Put aside the conspiracy theories, talk of hoop deities and Nets luck. It’s the morning after
May 12 has come and gone. The borough of Brooklyn did not levitate as we had hoped. Brooklyn’s Nets in fact lost ground in Chicago, dropping from the sixth best odds in the Lottery to the eighth slot in the Draft. Nothing you can do about it. The lottery did what the NBA wanted: discourage tanking. It was third straight lottery where the team with the worst record wound up with the fifth pick, etc. etc.
All that said, the Nets still have a mid-lottery pick in a generational draft, the first time that’s happened in forever, another four picks — three of them in the first round — along with between $45 million and $60 million in cap space, an owner with a proven willingness to spend, a very good, perhaps great, head coach, experienced front office with a solid draft record … and a home address in New York City. Moreover, they have flexibility.
In other words, there’s a lot to be positive about. Or to be less charitable, Buck Up!
For the draftniks and pundits, things are still fluid, but that didn’t stop any of them from posting their own predictions on what June 25 and 26 at Barclays will look like. If you’re looking for a consensus pick at No. 8, it’s too early. The closest you get is Jeremiah Fears. The Oklahoma point guard is the favorite of three mock drafts. Kon Knueppel and Derik Queen get two mentions. Three players — Derik Queen, Tre Johnson and Kaspars Jakucionis — were named once each,
Looking at all five picks, the leader is Spanish wing Hugo Gonzalez with four mentions followed by Israeli point guard Ben Saraf and American power forwards Yaxel Lendebourg and Rasheer Fleming, with three each. Overall, more than a dozen players are linked to Brooklyn. So a lot of uncertainty.
Added to that uncertainty is the question of how many picks the Nets will actually use. We might not know that until the doors open at Barclays in late June.
So here we go … again: Ten mocks.
ESPN
As one might expect, Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo were the first up with their mock, coming less than a half hour after the final envelopes were opened on stage at Chicago’s McCormick Place.
Although the Nets dropped two spots, Givony still likes their prospects.
They might be disappointed to drop a few spots in the draft from No. 6 to No. 8, but they remain in the back end of a range where clear talent still exists, and they have the pieces to potentially move back up the board if they decide to get aggressive.
Indeed, Givony is one of several draftniks who think Sean Marks & co. may try to rectify their drop by trying to move up within the lottery. Jake Fischer and Sam Quinn are among the others. Here’s who the ESPN duo like as for now.
#8 – Kon Knueppel, wing, 6’7”, Duke
#19 – Joan Beringer, PF, 6’11” Cedevita Olimpija (France)
#26 – Ben Saraf, PG, 6’6” Ratiopharm Ulm (Israel)
#27 – Rasheer Fleming, PF, 6’9”, St. Joseph’s
#36 – Labaron Philon, PG/SG, 6’4” Alabama
Knueppel has been hanging around the sixth through 10th spots for much of the post-NCAA timeframe so it’s no surprise. Beringer, on the other hand, has been moving up of late, mainly do to this defense. Writes Woo:
Though likely far away from being a plus contributor in the NBA, Beringer has plenty of developmental appeal as a defensive-oriented center with fluid mobility. He’s quite raw offensively and would strongly benefit from landing on a team that can afford him patience and developmental minutes.
In general, Givony and Woo think point guard may be the top priority for Sean Marks & co.
The Nets have a void in the backcourt, depending on what they do with their first few picks, and this situation will be considered highly attractive to any of the guards slated to be picked in this range.
Bleacher Report
Also seen as an insightful duo, Sam Wasserman and Zach Buckley think that the Nets will look at a variety of types when it comes their turn throughout the two nights, but think Brooklyn will go big.
#8 – Derik Queen, C/PF , 6’10”, Maryland
#19 – Liam McNeeley, SG, 6’7”, UConn
#26 – Rasheer Fleming, PF, 6’9”, St. Joseph’s
#27 – Yaxel Lendeborg, PF/C, 6’10”, UAB
#36 – Labaron Philon, PG/SG, 6’4” Alabama
Queen is famous among Nets fans for his decision to use an image of him at HSS Training Center on his Instagram profile. There’s a lot to like as Zach Buckley writes:
Queen is a unique prospect who could really impact the game with a seldom seen blend of size, scoring, vision and feel. It’ll take the right kind of roster to first let him spread his wings and later to supplement his strengths and cover for his weaknesses. With Brooklyn being in the blank-slate stage of its roster-building, the Nets could try to slowly construct something around Queen if they don’t find any quick-fix options this offseason.
Landeborg has not yet committed to the Draft but as raw as he is, a relatively newcomer to hoops, he presents scouts with athletic skills ripe for development.
At 6’9”, 240 pounds, the versatility to attack, finish plays, pass, get second-chance points and make plays defensively should lower the bar when it comes to his shooting. And it’s still not out of the question that he can develop into a capable catch-and-shoot threat. His 25 made threes are almost twice as many as he hit last season.
