Why the Nets Should’ve Stayed in the Second Round of the 2025 NBA Draft

The Brooklyn Nets made history in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft, but the team’s decision to bypass the second round could yet haunt them.

On Wednesday, the Nets became the first NBA team ever to draft five first-rounders. Brooklyn’s full draft haul featured Egor Demin at No. 8, Nolan Traoré at No. 19, Drake Powell at No. 22, Ben Saraf at No. 26 and Danny Wolf at No. 27. It was a result that few expected. The Nets are now loaded with ballhandlers of varying extents who can dribble and pass, but who haven’t proven that they can score at an NBA level. 

For instance, the biggest questions surrounding Demin are about his three-pointer and his overall space creation in the half-court. Still, the Russian playmaker was bullish about his long-term shooting outlook immediately after getting drafted to Brooklyn.

Demin said: “I have no doubt I’m gonna be a solid shooter. I’m seeing myself as a really good shooter in the future just because I know how much I [will] put into the work to become one.”

The Nets were originally scheduled to pick at No. 36, as well, but instead traded that pick to the Phoenix Suns for two future second-rounders. The Suns subsequently traded with the Minnesota Timberwolves to draft Saint Joseph’s wing/forward Rasheer Fleming at No. 31, while the Los Angeles Lakers acquired No. 36 from the Timberwolves and selected Arkansas wing Adou Thiero.

Either one of those prospects would have provided Brooklyn with defense and play finishing. Thiero is a monster at-rim athlete with big hops and long arms. He finished about 64% (89-for-140) of his shots at the rim this season, which included 45 dunks. The 21-year-old is likely to defend both wing positions, and maybe some 4s.

Fleming has been a name in the New Jersey basketball circles since he played for Camden’s high school team alongside DJ Wagner and Aaron Bradshaw. No one expected him to be the first to make it to the NBA, given that he was a zero-star recruit before committing to St. Joe’s. In the NBA, Fleming could add physicality, rebounding and three-point shooting. He was one of the only two Division-I players this year to have 40 made dunks and 40 made threes, per Bart Torvik.

Other defensive targets included France's Noah Penda (the No. 32 pick), Will Richard (No. 56) or Jahmai Mashack (No. 59). The latter two were largely projected to go undrafted, though. The likes of Chaz Lanier (No. 37), Koby Brea (No. 41), Maxime Raynaud (No. 42), Bogoljub Markovic (No. 47), John Tonje (No. 53). 

It’s impossible to know without being in the Nets’ Brooklyn draft war room, but it’s also possible that the cards didn’t fall the Nets’ way in the second round. More leverage is increasingly being employed by agents and players in the second half of the draft. 

Tim Connelly, the Timberwolves president of basketball operations, said this about trading No. 31: “It was really curious how agent driven the second round became. We called players left and right, and there was 20 deals done before the draft started. It was interesting. No. 31 is fun, but it’s probably not as fun as we thought it was gonna be.”