The Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night became the first team in NBA history to use five picks in the first round of the draft, and the approach has been met with some skepticism.
The Nets had pick Nos. 8, 19, 22, 26 and 27 in the first round of the NBA Draft. They were widely expected to trade at least some of the picks, but they used all five. What was even more baffling was that Brooklyn drafted four guards.
Nets general manager Sean Marks said he was “thrilled” with the result.
“I’m thrilled with the group we got tonight,” Marks said, via 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.”
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, executives and agents around the NBA do not understand why Marks is so pleased. Windhorst said people had been texting him after the first round to mock the Nets.
“I’ve got some people telling me some things about Brooklyn. People are making fun of this draft group,” Windhorst said. “I’ve got people saying to me, executives and agents, they’re like, ‘Man, I was watching them play three two-way guys this year so that they could clap for taking guys in the 20s.’ He’s like, ‘These two-way guys might be just as good as the guys that they’re taking.’ I don’t know anything about it. I’m just saying what people are saying.”
Brian Windhorst says executives and agents were hitting him up to poke fun at the Nets’ draft 🫣
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 26, 2025
(h/t @NetsKingdomAJ / @Fullcourtpass )
pic.twitter.com/3hp4Z6axoT
The Nets used the No. 8 overall pick on 6-foot-9 guard Egor Demin, a native of Russia who played at BYU. Brooklyn then drafted Nolan Traore from France, North Carolina’s Drake Powell, Israeli guard Ben Saraf and Michigan big man Danny Wolf.
With the Eastern Conference looking weak heading into the 2025-26 season, Nets fans probably would have liked to see their team be more aggressive in trying to add veteran players. Instead, Brooklyn seems content to rebuild following a 26-56 year that saw them miss the playoffs again.
