NBA Draft 2025

Papi_swav · Post #1 » by **Papi_swav** » Mon May 12, 2025 11:52 pm

With the lottery balls not going our way, the Nets will get the 8th pick in the 2025 draft. They will also have the 19th (Bucks), 26th (Knicks) and the 27th (Rockets). Let's discuss some draft prospects who we'd like here. We can also discuss some possible trades. My pick for #8 I would want Fears or Jakucionis. For our 19th pick I would like Ben Saraf. Discuss.....

Eatgreenz · Post #2 » by **Eatgreenz** » Tue May 13, 2025 12:13 am

Im looking at fears, maluach, cmb

NetsJets · Post #3 » by **NetsJets** » Tue May 13, 2025 12:17 am

No point in tanking because being bad doesn’t guarantee you the number 1 pick.

Netaman · Post #4 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 13, 2025 12:20 am

I'm with you on Fears/Jaku. Probably my top 2 and may have been my top 2 if they were at #5 too. I wonder if they will consider trying to package one of the other picks to move up a spot or two for someone they like since the rankings from really #3 to #10 are all over the place.

We know whos going 1/2 so they just need 6 others they really like. VJE/Bailey, Fears/Jaku, and then probably Queen/Kon/Tre are the 7 im most a fan of. I don't love Maluach, I liked Lively better. Queen has some it factor to him.

The top 2 are obviously on another tier from the rest of the class, but if there was ever a year to get some bad lotto luck this was it because nets are still right in the middle of a range of the 8 or 9 guys projected to go in a variety of orders from #3-#12. Sam Vecenie's most recent mock had Tre Johnson #3, Bailey #5, Fears #11, Maluach #12. Givony just posted a mock that has Fears #5, Tre #6, Maluach #7, and Kon to Nets at #8. Jaku went #10 to Hou. Kneuppel is going to be polarizing but i see more upside than just another joe harris shooter. He can make plays and has more size than Reddick. I can squint and see some Gordon Hayward or Klay.

Netaman · Post #5 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 13, 2025 12:21 am

NetsJets wrote:No point in tanking because being bad doesn’t guarantee you the number 1 pick.

yep may as well compete for the playoffs, if you dont get there still have a chance to get lucky in lotto. it is a true lotto now. they got fortunate this draft goes a legit 10-12 deep with higher end prospects.

drchaos · Post #6 » by **drchaos** » Tue May 13, 2025 12:37 am

After striking out this year we really need to get what we can for Cam J and / or Claxton so we can embrace the youth movement and get a better pick next year.

Don't want to waste # 8 on a big man if we stay put.

I really want Rasheer Flemming with that 19th pick.

Whether we roster five rookies or consolidate assets we really need to set ourselves up with cap space for the future.

Summer of 2026 looks like the best time to swing on the free agent market but at this point maybe 2027 is a possibility.

It is always better to be lucky than good.

Hello Brooklyn · Post #7 » by **Hello Brooklyn** » Tue May 13, 2025 1:11 am

I did want us to tank but the Wizards and Jazz did not even get a top 4 pick for all their troubles. So it is what it is.

Unless you get a player like Flagg its hard to sit back for years and rebuild in a market like New York.

Netaman · Post #8 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 13, 2025 1:22 am

drchaos wrote:After striking out this year we really need to get what we can for Cam J and / or Claxton so we can embrace the youth movement and get a better pick next year.

Don't want to waste # 8 on a big man if we stay put.

I really want Rasheer Flemming with that 19th pick.

Whether we roster five rookies or consolidate assets we really need to set ourselves up with cap space for the future.

Summer of 2026 looks like the best time to swing on the free agent market but at this point maybe 2027 is a possibility.

It is always better to be lucky than good.

we just saw there is literally no point in tanking, or giving up good players for meh returns that will probably mostly feature a few more meh picks in the future. Dallas was coming off a finals appearance competing to get into playoffs, make a terrible trade and kyrie gets hurt and they get flagg. SAS had wemby, trade for fox, end up 2nd.

lean into the positive momentum with Jordi, CamJ, DLo and go from here. Poach an RFA like Ty Jerome. Use the draft picks and get the highest upside guys you can. If it totally bombs great news, congrats we pulled off an accidental tank! if there are good value deals for camj or clax no issue trading them, but no reason to dump them for weak returns. id even contemplate signing Schroder back.

at the moment id say the the houston model is the way to go. they obviously had some high picks, but more important than those picks they leaned into a great coach and used cap room to add a winning player that fit (FVV) even though his age didnt fit the timeline. they patiently kept their future picks to trade. made some good first round picks from pick #16 with sengun and amen at #4 to go with Green #2. recreating that mix with jordi, 8th pick, camt feels like something marks is very capable of doing. better luck in next years lotto would help.

