Brooklyn Nets Earn Low NBA Draft Grade

The Nets' other two picks resulted in a solid project wing with North Carolina's Drake Powell, and they also added center depth in Michigan's Danny Wolf, who has some solid upside as an offensive big man.

"Egor Demin at No. 8 isn't a huge reach, but it seemed like Khaman Maluach – who was a popular player linked to Brooklyn at that spot — would've made more sense. Brooklyn drafted three guards with similar archetypes. None of them can shoot," said Salerno in his article. "The Nolan Traoré pick is interesting. I like his upside and top-end speed, but he's not a shooter either. Brooklyn's best pick was drafting Danny Wolf -- a player who I scouted in person earlier this year. Wolf reminds me a lot of Houston Rockets star Alperen Şengün. The bottom line is, if you're going to take five (!!!) players in the first round, you should come away with at least a handful of starters. I don't know if that's the case here."

Salerno would then rate the Nets overall draft class a D+ because of the underwhelming haul Brooklyn brought back for having a historic five first round picks.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst was one of the first analysts to rip into the Brooklyn Nets following the first round selections, essentially sparking the discussion of just how well the front office did.

"I got people saying to me, executives and agents, they're like, 'I was watching them play three two-way guys during this year so that they can clap for taking the guys they've chosen.' He's like, 'These two-way guys might be just as good as the guys they've taken.'" said Windhorst on an NBA Draft broadcast.

However, Nets GM Sean Marks reassured the media himself that these picks were his front office's guys, and who he feels can help Brooklyn in the future.

"I'm thrilled with the group we got tonight," Marks said per ESPN's Chris Herring. "We've got some guys who play the right way, move the ball the right way and have some untapped skills there."

Fans and analysts will certainly be watching the Nets' summer league closely to see how these picks look in an early NBA setting, as Brooklyn tries to weather this storm of negative reviews following the 2025 NBA Draft.