Stay at No. 6, trade up or chase a star: Nets still have paths after lottery miss
· Yahoo Sports
NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets left Sunday’s NBA draft lottery with the No. 6 pick, not the franchise-changing prize fans had hoped for after two seasons near the bottom of the standings.
It hurt, as it should’ve. But it didn’t leave them without options.
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They can keep the pick, explore what it’d cost to move up the board, or see whether the latest disappointment pushes them deeper into the star market. None offers the excitement No. 1 would’ve provided.
Brooklyn entered the lottery with top-four odds and left with No. 6, one year after its own pick fell to No. 8 and two years after the 2024 pick it owed the Houston Rockets jumped from ninth-best odds to No. 3. For a franchise already scarred by pick debt, failed eras and lottery cruelty, Sunday landed like another gut punch.
The first option is staying put. It’s the least dramatic choice and, right now, probably the toughest sell. No. 6 isn’t franchise salvation. It likely means choosing from prospects who require more projection than the players Brooklyn hoped would be available. Still, No. 6 gives the Nets a chance to add another creator to a young roster that still needs more skill and structure.
Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr., whom ESPN’s latest mock draft has going to Brooklyn at No. 6, averaged 23.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists on 60% true shooting. His production points to the on-ball juice Brooklyn lacks, and his wingspan came in better than expected, according to reports circulating after measurements.
Louisville’s Mikel Brown Jr. averaged 18.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists on 58% true shooting, with good length and added weight helping his case. He carries more risk, but his creation upside can tempt a team sitting just outside the top of the draft.
Illinois’ Keaton Wagler averaged 17.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists on 60% true shooting, and his shorter-than-hoped wingspan shouldn’t remove him from serious consideration. Houston’s Kingston Flemings averaged 16.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 56% true shooting, but his measurements make him tougher to justify in the top 10.
General manager Sean Marks has often valued positional size, two-way versatility, creation, character and basketball IQ. Head coach Jordi Fernández wants competitiveness, unselfishness, ball pressure, defensive versatility, 3-point shooting and ball movement. That gives Brooklyn a framework. The Nets don’t need the flashiest workout clip. They need the right fit.
If the Nets stay at No. 6, the pick must serve a purpose beyond adding another young player to the mix. They already have several young players who need minutes, reps and patience. Another rookie helps only if Brooklyn knows what role he can grow into under Fernández.
Brooklyn also owns the No. 33 and No. 43 picks, where ESPN projected Tounde Yessoufou and Malachi Moreno. Those picks don’t carry the weight of No. 6, but they give the Nets more ways to add talent, package selections or create flexibility.
The second option is trading up. The Nets should explore it, not because Sunday should push them toward the first expensive deal on the board, but because this is why they collected assets. Picks have value because they become players or help acquire one.
According to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel, the Nets and Utah Jazz are expected to hold trade talks with the Washington Wizards about the No. 1 pick. Siegel reported that Washington is expected to keep the pick and take AJ Dybantsa, but the Wizards will hear out all offers.
That doesn’t mean Brooklyn should pay any price. It means Marks has to know what Washington wants and whether the jump from No. 6 to No. 1 justifies the cost. If the Nets believe Dybantsa changes the ceiling of the rebuild, the asset base exists for that conversation. If the price strips away too much future flexibility, discipline has to win.
The third option is the star market, and it requires even more restraint. If a true franchise player becomes available, Brooklyn has to join the conversation. That’s different from talking itself into the wrong star because Sunday hurt. The temptation makes sense. The Nets don’t control their 2027 first-round pick because it belongs to Houston. The fan base is exhausted. Barclays Center needs a reason to feel alive again. Another long season built only around development will be hard to sell.
But urgency can’t become recklessness. The Nets know what star chasing can bring when it works, and they know what it costs when it falls apart. Marks built a roster and asset base attractive enough to land Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then had enough to trade for James Harden. When that era collapsed, he turned Durant and Irving into strong returns, then turned Mikal Bridges into five first-round picks and a swap.
That history is complicated. So is Marks’ tenure. In more than 10 seasons as GM, the Nets are 347-481 with five playoff appearances, four first-round exits, two playoff sweeps, and two lottery picks. That record speaks for itself, but Brooklyn’s asset base still gives the front office options.
That’s the balance the Nets must strike. They can’t sell fans on patience alone, and they can’t let frustration push them into a deal that only looks bold on the day it happens. The 2027 pick adds pressure because Houston owns it, giving Brooklyn no incentive to bottom out again next season. But if the Nets use that as a reason to bury their young players, they make the last two seasons look even more wasteful.
The Nets can add veterans and probably should. The roster needs more experienced hands, better spacing, and more functional lineups. Fernández needs a group that can compete without turning every night into a developmental experiment. Young players need structure around them, not just minutes handed out because of a poor record. Veterans can help provide it, as long as they don’t swallow what Brooklyn is trying to build.
That’s where the Knicks comparison has value, even if Nets fans might hate it this week. The Knicks didn’t become a conference finalist by landing one savior at the top of the draft. They absorbed lottery disappointment, built a more competent team under Tom Thibodeau, added veterans such as Julius Randle, Alec Burks, Nerlens Noel and Derrick Rose, and stayed flexible enough to eventually find Jalen Brunson.
Now Brunson’s Knicks are headed to consecutive Eastern Conference finals, something only three Knicks teams have done in the last 50 years. Brooklyn isn’t the Knicks, and the situations differ. But the lesson still applies: raise the floor, protect the future, build habits and stay ready for the right star.
That may be Brooklyn’s best route if the price to move up runs too high and the star market doesn’t produce the right player: Use No. 6 wisely. Find out what No. 1 costs. Find out what Michael Porter Jr. is worth. Add veterans who raise the team’s competence without burying young players. Keep developing the pieces already in the building. Stay aggressive without becoming desperate.
Brooklyn left Chicago with a harder offseason than it wanted. Its next step depends on how well it uses No. 6, its future picks, and the flexibility it spent the last year restoring.
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