiple bites at the apple.
Not very much is settled about Brooklyn's roster long term. Top scorer Cam Thomas is a free agent. He probably re-signs, but it's not guaranteed. The Nets should be weary about paying him too much. Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton are solid, winning vets, which probably means both end up on a new team before long. Brooklyn isn't quite done tearing this roster down to its studs yet.
With very little inhibiting the vision or direction of the front office on draft night, Sean Marks can get creative. He could very well determine the vision and direction of Nets basketball for the next decade. A lot is riding on these picks.
Let's try to put together the best four-prospect combos, within reason. Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper won't fall to No. 8, but the Nets can still land a foundational piece (or a couple) with the right picks.
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Nets mock draft No. 3: First Team All-French
No. 8: Noa Essengue, F, France (18 years old)
No. 19: Nolan Traoré, G, France (19 years old)
No. 26: Joan Beringer, C, France (19 years old)
No. 27: Liam McNeeley, F, UConn (19 years old)
This was my final prediction in FanSided's mock draft, and it does not feel far-fetched as it may look on the surface. "Really, three French players in the first round?" The Nets aren't trying to make a point or develop a unique chemistry between countrymen, although that last part may in fact benefit them. This is a strong collection of skills, with a focus on maximum upside and size across the board.
Noa Essengue, the No. 4 prospect at FanSided, won't turn 19 until December, only three days older than the draft's youngest player, Cooper Flagg. He's a rangy, high-energy defender at 6-foot-11, with the connective traits and athleticism to develop into a compelling offensive player in due time. He will require a patient hand, but Essengue's open-court speed and fludity of movement, combined with sharp hit-ahead passes and a great sense for when to cut or relocate in the flow of the offense, gives him a lot to work with.
Nolan Traoré boasts the highest assist percentage (42.8) in the draft. He's 6-foot-4 with incredible speed, off-beat handles and a selfless disposition. How effectively he scores at the next level remains a point of concern, but Traoré and Essengue can get out in transition and kill opponents with tempo. His passing feel and athleticism, with plus size for a point guard, merits investment.
Joan Beringer is more theoretical than actual in his value nowadays, but the 19-year-old first picked up a basketball three years ago. He's a 7-footer with incredible movement skills, a 7-foot-5 wingspan and a sharp upward incline on his developmental curve. Beringer probably won't blow folks away out of the gate, but he can block shots, catch lobs and — again, an important skill here — run.
Liam McNeeley ties it all together as a sharpshooting wing with size, whose athletic deficiencies are masked by the raw bundle of athletes stockpiled with Brooklyn's first three picks. McNeeley isn't French, but he can bomb 3s, run the occasional two-man action and connect dots with his passing.
Nets mock draft No. 2: Offense + Defense
No. 8: Derik Queen, C, Maryland (20 years old)
No. 19: Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State (19 years old)
No. 26: Noah Penda, F, France (20 years old)
No. 27: Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Creighton (23 years old)
Derik Queen has more star traits than a lot of guys who will get picked before him on Wednesday. He didn't ace athletic testing at the Combine and there are valid questions about his defensive ceiling, but it's also rare to find a 6-foot-10, 248-pound big who moves with as much coordination and purpose as Queen. Let's not rule him out as a plus defender just yet.
Brooklyn can surround him with length and versatility elsewhere. Queen dominates on drives to the rim, where his strength, finishing touch and playmaking vision shine. He can operate as a genuine offensive hub in the frontcourt. That makes Jase Richardson a strong fit if he falls to No. 19. There are defensive concerns with Richardson, who stands 6-foot-2 in shoes, but he's a prolific off-ball scorer with elite instincts for when to cut and relocate for catch-and-shoot 3s. He will bomb triples, beat closeouts, uncork the occasional high-arcing floater, and find ways to score off of Queen's gravity in the middle.
Noah Penda comes over from France as a polished defensive stopper on the wing (Brooklyn could just go with straight Frenchmen in the previous iteration of this mock, if they are so bold). At 6-foot-8 and 242 pounds, he has the strength to battle in the post and the lateral agility to mirror wings and even guards on the perimeter. His ability to blow up passing lanes, hover for weak side shot contests, or just sit in his stance and pressure the ball has few very rivals in this class. He's also a sharp connective passer offensively.
To round it out, Brooklyn springs for Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner at No. 27. Whether he's the backup center or a jumbo starter next to Queen in the frontcourt, Kalkbrenner's elite rim protection and efficienct spot-up shooting ought to fit like a glove.
Nets mock draft No. 1: The four dawgs approach
No. 8: Collin Murray-Boyles, F, South Carolina (20 years old)
No. 19: Nique Clifford, F, Colorado State (23 years old)
No. 26: Rasheer Fleming, F, St. Joseph's (20 years old)
No. 27: Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida (22 years old)
Collin Murray-Boyles, the No. 3 prospect at FanSided, would qualify as a home run addition at No. 8. The concerns are well documented — he didn't shoot much at South Carolina, he's left hand dominant, and he's positionally a tweener. USC deployed Murray-Boyles as a small-ball center, but that probably won't fly on a regular basis in the NBA.
Now let's get into the good stuff. He's the best defender in the draft, offering unreal malleability within various schemes and lineups. CMB can switch one through five. The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann aptly nicknamed him The Detonator for his ability to blow up passing lanes and impact shot attempts from the weak side. CMB competes hard, hammers the defensive glass and is virtually matchup-proof on that end of the floor.
He can also create off of drives and score proficiently at the rim, leading us to the rest of these picks. If the Nets want to maximzie CMB, it will require a collection of high-level shooters in his orbit. Nique Clifford is older than most four-round prospects, but he hit 37.7 percent of his 3s as a senior. He's another elite positional rebounder, with developing handles and a real eye for high-level passes. At 6-foot-6, there aren't too many boxes Clifford does not check. Both him and Murray-Boyles should yield an immediate return on investment.
Rasheer Fleming can pair beautifully with CMB in the frontcourt. The St. Joe's junior is one of the most explosive athletes in the draft. At 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan, he flies around the floor defensively, erasing shots at the rim, mirroring guards on the perimeter and never falling asleep on his assignment. He's also a 39.0 percent 3-point shooter. He lacks an in-between game or advanced passing feel, but CMB and Clifford more than make up for it.
To round things out, Brooklyn addresses the backcourt with reigning national champ Walter Clayton Jr., who led Florida through the NCAA Tournament with one of the greatest shooting displays in recent memory. That's what he does. While Clayton doesn't have great size in the backcourt, he's built strong and he competes hard on defense. He's a gamer offensively, with a significant appetite for clutch-time buckets and a fearlessness Brooklyn can build its identity around.