Brooklyn Nets fans, the day has come. Draft day is here!
The number of the picks — Nos. 6, 28 and 43 after the Julius Randle trade pales when compared to 118, the total losses over two years of tanking that have led the Nets to this day. While they didn’t earn as high of a pick as they were hoping for during the lottery, falling to No. 6 overall.
However, the overall strength of this year’s draft class softens the blow of the lottery disappointment.
Regardless, the day that Nets fans have been waiting
for, frankly, since the beginning of the season, is officially here.
Here is a look at the key items Brooklyn fans should be monitoring in the lead-up to the draft and that includes rumors of not just the Draft but trades as well..
First rumor first
Before we get to where the Nets stand on the Draft, which begins at 8:00 p.m. ET, there was a big trade rumor emerging on Tuesday, possible Nets interest in Trey Murphy, the Pelicans forward who is reportedly unhappy in New Orleans and may be on the move.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported Tuesday on the Bay Area’s KNBR 680’s “Murph & Markus” that Brooklyn is in the front rank of what is likely a long line of teams interested in the 26-year-old who averaged 21.5 points last season.
“There is definitely a bunch of Trey Murphy noise,” Amick said. “It seems pretty clear that he has also signaled a desire to play elsewhere. The market is going to be pretty robust. On the Warriors’ side, my understanding was they did not see themselves as being in the mix.
“[The] Brooklyn [Nets] and the [Los Angeles] Clippers were mentioned as teams that were out front in that race, but I think the list is very long. I think that Detroit comes to mind. [With] Boston, actually, Trey is seen as a potential plan B for them if they miss out on Giannis, which they obviously did. So, Trey is going to have a lot of suitors, and I think that could be a draft-night deal.”
The Pels are reportedly interested in picks in the 2026 Draft. The Nets currently have two, at Nos 6 and 28.
Where do the Nets stand at No. 6?
The Nets have explored every route when it comes to the No. 6 overall pick, including a potential trade-up into the top four, as Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reported. A trade down is also in play, but sticking and picking appears to be the most likely route.
As we reported, Tennessee’s Nate Ament and Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. are the two favorites to be selected by Brooklyn at No. 6 and it appears, at least from the final mock drafts crossing the internet that Brown is easily the consensus pick.
ESPN, The Athletic, Clutch Points, SB Nation and NBADraft.net all had Brown at No. 1 in their final mocks. Tankathon and Bleacher Report are the exceptions, Tankathon putting Darius Acuff in black-and-white, Bleacher Report Keaton Wagler.
A league source also told us, “Everyone around the league seems to think Brown Jr. will be the pick at No. 6.”
While the final order at the top remains undetermined, it is widely expected that AJ Dybantsa (Wizards), Darryn Peterson (Jazz), Cameron Boozer (Grizzlies), Caleb Wilson (Bulls), and Keaton Wagler (Clippers) will be the first five prospects off the board, the top four pretty much set, it appears.
In the rare case that the Clippers take Brown or another prospect at No. 5 and they select Brown Jr. or another prospect, the Illinois prospect could emerge as a prime target for Brooklyn, according to one source. In that situation, Nate Ament may be part of the mix.
With the Nets and Timberwolves swapping picks as part of the Randle deal, the Nets will pick 28th. There too there’s a consensus. Jayden Quaintance, the 6’11” Kentucky center, is the choice of The Athletic, Clutch Points, NBADraft.net and Bleacher Report. ESPN likes Joshua Jefferson, the 6’9″ point forward from Iowa State who had various mocks had penciled in for the Nets when they had the 33rd pick. Tankathon likes Maleek Thomas, Acuff’s 6’3″ running mate from Arkansas.
At No. 43, the mocks are all over the place and to be fair, whoever’s taken is likely to wind up on Long Island as a two-way. A couple like Trevon Brazile, Arkansas’s 6’10” power forward.
Randle happy with trade, reports Mike Scotto
In his pre-Draft round-up, Mike Scotto reports that Julius Randle is excited to be returning to New York where he had his best years with the Knicks.
Julius Randle is excited to join the Nets and wants to be in Brooklyn, league sources told HoopsHype. After coming to New York amid a rebuilding situation, Randle evolved into a three-time All-Star and two-time All-NBA forward who helped the crosstown rival Knicks reach consecutive Eastern Conference Semifinals appearances before being dealt to Minnesota as part of the Karl-Anthony Towns trade. Randle is owed $33.33 million for the upcoming season and has a $35.80 million player option for the 2027-28 season.
That was also evident from his wife Kendra’s Instagram account…
More importantly, Kyden Randle, Julius and Kendra’s young son, has made peace with the Nets. He famously was caught crying following a Knicks loss to the Nets back in April 2021, telling his mother that he “hated” the Nets.
Then last night, following the trade, his mom posted an update of the now older and presumably wiser Kyden…
Can the Nets move up again?
Both Erik Slater of Clutch Points and Ary of the Consensus report that the Nets are interested in moving up again after their exchange of picks last night in the Randle/Claxton trade, jumping from No. 33 at the top of the second to No. 28 at the end of the second. Wrote Slater:
After acquiring Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick for Nic Claxton and No. 33 on Monday, they could have another trade up their sleeve. The Nets have been exploring ways to acquire another top-20 pick, league sources told ClutchPoints.
Ary tweeted something similar.
Neither indicated if Brooklyn is trying to parlay the No. 28 pick into a higher pick or trying to add a third pick, although it seems the former might be more likely. The Nets already have their development hands full with nine players 23 or under currently on the roster.
As Slater noted, the Nets have worked out a number of prospects slated to go between the end of the lottery and No. 20..
Brooklyn has shown interest in several mid-round prospects, including Nate Ament, Karim Lopez, Morez Johnson Jr. and Chris Cenac Jr.
Could Nets sneak into an expanded Giannis deal?
In the days leading up to the draft, all eyes were on Giannis Antetokounmpo. traded last night from Milwauee to Miami for a number of assets and players led by Tyler Herro. No, the Nets will not be landing Antetokounmpo, . However, they can help facilitate the trade which won’t official
That is where the Nets can jump in, as the facilitators of the deal. As Shams Charania reported in announcing the trade, it’s currently one on one, but as in other big deals, the structure can trade as it did last year when Kevin Durant was traded from the Suns to the Rockets. It went from two teams to seven including the Nets whose trade of their 2025 second rounder to Phoenix was folded into the deal…
Due to their abundance of cap space, Brooklyn profiles as the perfect team to assist in blockbuster moves. We saw it happen the night before last year’s draft as the Nets acquired a first-round pick, which amounted to Drake Powell, in the Kristaps Porziņģis trade to take on Terance Mann’s salary from the Los Angeles Clippers.
As a source told us, the Nets could certainly get involved in a big trade around Draft day that would involve multiple veterans. The Antetokounmpo trade is an example of just that.
Stay tuned. We’ll be airing the Brooklyn Boys podcast starting at 7:00 p.m. ET and going through the end of the first round.
