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The Brooklyn Nets had been expected to be one of the teams that tries its best to put itself in position to make it back to the playoffs next season. All of that changed when Brooklyn traded away Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, but the Nets should be rewarded for their commitment to their rebuild.
When the Nets traded Bridges to the Knicks on Tuesday, they also made another trade with the Houston Rockets in which they got back their own first-round pick for the 2025 NBA Draft. With Brooklyn expected to be one of the worst teams in the NBA as they’re definitely heading into a full rebuild, they should have the chance to draft Cooper Flagg, according to Adam Finkelstein and Travis Branham of CBS Sports.
It should be noted that the rules pertaining to the Draft are different in the sense that there are different tiers in which teams have specified towards getting a specific pick, which is how the Atlanta Hawks were rewards the first overall pick despite having a better record than nine other teams in the 2023-24 season. That means that while the Nets should be one of the worst teams in the league, it doesn’t mean that they’re guaranteed to be rewarded according to their record.
However, for the sake of the way-too-early 2025 NBA Draft projections, the Nets are expected to be in position to take Flagg, a player that many expect to be a generational talent after being one of the best high school players in the United States in recent memory. Here’s what Finkelstein and Branham wrote about Brooklyn selecting Flagg:
“The top-ranked prospect in the national high school class of 2024 is arguably the most anticipated college freshman since Zion Williamson. Flagg is a 6-foot-9 native of Maine who reclassified up last summer, essentially skipping a grade of high school, and wouldn’t even be eligible for next year’s draft if he were born ten days later. Instead, he enters college basketball with the early expectations of being the top overall pick. He’s an exceptional defensive player, and one of the best non-seven-foot shot-blockers I’ve ever evaluated. Offensively, he’s an exceptional passer with some point forward type potential, but the extent to which he is able and willing to step into a signature role offensively will be one variable scouts follow next year.”
The Brooklyn Nets have acquired their 2025 first round draft pick, negating a previously agreed to swap, and their first round pick in 2026, from the Houston Rockets in exchange for a 2025 first round pick swap (Houston/Oklahoma City for Phoenix), the Phoenix Suns’ 2027 first…
— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) June 26, 2024