Netaman · Post #9 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 13, 2025 1:27 am

Vecenie updated his mock post lotto, has nets taking fears with jaku still on board (he goes 11). has bailey 3, vj 4, tre 5, queen 6, kon 7.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6345850/2025/05/12/nba-mock-draft-2025-cooper-flagg-mavericks/

ecuhus1981 · Post #10 » by **ecuhus1981** » Tue May 13, 2025 5:27 am

Yeah, I would like Fears at 8.

Keith Van Horn · Post #11 » by **Keith Van Horn** » Tue May 13, 2025 11:19 am

guys...

Netaman · Post #12 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 13, 2025 2:18 pm

Keith Van Horn wrote:guys...

honestly doesn't change much from pick 6. sucks they didnt move up, but their situation sucks a lot less than the teams that tanked and moved out of the top 4. at least we got some semi-fun basketball during the season.

Netaman · Post #13 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 13, 2025 2:23 pm

ecuhus1981 wrote:Yeah, I would like Fears at 8.

same. I'm warming up to Tre too. If I was as high as pick 5 i think those would be my clear top 2, so either falling to 8 would feel fortunate. I maybe have Jaku in the mix with them too because he has a pretty diverse skill set. One of those 3 is what im hoping for because I see a lot of upside.

Kon/Queen are kind of a half tier lower because I view them as less dynamic athletes, but they are both also highly skilled and young so I could be wrong to think that.

it would not shock me in the slightest if any of those 5 end up the best of that group. or if im totally wrong about maluach and he's a stud. i could see any of that group being a quality starter by the end of rookie year. with marks' track record they will probably get someone who looks to have starter level talent at 19 too if they make both picks.

JoseRizal · Post #14 » by **JoseRizal** » Tue May 13, 2025 11:06 pm

With the 8th & 19th pick, I'll go for a combination of a PG and a big man.

Possible PGs:
8th - Fears, Jakucionis
19th - Traore, Saraf

Possible bigs:
8th - Maluach, Queen, CMB
19th - Newell, Essengue, Wolf

Marvin Martian · Post #15 » by **Marvin Martian** » Wed May 14, 2025 1:11 am

Netaman wrote:
drchaos wrote:After striking out this year we really need to get what we can for Cam J and / or Claxton so we can embrace the youth movement and get a better pick next year.

Don't want to waste # 8 on a big man if we stay put.

I really want Rasheer Flemming with that 19th pick.

Whether we roster five rookies or consolidate assets we really need to set ourselves up with cap space for the future.

Summer of 2026 looks like the best time to swing on the free agent market but at this point maybe 2027 is a possibility.

It is always better to be lucky than good.

we just saw there is literally no point in tanking, or giving up good players for meh returns that will probably mostly feature a few more meh picks in the future. Dallas was coming off a finals appearance competing to get into playoffs, make a terrible trade and kyrie gets hurt and they get flagg. SAS had wemby, trade for fox, end up 2nd.

lean into the positive momentum with Jordi, CamJ, DLo and go from here. Poach an RFA like Ty Jerome. Use the draft picks and get the highest upside guys you can. If it totally bombs great news, congrats we pulled off an accidental tank! if there are good value deals for camj or clax no issue trading them, but no reason to dump them for weak returns. id even contemplate signing Schroder back.

at the moment id say the the houston model is the way to go. they obviously had some high picks, but more important than those picks they leaned into a great coach and used cap room to add a winning player that fit (FVV) even though his age didnt fit the timeline. they patiently kept their future picks to trade. made some good first round picks from pick #16 with sengun and amen at #4 to go with Green #2. recreating that mix with jordi, 8th pick, camt feels like something marks is very capable of doing. better luck in next years lotto would help.

No reason to accept defeat now. Strange things can happen in a draft. Maybe Flagg doesn't end up being the best player or Harper is a bust.

We're on a decent path. However, I would like the FO to take some chances in FA. That IMO, is the key to getting back into contention. Can't rely on ping ping balls. And FA can't always be superstar or nothing. Buy low on players who are underused and under motivated and try to rehabilitate them

Netaman · Post #16 » by **Netaman** » Wed May 14, 2025 2:54 am

Marvin Martian wrote:No reason to accept defeat now. Strange things can happen in a draft. Maybe Flagg doesn't end up being the best player or Harper is a bust.

