Nets Given Different Rookie Class in 2025 Re-Draft After NBA Preseason

NBA preseason isn't the best indicator of how rookies will pan out during the regular season. With teams playing the end of their bench most nights, the games leading up to opening night give first-year pros a chance to face the league's top talent, but more so develop and get their feet wet.

Still, if a rookie is performing well right off the bat, it's a good sign and will get fans excited for what's to come. The Brooklyn Nets have had a mix of performances from four of their five first-round picks, as they still have one game left before the start of the regular season.

Many scouts and analysts were mocking the Nets for their selections on draft night back in June. With a record number of picks in the top 30, Brooklyn's choices could have looked a lot different if it followed with the majority of opinions.

Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz put out a 2025 re-draft as the preseason winds down. With some notable performances from the rookies, there was a lot of movement, and the Nets were no exception.

Brooklyn originally took Egor Demin at No. 8, a pick that many questioned that early. Instead, the Nets take Jeremiah Fears, a high-upside scorer from Oklahoma who originally went to the New Orleans Pelicans one spot earlier.

"The Brooklyn Nets should be thrilled if Jeremiah Fears fell to them," Swartz wrote. "Despite the shooting concerns, he has the most star potential of any player remaining on this list, even more so than Egor Demin, their real-life pick."

At No. 19, Brooklyn's selection of Nolan Traore was heavily criticized due to a similar play style to Demin. With the future of Nic Claxton still up in the air, Swartz has the Nets taking Joan Beringer, the 18-year-old center with immense potential. He was originally selected by the Minnesota Timberwolves at No. 17.

"The future of Nic Claxton with the Brooklyn Nets is very much in doubt given how deep into the rebuild this franchise has plunged," Swartz wrote. "Finding a new center to build around should be one of the team's goals with five first-round picks.

"Joan Beringer is still just 18 and scratching the surface of what he can become. Preseason has shown us his ability to put immense pressure on the rim on both ends, as he pairs with Jeremiah Fears in this re-draft as a pick-and-roll partner."

To the Nets' credit, Swartz still has Drake Powell and Danny Wolf ending up with the Nets. However, Wolf slid up to No. 27, so Ben Saraf was essentially replaced by Ryan Kalkbrenner, the college star from Creighton.

That would leave the Nets with a point guard in Fears, a 3&D wing in Fears, and three big men in Beringer, Wolf and Kalkbrenner. In reality, Brooklyn has the opposite, with plenty of point guards and one center.