The 2025 NBA Draft is officially two months away and for Nets fans, this is without a doubt the most exciting yet stressful draft in over a decade. With high expectations and underwhelming odds, the Brooklyn Nets hold the 6th overall pick odds, a pick that hasn’t jumped into the top five in six consecutive drafts. For Nets fans no matter what, selecting its first lottery pick since moving to Brooklyn will be unforgettable but the pro-tanking Nets fans could see some disappointment if the pick fails to jump into the top three.

Brooklyn has some obvious holes to fill. Of course, the consensus number one overall prospect Cooper Flagg is the golden ticket to Brooklyn’s rebuild but with the odds stacked against this reality, how can Nets general manager Sean Marks land the main positional needs with upside that will set Brooklyn up for next year’s generational wing heavy draft?

The gameplan should be simple, high upside starting point guard, back up big or future starting caliber center and rotational wings as the main focal points. The 2025 draft class is very underwhelming when it comes to high upside potential stars at the wing position. Outside of Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Rutger’s Ace Bailey, the upside for wings likely only reaches high caliber role players. With that in mind, Brooklyn’s draft board should likely focus on players such as Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears, Duke big man Khaman Maluach, Maryland big man Derik Queen and in a perfect world where Brooklyn’s pick jumps to 2nd overall, Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper. Of course, there are other prospects Brooklyn could look into such as Baylor shooting guard VJ Edgecomb and Duke wing Kon Knueppel. For Nets fans, Edgecomb and Knueppel could be seen as non-ideal fits or underwhelming in terms of upside. As a fan who studies the game on a daily basis, one may say at an unhealthy rate, it seems obvious the ideal prospect if Brooklyn fails to land one of the three most coveted draftees in Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper or Ace Bailey that Jeremiah Fears is exactly what Brooklyn needs. At 6’4, the shifty and explosive Oklahoma point guard may be one of the highest upside prospects in this year’s draft. Still just 18 years old, Fears reclassified into this year’s draft class meaning he was supposed to be a senior in high school this past season.

In the hypothetical world Brooklyn selects Jeremiah Fears with their first pick in the 2025 Draft, the Nets could then pivot to potentially trading up for a high upside two-way wing in Arizona’s Carter Bryant or wait to select at nineteen via the Milwaukee Bucks with eyes set on players such as Georgetown big man Thomas Sorber or St. Joe’s stretch power forward Rasheer Fleming. Sorber, who is a New Jersey native, would provide Brooklyn with the two-way big man the Nets have lacked since Brook Lopez. The 6’10 center showed flashes of elite defensive abilities within the paint while also showcasing dominate post scoring ability and a mid-range jumper that improved throughout the season.

For Brooklyn, the biggest question mark still seems to be if Nets general manager Sean Marks will be aggressive in making trade ups. In prior seasons, it had been rumored Brooklyn would look to move up by using players such as Royce O’Neale, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith yet have still not made a move within the first round. This year, Marks will be put to the test as drafting potentially five rookies may be an unfavorable move for Brooklyn, especially when these prospects are due for rookie extensions. Instead, the Nets should look into a multitude of different trade up scenarios.

Scenario 1: Brooklyn could select its top nine pick, pick 19 and make the attempt to package two of its later picks (26, 27 and 36) to move up for a more ideal prospect around the 17-22 range. This would allow Brooklyn to draft four rookies, three of which could be ideal developmental pieces for Brooklyn’s long-term future.

Scenario 2: Brooklyn selects its top nine pick, packages the 19th overall pick and one of picks 26, 27 or 36 to move up into the late lottery or just outside the lottery. This would allow Brooklyn to look into players such as Carter Bryant, Nolan Traore, Asa Newell and Collin Murray-Boyles.

Scenario 3: Brooklyn selects its top nine pick, packages Cam Johnson and one of picks 26 or 27 to move into the late lottery or just outside the lottery. Some rumored potential draft night trade suitors for Cam Johnson could consist of the San Antonio Spurs (pick 14), the Oklahoma City Thunder (pick 15) or the Orlando Magic (pick 16). With this potential scenario, Brooklyn would be able to select three top 19 prospects and a second-round prospect.

For my draft guru’s, let’s look closer into scenario three. If Brooklyn is able or more so willing to move Cam Johnson, an ideal trade package could consist of Johnson and pick 27 to the Spurs for one of Keldon Johnson or Harrison Barnes and the 14th overall pick. With this scenario, Brooklyn would still have five total draft picks which could allow for Brooklyn to trade the 26th overall pick for a future first round pick. Below is a mock draft based on this scenario which can give Nets fans some excitement as we begin the road to draft night.

2025 NBA Mock Draft Idea Based on Scenario 3:

6th Overall Pick: Jeremiah Fears (Point Guard | Oklahoma)

14th Overall Pick: Carter Bryant (Forward | Arizona)

19th Overall Pick: Thomas Sorber (Center | Georgetown)

36th Overall Pick: Drake Powell (SF/SG | UNC)

(Brooklyn trades the 26th overall pick plus multiple future second round picks for an unprotected 2026 or 2030 first round pick).

As always, Nets fans will walk into this off-season with questions and concerns but this year, we finally get to feel some hope as long as Sean Marks stays the course and follows through with the direction this organization desperately needs.