2025 NBA Draft: Nets' Best Options for Pick No. 27

Nets are certainly in a position to use this pick and others as a way to climb up the draft boards in the first round. Reports have come in about Brooklyn being high on Rutgers guard Ace Bailey, and are willing to negotiate with a team to move up a few selections, as the Washington Wizards have also been linked to Bailey.

However, if the Nets do decide to roll the dice and keep the No. 27 overall pick, they could have a couple of players to consider adding to their rebuilding roster.

Adou Thiero (Forward / Arkansas Razorbacks)

One player who has consistently garnered love from fans and NBA analysts for Brooklyn's No. 27 pick is 6-foot-6 wing Adou Thiero from the Arkansas Razorbacks. A John Calipari product, Thiero followed the legendary coach to Arkansas from Kentucky following the 2023-24 season.

In his junior year, he took a huge leap for Coach Cal, putting together a 15.1 points and a 5.8 rebound average. He was praised for his ability to also create turnovers as a two-way wing, logging 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game in the regular season.

While his final college season did not end the way he intended, Thiero is still hopeful to land in the first round of the NBA Draft on June 25. Currently ranked the No. 32 prospect by ESPN and No. 37 by CBS Sports, the Razorbacks guard could squeak into the back end of the first round; however, we will have to wait for the draft to see.

Cedric Coward (Forward / Washington State Cougars)

Washington State forward Cedric Coward has received a significant amount of interest in recent weeks as teams prepare for the NBA Draft. The 6-foot-5 guard has an interesting journey to being a potential first-round selection in this year's draft. Originally beginning his basketball career at the Division 3 level, Coward spent two seasons at Eastern Washington before transferring to Washington State for his last season.

He was pegged to go to Duke next season as he committed to the Blue Devils before the NBA Draft festivities, but with a first-round projection, he has been all in on the NBA, putting Duke in the rearview mirror. Coward did have a workout for the Brooklyn Nets already in late May, and also briefly talked about it with Erik Slater of Clutch Points.

“Brooklyn’s a great place, great people. Obviously, they have a vision in where they want their team to go, talking to Coach Fernandez and Sean Marks,” said Coward.

Both prospects have received praise from the Nets fans on social media, so it seems that either one of these prospects would certainly please the fan base. While it is up in the air still with what Brooklyn will do with the No. 27 pick, if players like Adou Thiero or Cedric Coward are available, they will be too hard to pass up.