The first thing to understand about mock drafts, particularly those two plus months out. is that they\u2019re entertainment. The most important mocks are the internal ones, each a state secret not privy to public examination. And the mocks, both the internal and external, change the closer we get to June 25-26, with some moving during the two-round draft! The top picks are pretty easy to predict. After about No. 7, it\u2019s educated guesswork with some mocks better than others.<\/p>\n
However…<\/p>\n
In the first post-Final Four round-up of mock drafts, 12 of them, draftniks think the Brooklyn Nets<\/a> will wind up with at least one point guard, maybe two, and three of them are predicting that Jeremiah Fears, the 6\u20194\u2019 Oklahoma point guard, will be wearing a black-and-white cap at end of the night.<\/p>\n After Fears, three prospects often linked to the Nets in previous mocks get two votes each at No. 6: Khaman Maluach, the Duke big; his Duke teammate and wing Kon Knueppel; and Tre Johnson of Texas, another sharpshooter.<\/p>\n Overall, five mocks have the Nets taking Nolan Traore, a 6\u20194\u201d point from France when the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a> pick comes up at No. 18… and the Nets start to reap the rewards of their trade with the New York Knicks<\/a> which won them seven picks: five firsts, a first round pick swap and a second. That\u2019s the most mentions of any prospect.<\/p>\n In addition to Fears and Traore, draftniks have Brooklyn looking at a number of other point guards, most prominently the big Israeli PG Ben Saraf who plays for Ratiopharm in Germany. He\u2019s linked to the Nets in three mocks. Kasparas Jakicionis of Illinois and Lithuania, Milos Uzan of Houston, Boogie Fland of Arkansas and Sergio De Larrea of Spain all get one draftnik vote.<\/p>\n The player tied with the most mentions after Traore is a 6\u20198\u201d power forward from Pennsauken, N.J. and UAB, Yaxel Lendeborg, one of the draft\u2019s risers. Four mocks have him going to the Nets in the 20\u2019s. Israeli PG Ben Saraf who plays for Ratiopharm in Germany, gets three mentions, as do a number of prospects: UConn\u2019s freshman sharpshooter Liam McNeeley, French raw big Noah Penda, Spanish forward Hugo Gonzales, Colorado State shooting guard Nique Clifford, and Carter Bryant Arizona\u2019s defensive-minded wing <\/p>\n There are some caveats to note. While most of the mocks are of very recent vintage, posted in the 48 hours since Florida surprised the basketball world, a couple are a bit older. We note that. Also, in one case, we rely on a site\u2019s Big Board, their top 100 prospects. At this point, with most spots spoken for, there\u2019s going to be little difference. <\/p>\n So here ya go.<\/p>\n The gold standard for decades and the most traditional. Jonathan Givony who pioneered in-depth mocks while at Draft Express, and Jeremy Woo, who did mocks for Sports Illustrated for ESPN think the Nets have a \u201cvoid\u201d at the point and believe Fears, the second youngest player in the Draft, is ideal for them. <\/p>\n #6 – Jeremiah Fears<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Oklahoma<\/p>\n #18 – Nolan Traore<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d Saint Quentin (France)<\/p>\n #26- Adou Thiero<\/a>, PF, 6\u20198\u201d, Arkansas <\/p>\n #27 – Yaxel Lendeborg<\/a>, PF\/C, 6\u20199\u201d, UAB<\/p>\n #36 – Bennett Stirtz<\/a>, PG\/SG, 6\u20194, Drake<\/p>\n Here\u2019s their take on Fears and Traore fit with Brooklyn: <\/p>\n Fears emerged as a top freshman despite being one of the youngest players in college basketball (he turns 19 in October). His combination of size, speed, pace, shotmaking and shot creation gives him significant long-term upside, as he gets anywhere he wants on the floor, either to create opportunities for teammates while dishing on the move, to finish skillfully in the lane or to get to the free throw line…<\/p>\n Traore was once considered in the top echelon of this year\u2019s draft, a potential top five pick, but he\u2019s disappointed. Still, there remains a lot of potential, say Givony and Woo.