The Brooklyn Nets made history in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft held at Barclays Center on Wednesday. The Nets had five picks in the first round and became the first team in NBA history to make five selections in it.
There was some speculation about the Nets packaging a couple of their picks to move up in the draft, but that didn't end up happening. They went with Egor Demin at eight, Nolan Traore at 19, Drake Powell at 22, Ben Saraf at 26 and Danny Wolf at 27.
While they are all talented players, the selections did raise eyebrows.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks courtside prior to a game against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks courtside prior to a game against the Utah Jazz at Barclays Center.
Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images
Demin, Traore and Saraf are all point guards, while Wolf can be classified as a point forward/center. To make matters worse, Demin and Traore weren't expected to go as high as they went. The former wasn't viewed as a top-10 pick, but the Nets clearly are very high on him. Some around the league don't share that belief, though.
NBA insider Brian Windhorst was on the "Numbers on the Board NBA Draft Show," where he revealed that executives and agents were mocking the Nets for their selections.
"I got people telling me somethings about Brooklyn," Windhorst said, via Nets Kingdom on X. "People are making fun of this draft room. I got people saying to me, executives and agents, they are like, 'I was watching them play three two-way guys during this year… these 2-way guys might be just as good as the guys they are taking.'”
Keep in mind, Windhorst made these comments before the Nets picked Saraf and Wolf. Only time will tell if this was a masterstroke or a complete disaster.