The Brooklyn Nets have four first-round picks to use in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and that fact alone gives them the chance to come away with plenty of talent. Brooklyn’s first pick in the Draft is eighth overall and while that wasn’t the outcome they were hoping for, there are still viable players to take at that spot, including a big man with considerable upside.
In his latest mock draft for HoopsHype, Cyro Asseo de Choch projected the Nets to take Duke center Khaman Maluach with the eighth overall pick in the Draft. This listing is interesting given that most mock drafts throughout the offseason have had Maluach coming off the board prior to the No. 8 pick, but it is possible that Maluach could fall during the Draft.
“Khaman Maluach is a modern rim protector with a 7-6 wingspan and flashes of perimeter mobility,” Asseo de Choch wrote when discussing Maluach. “Brooklyn may eye Maluach as a long-term center (to allow them to move off Nic Claxton), with several scouts believing he could go as high as No. 5 if a team bets on his upside.”
Maluach seems like one of the players that could move up or down the board in a major way given that Asseo De Choch noted that Maluach’s highest ranking is fourth overall while his lowest ranking is 13th overall. Maluach, 18, is coming off a 2024-25 season in which he averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 71.2% from the field and 76.6% from three-point land.
While playing alongside fellow first-round teammates in Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, Maluach showed his ability to control the paint and protect the rim with what seems like a skillset that will translate to the next level. “Patience required, but the tools are obvious, an Eastern Conference scout said,” Asseo De Choch wrote, indicating that Maluach may be more of a project than a player who can contribute right away.