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The Brooklyn Nets made NBA Draft history Wednesday night, becoming the first team to use five first-round picks in a single draft. But the bold move has left ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and others stunned by the organization’s decision not to pursue trades with the asset-rich hand they held.
Entering the first night of the 2025 NBA Draft with five selections, the Nets had been positioned to pursue high-level trades or package picks for veteran talent. Instead, they stood pat and used all five picks, a strategy that caught the attention — and confusion — of analysts across the league.
“I have to say it’s such an outlandish thing to do, to draft five first round picks and keep all of them that I don’t even know how to react,” Windhorst said during ESPN’s The Hoop Collective podcast, where he appeared alongside fellow reporters Tim Bontemps and Tim MacMahon.
The Nets selected Egor Demin (G, BYU) at No. 8, Nolan Traore (G, France) at No. 19, Drake Powell (F, North Carolina) at No. 22, Ben Saraf (G, Israel) at No. 26, and Danny Wolf (F, Michigan) at No. 27. Despite speculation the franchise would look to consolidate their draft capital, general manager Sean Marks and head coach Jordi Fernandez appeared content with a full slate of rookies.
Windhorst calls Nets’ draft strategy “outlandish” as Bontemps expects all picks to play
MacMahon quipped about the implications of the influx of youth, saying, “I’ll just tell you this, you’re not going to want to see the Long Island Nets in the G-League next year.”
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While Windhorst seemed baffled by the move, Bontemps took a more practical view.
“I think all of those guys are going to be playing for the Brooklyn Nets because… Ben Saraf, I guess he might stay over, but they had a roster that was pretty devoid of long-term pieces anyway,” Bontemps said. “I suspect they’re all going to be playing for Jordi Fernandez and the Nets next season.”
Windhorst concluded the discussion by emphasizing just how rare and unpredictable the move is for a franchise at a crossroads.
“And maybe two of them will turn out to be All-Star, I don’t know,” he said. “This strategy is so unusual I don’t even know what to make of it. Maybe it’s mad genius, maybe it’s insane like I don’t know.”
Brooklyn, which finished 26–56 and 12th in the Eastern Conference last season, appears to be taking a long-term development approach under its new head coach. The five rookies selected Wednesday add to a young core still searching for identity following the departure of several veteran contributors in recent seasons.
The Nets still hold the No. 36 pick heading into the second round of the draft, which continues Thursday night at Barclays Center. Coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.
