The Stat That Proves Why the Nets Drafted Three Facilitators

The Brooklyn Nets had anything but an ordinary experience at the 2025 NBA Draft. Many expected the organization to package multiple first-rounders to move back into the draft lottery, but that didn't happen. Instead, the Nets set a new record for first-round draft picks made by a single franchise, a feat that merited three facilitators.

That same "many" that predicted a Nets trade-up had issues with this reality, believing that drafting three players who are playmakers first was a big mistake. Maybe the doubters end up being right, but they can't blame Brooklyn for trying to fix its most glaring issue.

Last season, the Nets were 28th in assists per game and 24th in assist-to-turnover ratio. They also posted one of the NBA’s worst offensive ratings (107.1) after Feb. 1 but owned the league's best defensive rating (105.8) at the same time. The midseason departures of Dennis Schroder and Ben Simmons surely had an impact, and D'Angelo Russell alone wasn't enough to stay afloat.

Thus, drafting three guys whose strengths are the team's greatest weakness actually makes a lot of sense. And as we saw in summer league, assistant coach Steve Hetzel—at a minimum—isn't ruling out the possibility of playing Egor Demin, Nolan Traore and Ben Saraf at the same time.

Maybe head coach Jordi Fernandez wouldn't play all three at once, but versatile guard skills allow for each to play both backcourt positions. Plus, if need be, Demin could even play some forward due to his 6-foot-9 frame.

It's encouraging to see Brooklyn identify a problem and then address it. That's growth. Even if the Nets aren't "trying" to be good—and they certainly shouldn't next season since the Houston Rockets own swap rights to their pick the following year—it's evident they're trying to get better.

And that shouldn't be a surprise. Remember: general manager Sean Marks once turned the Nets from one of the worst rosters in basketball with the worst cap situation into a perennial contender that boasted three of the league's brightest stars. He knows what he's doing, and that's exactly why he turned in Demin, Traore and Saraf's name cards.

Will the rookie trio fix the issue in one season? It's highly unlikely, and that shouldn't be the expectation. But as long as one, two or all show flashes of what could be highly impactful combo guards, those "many" won't have much negative material to feed off.