Yahoo! Sports
Historically, no one has more of an exhaustive take on draft prospects than Kevin O’Connor no matter where he hangs his hat. You might even find an ancient byline of his on this website. He has a tendency to like smarter players and his best prospects for the Nets include players with notably high BBIQ, particularly passing skills.
#8 – Derik Queen, C/PF , 6’10”, Maryland
#19 – Nolan Traore, PG, 6’4”, Saint Quentin (France)
#26 – Danny Wolf, C, 7’0”, Michigan (Israel)
#27 – Ben Saraf, PG, 6’6” Ratiopharm Ulm (Israel)
#36 – Hugo Gonzalez, SF, 6’6”, Real Madrid (Spain)
At the beginning of scouting season, Nolan Traore was seen by many at a top five or six prospect . His combination of passing skills and speed held a lot of allure. But his jump to the French big leagues didn’t work out as well as expected although of late his numbers, particularly shooting, have improved.
He’s the fastest player in this draft class with acceleration like a Bugatti. He’s able to go coast-to-coast with a flash, and with NBA spacing he could thrive getting downhill in the pick-and-roll to draw defenses and activate his playmaking.
Traore isn’t just a speed demon. He keeps the ball on a string with crossovers, hesitations, and improvisation. If he’s able to develop a knockdown jumper, he could be tough to stop because of his ways to create separation. For now, he’s at his best when he’s attacking the basket to score acrobatically.
The Athletic/New York Times
Sam Vecenie lives in Australia but despite that handicap, his analysis of the NBA is voluminous and that includes the NBA Draft. Recently, he supplemented his faraway take by visiting various camps in the U.S. where prospects are working out.
#8 – Jeremiah Fears, PG, 6’4”, Oklahoma
#19 – Asa Newell, PF, 6’11” Georgia
#26 – Hugo Gonzalez, SF, 6’6”, Real Madrid (Spain)
#27 – Rasheer Fleming, PF, 6’9”, St. Joseph’s
#36 – Drake Powell, SF, 6’6”, North Carolina
Fears, who’s flashy, charismatic and smart is someone a number of Nets fans would like to see their team select although apparently so the fans of a number of other teams with higher picks. Team executives, however, are divided, as Vecenie writes.
The reality for Fears is that teams and evaluators either really love him or they don’t. He’s a very polarizing player for evaluators around the league, because you either believe in the upside of him as a primary ballhandler and think he can be a true top-tier option, or you don’t and you think he profiles more as a backup. There are genuinely scouts and executives I’ve talked to who think he’s a top-five upside bet in this draft because of his handle and creativity. Others see him more as a backup long-term and as a bet to take in the late teens or even the 20s.
Like a number of draftniks, Vecenie is also unsure about Fleming whose measurements and testing at the NBA Combine have wowed. His 7’5” wingspan is one positive as is his top combine time in the shuttle run which measures agility. Fleming also shot 39% from three at St. Joe’s. An ideal 3-and-D? Maybe, writes Vecenie.
He doesn’t yet process things happening around him on the court all that quickly and needs to keep getting experience. But any team that values looking the part as well as the potential to shoot it will definitely have interest in Fleming.
Tankathon
Well, we won’t checking this site four, five, six times a day now that the Lottery is over. But like ESPN, they had their mock up minutes after the lottery concluded, a credit to its founder Matt Hoover, a software engineer from Chicago.
#8 – Khaman Maluach, C, 7’2”, Duke (South Sudan)
#19 – Carter Bryant, SF, 6’7” Arizona
#26 – Yaxel Lendeborg, PF/C, 6’10”, UAB
#27 – Walter Clayton Jr, S6, 6’3”, Florida
#36 – Hugo Gonzalez, SF, 6’6”, Real Madrid (Spain)
Tankathon doesn’t provide much analysis but Gonzalez is someone who a number of draftniks throughout the process have linked to the Nets. Born in Madrid, Hugo joined Real Madrid’s youth team at nine years old. He quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming a part of the junior team and the reserve team in the Liga EBA during the 2022–23 season. He has a reputation for a high motor.
NBADraft.net
Aran Smith, like Jonathan Givony, has been around forever and his mock drafts while sometimes unconventional, has a wealth of data and analysis going back years and it’s free. His predictions for the Nets are predictably out of the mainstream, but that makes them interesting.
#8 – Kasparas Jakucionis PG/SG, 6’6” Illinois (Lithuania)
#19 – Nique Clifford, SG, 6’6”, Colorado State
#26 – Jase Richardson, SG/PG, 6’3” Michigan State
#27 – Noah Penda, SG/SF, 6’6” Le Mans (France)
#36 – Danny Wolf, C, 7’0”, Michigan (Israel)
Draftniks at NBADraft.net like Clifford more than most but make an argument that he is more ready than most as well.