<\/p>\n Traore has been up and down all season and will need to find another gear with his productivity and efficiency as NBA scouts turn their attention to international prospects.<\/p>\n Some might be surprised to see the Nets take another point guard after selecting Fears at No. 6 in this mock draft, but the Nets will likely need to take swings on upside and could be intrigued with Traore\u2019s potential at this stage in the draft. <\/p>\n Sam Wasserman is quickly becoming one of the leading draftniks. His mock includes not just the key data but also player comparisons. For Fears, he says the comparisons are Jaden Ivey and Scoot Henderson.<\/p>\n #6 – Jeremiah Fears<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Oklahoma<\/p>\n #18 – Liam McNeeley<\/a>, SG, 6\u20197\u201d, UConn<\/p>\n #26 – Yaxel Lendeborg<\/a>, PF\/C, 6\u20199\u201d, UAB<\/p>\n #27 – Rasheer Fleming<\/a>, PF, 6\u20199\u201d, St. Joseph\u2019s<\/p>\n #36 – Milos Uzan<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Houston<\/p>\n Wasserman says that Fears may take some time to develop but he\u2019s likely to worth it…<\/p>\n Extraordinary quickness and shiftiness to create, three-level shotmaking flashes and beautiful ball-screen passes are going to sway teams to remain patient with the three-point consistency and turnovers.<\/p>\n The main questions ask whether he\u2019ll improve his shooting and decision-making, but for an 18-year-old with a heavy workload and elusiveness that aces the NBA eye test, he\u2019s made enough pull-ups and setup passes for teams to bet on his development.<\/p>\n Kevin O\u2019Connor\u2019s draft analysis for The Ringer was a big \u2014 huge, voluminous, actually \u2014 event. He\u2019s since moved on and is now with Yahoo! and his analysis is just as big \u2014 huge and voluminous.<\/p>\n #6 – Tre Johnson<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d Texas<\/p>\n #18 – Carter Bryant<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d, Arizona <\/p>\n #26 – Hugo Gonzalez<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d, Real Madrid<\/a> (Spain)<\/p>\n #27 – Ben Saraf<\/a>, PG, 6\u20196\u201d Ratiopharm (Israel)<\/p>\n #35 – J.T. Toppin<\/a>, PF, 6\u20199\u201d Texas Tech<\/p>\n O\u2019Connor thinks that Johnson would fit well with the Nets backcourt:<\/p>\n With D\u2019Angelo Russell, De\u2019Anthony Melton, and Cam Thomas all entering free agency, guard will be an area of need in the present and future in Brooklyn. Maybe Johnson is just Thomas 2.0 since he still needs to develop his point guard skills and shot selection. But he\u2019s shown more playmaking upside than Thomas did in college, and he\u2019s taller. Johnson is a clutch shot-maker who can catch fire from all over the floor,<\/p>\n Sam Vecenie\u2019s mock is a little old, from March 19. Vecenie is on the record saying that he doesn\u2019t think 2025 is a generational draft. His selections are also a bit unconventional but he has a good track record. He too likes point guards for the Nets, just different ones.<\/p>\n #5 – Kasparas Jakucionis<\/a>, PG, 6\u20196\u201d, Illinois (Lithuania)<\/p>\n #20 – Ben Saraf<\/a>, PG, 6\u20196\u201d Ratiopharm (Israel)<\/p>\n #26 – Noah Penda<\/a>, PF, 6\u201910\u201d, LeMans (France)<\/p>\n #27 – Miles Byrd<\/a>, Wing, 6\u20196\u201d wing, San Diego State<\/p>\n #35 – Sergio De Larrea<\/a>, PG, 6\u20195\u201d Valencia (Spain)<\/p>\n Jakucionis, another point guard, has been a draftnik favorite for Brooklyn. But as Vecenie writes, he has issues:<\/p>\n He averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, but he also gave up the ball 3.6 times per game, and the turnovers tended to compound in-game. He had seven turnovers in games against Wisconsin, Tennessee and Maryland. In his most recent two games against Iowa and Maryland, he had six. And yet, he also has serious passing ability. He can find passes from any angle and is extremely creative with the ball in his hands.