The 2025 NBA Draft will be live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, tomorrow night. Thirty players will hear their names called in the draft’s first round. As things stand, the Brooklyn Nets will call five of those names. After Tuesday’s three-team trade with the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics, Brooklyn owns a whopping five first round picks in this draft. Let’s break down how this affects its roster and draft odds.
The Picks
Tuesday’s trade sent Terance Mann from the Hawks to the Nets along with the No. 22 pick. Brooklyn used its cap space to pick up a fifth selection. Now, it owns picks 8, 19, 22, 26 and 27.
The eighth pick is its own, 19 comes from the Milwaukee Bucks, 22 from the Lakers via the Hawks, 26 from the Knicks and 27 from the Rockets. It’s a ton of picks, and it raises one question: Will Brooklyn actually keep all of them? My gut says no. They may package some of these choices to move up from No. 8 or acquire a second lottery pick. Some of the later picks may also be dealt for future selections.
But if Brooklyn keeps all five, they can handle it. The Nets have five players on fully guaranteed deals: Nic Claxton, Cam Johnson, Mann, Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead. Keon Johnson and Maxwell Lewis have partially guaranteed deals, and Tyrese Martin, Drew Timme and Jalen Wilson are on non-guaranteed contracts. That’s a total of 10 players with contracts. Day’Ron Sharpe and Cam Thomas are both restricted free agents, with the latter almost guaranteed to return.
This means that Brooklyn could accommodate its five first-round picks, plus the 36th pick, by waiving some non-guaranteed deals. It’s unlikely, but if any team could take that kind of gamble, it’s these Nets.
No. 8 Pick Odds
Assuming the Nets keep the No. 8 pick, here are the odds for who they could select:
French forward Noa Essengue leads the pack, but the pick is very much up in the air. Brooklyn has a lot of open roster spots and a lot of needs. I would expect Brooklyn to take Jeremiah Fears if he slides that far, and I doubt they want in on the Ace Bailey business. Despite being the favorite on the board, Essengue has the best value to be the first Net selected.
It’s going to be a busy night in Brooklyn. As many as five players will hear their names called and be in their home stadium. All eyes will be on the Nets and the moves they make after the top picks are over with.
