Summer of Our Lives: NetsDaily Off-Season Reporters Roundtable, Part 1.

It’s going to be busy summer and just as we offer regular season predictions, we’re all going out on a limb to look at the off-season.

Every year, we post our preseason Reporters Roundtable, with in-depth discussion of what we think about the coming year. from the win-loss record to who’ll be the big surprise as well as the biggest disappointment. In case you missed it, here’s our preseason thoughts from back in October. Bottom line: none of us had the Nets winning more than 23 games.

With so much dependent on this summer, we decided to do an OFF-Season Reporters Roundtable as well featuring NI, Pooch, Brian, Lucas and Collin. We’re dividing the roundtable in two. Today’s predictions will focus on the Draft while tomorrow’s will deal with free agency.

If you’re looking for consensus takes, here’s a few: We believe the Nets will pick at No. 3; Ace Bailey will fall; Khaman Maluach will rise and the Nets will use less than five picks.

Enjoy.

1) Where do you think the Nets will pick in Monday’s lottery? Take a guess.

Net Income: No. 3. Then, let the debate begin! Will the Nets take Ace Bailey, who’s been locked into the third spot all season, but has shown some slippage of late; V.J. Edgecombe who may the most athletic player in the Draft; or Khaman Maluach who has been showing up some surprising skills in workouts to go with his physical tools.

Anthony Puccio: Third overall. It’s 2010 all over again.

Brian Fleurantin: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say they get number one! Dare to dream, right?

Lucas Kaplan: I really want to practice radical optimism and say first overall, but I’ll go with eighth and Phoenix (Houston) ninth, because it would be funniest.

Collin Helwig: Three. Some luck (finally) for this team…but not enough to make it an easy pick for Sean. That feels about right.

2) How many of the Nets five picks — four firsts and a second — will the team actually use on June 25-26? State your rationale either way.

NI: I’m going against the grain and saying all of them I know the arguments against it, led by the difficulty in developing five rookies as well as two 21-year-olds in Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead. Why? It’s a deep draft and Brooklyn could use the talent.

AP: I’m going to say three. Two will be bundled to either move up or get a future 1st-rounder.

BF: I think they’ll use three of their picks. They’ll use their pick at the top of the lottery, the Bucks pick in the middle of the Draft, and then package their last three picks at the end to possibly move up.

LK: Three. It’s not the NFL; it’s hard to package two to move up. I’d say they punt a couple into the following year(s).

CH: My gut tells me they take three guys one way or another. I’d bet they package one or two picks for extra or higher value ones in 2026 too. Without any big name free agents available and the team clearly not ready to contend, why not collectively kick the can down another year since the tank was somewhat botched anyway? There’s another loaded draft waiting for us next summer if we’re patient enough for it.

3) Assume the Nets get a top four pick in the Lottery, how would you rank the top four?

NI: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe, Khaman Maluach. I think Ace Bailey drops on Draft Night.

AP: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe, Jeremiah Fears.

BF: Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, V.J. Edgecombe, Tre Johnson.

LK: Not doing real research until I know where they’re picking but, *very loosely* Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Derik Queen and Noa Essengue

CH: Cooper Flagg. Dylan Harper. V.J. Edgecombe. Ace Bailey.

4) Assuming the Nets don’t get a top four pick, who do you like for the lottery pick? Name a sleeper you like either in the lottery or later.

NI: Jeremiah Fears. He’s young, smart, talented and charismatic. Later in the first, if they keep the picks, I like Nolan Traore, who had a rough start in France that caused him to drop in mocks, but he finished strong.

AP: I think Jeremiah Fears is a sleeper in a draft filled with promising talent. Still young and needs time, but he’s a big guard that can create his own shot and make for a fun, young backcourt with Cam Thomas. Needs to work on that 3 ball in Jordi’s system, though. Maluach if they fall 7-10.

BF: For the lottery, Derik Queen would be a great pick if they don’t land in the top four. The Nets have had tons of success developing bigs in recent years, and if they were to select Queen, they would have even more size in the frontcourt. It could also open up some possibilities in the trade market for teams that need frontcourt help.

For a pick later in the Draft, I’ve watched some clips of Nolan Traore and think he’d be a great pickup for the Nets later in the Draft. At the mothership, he’s mocked to the Nets at pick 19, and I’d be happy if they got him there. He’ll be 19 when the season begins and having a young guard with a lot of potential would help with the rebuild.

LK: Noa Essengue, the French PF, will be there after top-4 probably, so he could qualify as a sleeper. I know smart people that have Collin Murray-Boyles top 5. Ryan Kalkbrenner seems like an obvious valuable big for many years that’ll be available at #19.

CH: I’ve long been a fan of Maluach, though I’m not sure he qualifies as a sleeper anymore, even after that title game performance. I’d be thrilled if they got Nique Clifford with one of the later picks though. He’s a two-way forward with an above average 3-point efficiency. That checks the two big Jordi Fernández boxes. He can even hold his own as a ball-handler.

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We also asked who should rep the Brooklyn Nets in Chicago, but on Friday, the team announced that it would be Jordi Fernandez, an excellent choice.

For the record: here’s who the guys liked: Clara Wu Tsai, Joe Tsai, Ian Eagle, Vince Carter, and Mr. Whammy. No one picked Jordi.