Clifford profiles as a polished, NBA-ready wing who can contribute early as a versatile defender and pick-and-roll playmaker. Unlike many wings in his class, his value stems less from catch-and-shoot prowess and more from his ability to operate in ball screens, read defenses, and create offense as a secondary initiator. He’s a strong, fluid athlete with above-average explosiveness off one or two feet
USA Today
Our first Artificial Intelligence (AI) – authored mock draft using Microsoft’s Co-Pilot! We’ve wondered what use the Nets are making of AI, if any, considering the owner is one of the world’s leading advocates of the technology. The Nets aren’t saying.
#8 – Kon Knueppel, wing, 6’7”, Duke
Alas, USA Today only looks at the lottery in this AI experiment. Here’s what Co-Pilot says of Knueppel.
Knueppel is a high-IQ shooter who can space the floor. Brooklyn needs consistent perimeter shooting, and Knueppel fits the bill.
Meh.
SB Nation
The home team mock, by Ricky O’Donnell, advertises itself as an “instant” mock but its level of detail looks pretty deep to us.
#8 – Jeremiah Fears, PG, 6’4”, Oklahoma
#19 – Noah Penda, SG/SF, 6’6” LeMans (France)
#26 – Danny Wolf, C, 7’0” Michigan (Israel)
#27 – Ben Saraf, PG, 6’6” Ratiopharm Ulm (Israel)
SB Nation only mocks the first round.
O’Donnell is a fan of Penda’s defense.
Penda is a big wing who emerged this year as a potential first-round pick for his playmaking ability on both ends of the floor. He has fantastic defensive instincts and sharp hands (2.6 percent steal rate, 3.5 percent block rate) with an ideal frame for a pro wing at 6’8, 225 pounds, with a 7-foot wingspan. He’s a good passer and smart cutter who knows how to find his way into opportunistic scoring chances.
But he has questions about the Wolf “hype.”
I’m skeptical an NBA team is going to give Wolf so many on-ball reps, and his jump shot is still shaky for a floor spacer. He hit 33.6 percent of his threes this year, but only 59.4 percent of his free throws. Wolf could be an interesting connector if his shot comes around, but his role, decision-making, and shooting are still big questions despite some lottery hype.
The Ringer
Another historically in-depth mock, the work of Kyle Mann and Danny Chau, described as “resident player-development obsessives” by the Ringer bosses which includes Bill Simmons. As they note, the goal is to better understand the shape of basketball to come, not just to measure where they stand now.
#8 – Tre Johnson, SF, 6’6” Texas
#19 – Asa Newell, PF, 6’11” Georgia
#26 – Labaron Philon, PG/SG, 6’4” Alabama
#27 – Yaxel Lendeborg, PF/C, 6’10”, UAB
The Ringer only mocks the first round.
No. 8 seems low for Johnson whose shooting has wowed scouts. Now, at the NBA Combine, it’s his athleticism that is getting attention.
Johnson is one of the Real Hooper champions of this draft, a player sure to spawn swarms of feisty Twitter warriors huffing the fumes of the unbelievable highlight reels of him scoring in every which way. Falling down, spinning over either shoulder, hand glued to his face—it doesn’t seem to matter. Johnson is the most talented pure scorer in this class. His production as a freshman in the cold and ruthless SEC tournament was undeniably impressive.
They, like other draftniks, think it’s possible that the Longhorn offense has underutilized T.J.s talents. While Johnson seems a little low, Philon seems a little high with most draftniks seeing him a high second rounder. But in general, Mann and Chau like his energy and “hypercompetitive” nature.
Philon’s gait with the ball is a bit unorthodox, but he’s quick and attacks open space, frequently reminding me of high-processing game managers like Mike Conley or Rajon Rondo. His shot will have to evolve so that he can avoid inevitably being dared to shoot in important games, but I trust that Philon will figure out how to coexist well enough with Brooklyn’s bucket-lusting guards to become a playoff series regular.
CBS Sports
Kyle Boone is one of three draftniks CBS Sports assigns to their mock drafts. which makes things difficult for us. This time, we decided to go with Boone’s offerings. There will be times when we choose Gary Parrish or Adam Finkelstein.
#8 – Jeremiah Fears, PG, 6’4”, Oklahoma
#19 – Nolan Traore, PG, 6’5” San Quentin (France)
#26 – Noah Penda, SG/SF, 6’6” LeMans (France)
#27 – Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, 7’1” Creighton
CBS Sports only mocks the first round.
Kalkbrenner is an interesting prospect for a team with so many picks (depending of course on how they keep.) He’s been described as “Luke Kornet Deluxe” which is not a bad thing. Boone describes him this say.
With four first-round picks, it only makes sense that Brooklyn will take some swings for the future and then find others who can play immediate minutes. Kalkbrenner is the latter as a defensive quarterback and drop coverage monster whose sheer size and quality hands make him serviceable offensively in a specific niche.
How soon will be do this exercise again. As of now, we’ll wait till near the actual draft… unless of course there’s some reason, like a trade, to update things.