The Brooklyn Nets are past the busy stretch of their offseason, with the 2026 NBA Draft, summer league, and free agency all behind them as they turn toward the 2026-27 season. That leaves the focus on what comes next for a rebuild that is still in its early stages, and right now, the conversation around Brooklyn’s 2025 draft class is not exactly glowing.
John Hollinger of The Athletic was blunt in his assessment of the group. “The Nets had five first-round picks in 2025.
With the exception of the outstanding Egor Demin, the Nets look as if they whiffed on this entire group,” Hollinger wrote. Demin drew plenty of positive attention for his play this summer, but the rest of the class had a much shakier showing in the California Classic and Las Vegas Summer League.
Hollinger also pointed to the health issue that kept French guard Nolan Traore out of the action. “French guard Nolan Traore, who struggled mightily as a rookie (7.9 PER, -6.8 BPM), at least saved himself from further scrutiny by missing summer league with a knee injury,” Hollinger continued. “The same can’t be said for Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf and Drake Powell.”
Brooklyn’s 2025 draft was a major investment, with five first-round selections led by Demin, who had already faced questions before delivering a solid rookie season. Traore had a scope on his right knee and did not play in summer league, which left Powell, Saraf, and Wolf with the chance to show how much progress they had made since the 2025-26 campaign ended.
Wolf showed enough to suggest he can be a serviceable rotation player, both last season and during summer league this summer. Saraf and Powell, though, had plenty of rough patches, especially when it came to shotmaking.
For the Nets, the hope is that at least one more player from that 2025 class can step forward next season. For now, the work is still very much ahead of them.
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