Fernández participated in a celebration of Catalonia’s most revered holiday on Wednesday, so I showed up and ruined the vibe by asking about the upcoming NBA Draft.
The Brooklyn Nets are nearing the critical point of their 2024-25 season.
No, not the ongoing NBA Playoffs, but the NBA Draft Lottery, which will take place on May 12. Once the ping-pong balls are drawn, the placement of all five picks Brooklyn has in the 2025 draft will be set.
More important than picks #19, #26, #27, and #3, they have the sixth-best lottery odds, meaning a sub-40% chance to jump into the top-four and above a 60% chance to picks 6 through 9…
Earlier Thursday, Jonathan Givony of ESPN posted his “big board,” not a mock draft per se but his sense of the top 100 players available. He had Texas wing Tre Jones at No. 6, followed by Michigan big Danny Wolf at No. 19; followed by forwards Adou Thiero of Arkansas and Yaxel Lendeborg of UAB at Nos. 26 and 27 and finally, Spanish point guard Sergio De Larrea at No. 36.
By now, much of Nets World has memorized every table and mock drafts by heart, but I didn’t get that vibe from the students of P.S. 001 on Wednesday morning…
At P.S. 001 in Brooklyn with Jordi Fernández and his family, who are helping students celebrate Catalonia’s Day of Books and Roses: pic.twitter.com/f0LSgk9cpM
— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) April 23, 2025
There, Jordi Fernández and his family were helping the students celebrate a hallowed date in his home region of Catalonia, April 23rd.
Bona Diada de Sant Jordi
Today, Head Coach Jordi Fernández and his family visited P.S. 1 in Brooklyn to share a beloved Catalan tradition with the next generation.
A thread ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/cSx5JOWFCy
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) April 23, 2025
As Brooklyn’s head coach explained to a room full of antsy elementary schoolers, Saint George’s Day — fittingly known as Sant Jordi’s Day in his native tongue — celebrates the patron saint of Catalonia.
“It’s love and culture and knowledge,” Fernández explained. “And I think that if you guys haven’t been to Barcelona, or anywhere in Catalonia, on April 23 you guys should go. It’s a beautiful day. The streets are gorgeous, and everybody’s outside.”
So, in the spirit of exchanging knowledge, Fernández was asked to reveal any he had about Brooklyn’s upcoming draft plans, from desirable attributes in prospects, to his role in the process, to his belief that Brooklyn may actually use all five of these picks.
“Obviously, this is my first time as a head coach going through this process, so it’s going to be nothing like what I’ve done before. I think, Sean [Marks] always talks about collaboration, and that’s what I’m ready for. I’m ready to help and do whatever I can to give my opinion.”
However, Fernández didn’t give much on what those opinions might be. When asked what attributes he might value in a young player, he went back to that same well Brooklyn’s been going to all year: “I’m going back to what our identity is, right. We want to create a competitive group, so a player that players that will show competitiveness, players that can accept the role and not just accept it, but embrace it.”
One question looms large: How many young players can the Nets develop at once? Though they’ll likely continue to churn through the bottom of the roster, uncovering as many rocks as possible in the hopes of finding a gem in a player like Maxwell Lewis or Drew Timme, incoming rookies will need stability. So too might Noah Clowney and, with an improved summer, Dariq Whitehead.
“Yeah, it’s a good question, probably a question more for Sean than it is for me. I’ll be ready to coach whatever group we put together. And the coaches, as we always try to do, will help them get better and show them the way and the habits.”
In this way, Jordi Fernández is in the same position as all Nets fans: waiting. Brooklyn’s first choice in the draft will be pretty easy if they end up in the top-2, which has a 18.2% chance of happening. Cooper Flagg will be the #1 pick unless he loses a limb between now and June, and though Dylan Harper isn’t as firmly entrenched as the #2 overall prospect, it’d be an epic upset if he doesn’t go in the second spot.
In the overwhelming likelihood that Brooklyn is picking anywhere else, there’ll be endless debate. And unlike the rest of us, Sean Marks will have to take Fernández’s opinion into account.
That’s probably for the best.
- Nets, Jordi Fernandez keeping NBA draft strategy close to the vest – Brian Lewis – New York Post
- A guide to celebrating Sant Jordi: the day of books, roses, and love – Unexpected Catalonia