In the wake of the Brooklyn Nets falling to the No. 6 pick at Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery, one main question has cropped up: Could the rebuilding squad trade up to one of the coveted top four picks?
“Look, I think we've got to look at everything. Everything's on our board at every draft,” GM Sean Marks said. “It just depends on the cost and who's available at that particular point. You never want to say ahead of time we would do this, because at the end of the day, maybe you don't. But again, we'll definitely be opportunistic as we build this out over the next couple of months here.”
While the Nets will investigate all avenues, they face an uphill battle to move up into the top four, to put it lightly.
Multiple league sources told ClutchPoints that they “would be very surprised” if any of the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies or Chicago Bulls traded back to No. 6. One source said the Nets “would need to overwhelm” a team in the top four to pique their interest. Even then, there's skepticism that a trade up the board is in the cards.
Will Nets trade out of No. 6 pick following another disappointing NBA Draft Lottery?
A general view during the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery at Navy Pier.
David Banks-Imagn Images
The Nets are flush with future draft capital, with an NBA-best nine tradable first-round picks. However, they lack a young blue-chip prospect to include in trade conversations.
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Egor Demin is the closest player to fitting that bill, while Michael Porter Jr. was a veteran All-Star candidate last season. However, even packaged with future assets, neither Demin nor Porter approaches the value of the top four prospects in this year's class.
The value of those top four picks is why teams went to such shameless lengths to tank last season, prompting the NBA to rewrite the lottery rules. It's also why there was such jubilation among the drawing room representatives of the top four teams on Sunday. Jazz president of basketball operations Austin Ainge and Grizzlies GM Zach Kleiman couldn't help but let out fist bumps when Utah and Memphis landed Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Meanwhile, Bulls Executive Director of Basketball Operations Chigozie Umeadi smiled ear to ear when Chicago secured No. 4.
Meanwhile, devastation was written all over the face of Nets owner Joe Tsai, as he crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling after a second straight tanking season failed to land his team a top-five pick.
Another question being posed within NBA circles following Sunday's lottery: Would the Nets consider trading down? The next tier of prospects after the top four includes point guards such as Darius Achuff, Keaton Wagler, Mikel Brown Jr. and Kingston Flemings. Brooklyn just selected four guards — Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell and Ben Saraf — in the 2025 draft.
Would a forward such as Karim Lopez, Nate Ament, or Yaxel Lendeborg, or a big man such as Aday Mara, Hannes Steinback or Jaden Quaintance, plus future assets, interest the Nets in a trade-back scenario? Can a team as talent-depleted as Brooklyn afford to worry about positional fit on its current roster?
These are the debates the Nets will have over the next six weeks as they go back to the drawing board following another disappointing lottery outcome.
In the wake of the Brooklyn Nets falling to the No. 6 pick at Sunday's NBA Draft Lottery, one main question has cropped up: Could the rebuilding squad trade up to one of the coveted top four picks? “Look, I think we've got to look at everything. Everything's on our board at every draft,” GM Sean Marks said.