Brooklyn Nets’ Rookies Will Need Patience This Season

The Brooklyn Nets were deemed one of a few losers at the 2025 NBA Draft.

Owning a record five first round picks — and using all of them — the team was expected to make a splash. But draft experts weren’t wowed with their haul of Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf.

And while the class wasn’t necessarily flashy in the moment, it still could be down the line, with nearly every player being a developmental draft pick.

Egor Demin and Danny Wolf struggled with lesser athleticism in college, and could continue to in the NBA for some time before they get up to speed. Nolan Traore and Drake Powell didn’t necessarily improve on their skillsets over the last season, and will now be expected to in a much tougher league. Ben Saraf is fairly polished, but has few elite fallback skills.

The newest Nets will all need patience. None of the five were expected to be impactful NBA players out the gate, and that’s looked the case through some Summer League struggles so far. The team is 0-3, failing to see wins against the Thunder, Wizards and Knicks.

Still, the upside is there for all five. Demin could legitimately be a jumbo point guard, or in the least a highly connective wing with great feel for the game. Traore has lead guard skills with impeccable horizontal athleticism. Powell, at his best, is keen to be a 3-and-D player. And Saraf and Wolf should offer positionally malleable players that can thrive with or without the ball.

Brooklyn played the odds somewhat at this year’s draft. While there’s a slim chance all five hit, there’s a decent chance one or two do. And in grabbing all developmental picks, there’s a great chance the one’s that do will be great players.

The Nets will continue their Summer League campaign with a bout against the Orlando Magic at 6:30 p.m. CT tonight.