We're on a decent path. However, I would like the FO to take some chances in FA. That IMO, is the key to getting back into contention. Can't rely on ping ping balls. And FA can't always be superstar or nothing. Buy low on players who are underused and under motivated and try to rehabilitate them

I dont see any defeat except anyone strategizing based on ping pong balls. I was done with relying on the lotto after the john wall year turned into favors, i think the last couple years in this new lotto have shown that it's a true lotto now and the better odds mean very little.

i dont see a big difference between #3-10 in this draft, so i think where the nets are in the middle of that range isnt that different than where their slot was or even if the moved up a pick or two. getting to 1 for even the best odds teams is 1 in 10 so i was never expecting that.

JoseRizal · Post #17 » by **JoseRizal** » Thu May 15, 2025 2:28 am

Netaman wrote:
Marvin Martian wrote:No reason to accept defeat now. Strange things can happen in a draft. Maybe Flagg doesn't end up being the best player or Harper is a bust.

We're on a decent path. However, I would like the FO to take some chances in FA. That IMO, is the key to getting back into contention. Can't rely on ping ping balls. And FA can't always be superstar or nothing. Buy low on players who are underused and under motivated and try to rehabilitate them

I dont see any defeat except anyone strategizing based on ping pong balls. I was done with relying on the lotto after the john wall year turned into favors, i think the last couple years in this new lotto have shown that it's a true lotto now and the better odds mean very little.

i dont see a big difference between #3-10 in this draft, so i think where the nets are in the middle of that range isnt that different than where their slot was or even if the moved up a pick or two. getting to 1 for even the best odds teams is 1 in 10 so i was never expecting that.

Though we lost in the lotto, the depth of this draft class gives me hope.

Agree that only 1 & 2 is a given, 3-10 is interchangeable amongst Bailey, Edgecombe, Johnson, Fears, Maluach, Fears, Queen, Kon or Jak.

Can't wait for the upcoming draft...

Netaman · Post #18 » by **Netaman** » Tue May 20, 2025 1:57 am

I have really warmed up to Kon. Beyond the consensus 3+Bailey, I think Fears is #5 and Kon/Tre are pretty much tied at #6/#7 for me.

Queen and Jaku are interesting skill sets, but have to admit it would be highly annoying to see those 7 off the board at 8. I have a hunch Marks makes some kind of move up though, possibly as high as #3 with PHI.

TheNetsFan · Post #19 » by **TheNetsFan** » Tue May 20, 2025 4:56 am

Don't sleep on Demin. He's mocked way too low, but bloggers and reporters will wake up soon. ESPN has him up at #11 now ahead of Queen. Once upon a time, people were talking about him as a top 5 pick.

Netaman · Post #20 » by **Netaman** » Sat May 24, 2025 3:47 pm

Trade idea from Yossi Gozlan, I could see something like this for sure - not sure who Marks would take between Bailey, VJ, or even Fears/Kon higher than currently expected, but I like the idea of consolidating and getting whichever guy from that group they like best if they have a real conviction.

Dlo, CamT, CamJ, Claxton and whoever they like enough to move up to pick at #3 would be the start of an interesting group. Depending on what DLo/CamT extend at, they should still have ~10-20m+ of pure cap space to pursue someone a Ty Jerome type. Plus Clowney, Wilson, Keon, picks #19/#27.

Also have the $23m trade exception from Bridges, not sure that's big enough to swipe Kuminga from GS in S&T but that's something else worth considering. Kuminga after 4 years of development may not be far off from whatever the baseline expectation should be for Ace Bailey as an example. So maybe instead of a Philly trade where you eat some salary, you plan an RFA run at Kuminga and sit at #8. I'd consider giving up some future 2nds to GS for Kuminga's RFA rights so that way Nets can maybe get him under contract without overpaying in an RFA run. His cap hold is 22.9m so not sure how that works but maybe they'd could accept him into the bridges TE? since nobody else has cap room i think they'd be able to do that and then negotiate a fairer deal leveraging the QO just like CamT.

DLo, CamT, CamJ, Kuminga, Clax plus whoever they pick top 8, Clowney, #19, Keon, Wilson is a roster that starts getting really interesting, especially if they haven't needed to overpay anyone. May even still have room to do an MLE pursuit of Ty Jerome too.

both kuminga and jerome played HS in ny/nj too.