The Brooklyn Nets are keeping their historic 2025 draft class intact for at least one more season.
On Thursday, Brooklyn exercised the third-year rookie-scale team options for Egor Dëmin, Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, and Danny Wolf. That move locks in all five players’ salaries for the 2027-28 season and gives the Nets more runway to keep developing the group they added in June 2025.
It was an expected call for a team still in rebuild mode and operating with financial flexibility. More than anything, it buys Brooklyn time. No rush, no forced decisions, just another year to see what these young players can become.
The Nets made NBA history in that 2025 draft by becoming the first team to take five players in the first round of a single draft. Dëmin came off the board at No. 8, followed by Traoré at No.
19, Powell at No. 22, Saraf at No. 26, and Wolf at No.
The five third-year options add up to approximately $21.7 million, a manageable number for a team trying to build around youth while keeping its books flexible.
Dëmin and Traoré have been the two most visible pieces at the NBA level so far. Dëmin started 45 of his 52 games as a rookie and posted 10.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. He also hit 38.5% of his shots from 3-point range, giving Brooklyn a young perimeter threat to work with.
The BYU product has kept a starting role this season, though he’ll be sidelined for now after suffering a right leg bone bruise against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Brooklyn said Thursday that he will be reevaluated in one week.
Traoré’s rookie year offered plenty to like as well. He averaged 8.9 points and a team-high 3.8 assists over 56 games, and he has already picked up more chances this season, including his first start of 2026-27.
Powell, Saraf, and Wolf have taken different routes through their first year in Brooklyn. Powell played in 63 games as a rookie and averaged 6.5 points and 1.8 rebounds while carving out a reputation as a promising defender. Saraf put up 7.5 points and 3.3 assists in 44 appearances, and Wolf finished with 8.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 57 games.
Each of them has also spent time with the Long Island Nets while adjusting to the NBA game.
There’s still plenty to sort out with this group. None of the five made an All-Rookie team after their first professional season, but Brooklyn is clearly willing to let the evaluation process breathe.
The next checkpoint comes a year from now, when the Nets will have to decide on the players’ fourth-year options for the 2028-29 season. That deadline is November 1, 2027.
For now, Brooklyn has made its position clear: the organization is not ready to move on from this draft class, and it’s giving all five players more time to prove they belong in the long-term picture.
In Other News...
Nets Young Core Ran Into The Same Frustrating Problem Again
Chaney Johnson got the start in place of Egor Dmin on Friday night, a change forced by the bone bruise that has sidelined Dmin and left Brooklyn shuffling its young lineup again. The Nets actually grabbed an early lead against Detroit, but the familiar issues followed soon after, with the offense bogging down and the shots not falling as the game wore on.
Brooklyns problems only deepened in the third quarter, when the Pistons started to separate and the Nets found themselves chasing a game that had gotten away from them. By the time the fourth quarter arrived, the bench group was getting extended run for Mikel Brown Jr., Danny Wolf and Drake Powell, another reminder that this still-developing roster is trying to find answers while searching for its first win of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Backcourt Shakeup Just Put One Rotation Battle In Focus
Jordi Fernandez is already reshuffling the Brooklyn backcourt three games into the season, and the move has quickly turned one of the rosters early questions into a live rotation battle. Nolan Traore got the nod in place of Keon Ellis and responded with a promising first start, finishing with 15 points and three assists before cramps forced him out of the game.
The bigger wrinkle is the health of Egor Demin, who had handled the point guard spot through the first three games before being sidelined. Chaney Johnson is set to start against the Detroit Pistons in his place, leaving Brooklyn to sort out both the short-term lineup and the longer-term fit in a backcourt that already looks unsettled. [Read more 🡒]
Nets Rotation Problem Is Putting Moritz Wagner Under Real Pressure
Moritz Wagner has given the Nets some useful scoring pop off the bench, averaging 10.3 points per game, but the fit has been far less tidy on the other end. Brooklyns defensive numbers have taken a hit with him on the floor, and the issue goes beyond one rough stretch. Wagner is more comfortable stepping out to defend the perimeter than anchoring the paint, which leaves coach Jordi Fernndez trying to balance a skill set the team can use against the interior resistance it still needs.
The problem is made trickier by the roster around him. Brooklyn does not have a deep pool of backup center answers, and the sample size is still small enough that the staff has to decide how much weight to put on early returns. Fernndez also has to factor in Wagners contract, which makes any rotation adjustment more than a simple short-term tweak, and the next stretch could say a lot about how long the Nets keep leaning on him in that role. [Read more 🡒]