<\/p>\n He likes Byrd for his defense.<\/p>\n Byrd is as active a defender as you\u2019ll find in college basketball, a 6-6 wing with incredible hand-eye coordination. He averages 2.2 steals per game and gets several more deflections than that. On offense, Byrd is also a really sharp passer with strong feel for the game and has clear potential as a shooter. <\/p>\n Everybody\u2019s post-game favorite doesn\u2019t just track lottery odds. They also have a mock draft which is updated as events dictate … like every night. So things change.<\/p>\n #6 – Khaman Maluach<\/a>, C, 7\u20192\u201d, Duke (South Sudan)<\/p>\n #18 – Ben Saraf<\/a>, PG, 6\u20196\u201d Ratiopharm (Israel)<\/p>\n #26 – Yaxel Lendeborg<\/a>, PF, 6\u20199\u201d UAB<\/p>\n #27 – Noah Penda<\/a>, PF, 6\u201910\u201d, LeMans (France)<\/p>\n #36 – Adou Thiero<\/a>, PF, 6\u20198\u201d, Arkansas <\/p>\n Maluach had a tough weekend. First, his Duke team was upset by Houston, a game where he had no rebounds. Then the White House and State Department announced that the U.S. is revoking all visas, including student visas, for South Sudanese citizens. Still, he\u2019s been mocked everywhere from No. 3 to 26 this season. <\/p>\n A pioneering draft site like Draft Express, it is often a bit unconventional but it\u2019s as comprehensive as any you can find, often with multiple scouting reports on top players. <\/p>\n #6 – Asa Newell<\/a>, PF, 6\u201911\u201d Georgia<\/p>\n #17 – Rasheer Fleming<\/a>, PF, 6\u20199\u201d, St. Joseph\u2019s<\/p>\n #26 – Nique Clifford<\/a>, SG, 6\u20196\u201d, Colorado State<\/p>\n #27 – Liam McNeeley<\/a>, SG, 6\u20197\u201d, UConn<\/p>\n #36 – Amari Williams<\/a>, C\/PF, 6\u201911\u201d, Kentucky<\/p>\n Like a lot of draftniks, NBADraft.net\u2019s Aran Smith likes Newell\u2019s potential:<\/p>\n Skilled, bouncy post man who plays with a high level of energy and desire \u2026 Lefty with stretch four potential with \u201cuntapped\u201d scoring ability \u2026 Smooth and fluid mechanics on his shooting motion and is showing signs of becoming a solid three point threat. <\/p>\n Jeff Zillgitt is another of the veteran draftniks and he\u2019s helped by Lorenzo Reyes and James H. Williams. They portray their selections as a mock draft, but it\u2019s written more like a Big Board, with names attached to draft position rather than teams. <\/p>\n #6 – Kon Knueppel<\/a>, wing, 6\u20197\u201d, Duke<\/p>\n #18 – Nolan Traore<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Saint Quentin (France)<\/p>\n #26 – Nique Clifford<\/a>, SG, 6\u20196\u201d, Colorado State<\/p>\n #27 – Alex Condon<\/a>, C, 6\u201911\u201d Florida<\/p>\n USA Today doesn\u2019t project the second round. Last time we did a mock draft round-up, Knueppel was the draftniks favorite for the Nets, but only USA Today now links him to Brooklyn in this round-up but the Duke wing is likely to go high. <\/p>\n He can ignite an offense with his 3-point shot, thanks to an efficient motion, seemingly always ready to receive the ball in his shooting pocket. He can also lace shots from midrange, take care of the ball and is money on free throws.<\/p>\n The home team. SB Nation\u2019s Ricky O\u2019Donnell is our man for all seasons, including the draft season. SB Nation only does first round projections.<\/p>\n #6 – Khaman Maluach<\/a>, C, 7\u20192\u201d, Duke (South Sudan)<\/p>\n #18 – Nolan Traore<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Saint Quentin (France)<\/p>\n #26 – Thomas Haugh<\/a>, PF\/SF, 6\u20199\u201d, Florida<\/p>\n #27 – Liam McNeeley<\/a>, SG, 6\u20197\u201d, UConn<\/p>\n O\u2019Donnell likes Haugh who cut down the nets on Monday night for Florida.<\/p>\n Haugh wasn\u2019t really on the NBA\u2019s radar for the 2025 draft until he forced his way into the conversation during Florida\u2019s national championship run. He has an easy translation to the league as a low-usage forward who can space the floor on offense, defend forwards, and add some thump on the offensive glass. <\/p>\n As for Maluach\u2019s tough weekend, O\u2019Donnell says keep calm, but …<\/p>\n I remain high on Maluach and won\u2019t be dropping him on my personal board after a rough showing in the Final Four against Houston. There\u2019s no doubt it was a disappointing performance, though. Maluach had a six-inch size advantage on Houston\u2019s front court and failed to grab a single rebound in 22 minutes. A narrative is starting that Maluach doesn\u2019t play with a high motor, and his final college game will only play into it.<\/p>\n J. Kyle Mann and Danny Chau have taken over The Ringer\u2019s draft board from O\u2019Connor and it remains comprehensive. Their latest mock is still a work-in-progress but they do have a first round big board, with a couple of surprises, starting with Carter Bryant, perhaps the perfect name for an NBA wing. <\/p>\n #6 – Carter Bryant<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d, Arizona <\/p>\n #18 – Nique Clifford<\/a>, SG, 6\u20196\u201d, Colorado State<\/p>\n #26 – Walter Clayton Jr,<\/a> SG, 6\u20196\u201d, Florida<\/p>\n #27 – Joan Beringer<\/a>, PF, 6\u201911\u201d Cedevita Olimpija (France)<\/p>\n Mann and Chau think Bryant could be a sleeper for whoever takes him because of his defensive potential.<\/p>\n The counting stats won\u2019t make a very compelling case for Bryant as a first-round talent. He has one of the lowest usage rates of any player projected to go in the top 30, comparable to those of fellow freshman Khaman Maluach, who started playing basketball only five years ago. But Bryant would pass even the most rudimentary of eye tests: His Vitruvian frame, agility, and explosiveness would stand out in just about any game he\u2019s in. The clincher? He\u2019s only a freshman. <\/p>\n Bryant\u2019s standout trait at this stage is his defensive playmaking. He lifts off the ground quickly and hangs in the air for as long as necessary. His leaping ability, coupled with his quick reaction speed, makes his blocks seem like acts of precognition. <\/p>\n Sam Amico is a national writer with Cleveland roots. With Hoops Wire, he\u2019s in charge of draft coverage.<\/p>\n #6 – Tre Johnson<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d Texas<\/p>\n #18 – Nolan Traore<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d Saint Quentin (France)<\/p>\n #26 – Alex Karaban<\/a>, PF, 6\u20198\u201d UConn<\/p>\n #27 – Yaxel Lendeborg<\/a>, PF\/C, 6\u20199\u201d, UAB<\/p>\n #36 – Bennett Stirtz<\/a>, PG\/SG, 6\u20194, Drake<\/p>\n Another of the second level mocks, NBA Draft Room matches a lot of the other drafts, particularly at the top with Fears. <\/p>\n #6 – Jeremiah Fears<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Oklahoma<\/p>\n #17 – Will Riley<\/a>, SF, 6\u20198\u201d Illinois<\/p>\n #26 – Thomas Sorber<\/a>, C\/PF, 6\u201910\u201d Georgetown<\/p>\n #27 – Noah Penda<\/a>, PF, 6\u201910\u201d, LeMans (France)<\/p>\n #36 – Boogie Fland<\/a>, PG, 6\u20192\u201d, Arkansas<\/p>\n Fears gets the same level of praise as he does from the other draftniks. <\/p>\n Fears had a monster freshman season launching his draft stock into the mid lottery range. He\u2019s dynamic with the ball in his hands and can get buckets in a hurry. He does a great job of penetrating into the lane and can score from three levels, although his 3pt shot is streaky.<\/p>\n CBS Sports provided three mock drafts, each by each three NBA writers: Kyle Boone, Adam Finkelstein and Gary Parrish. That\u2019s different and it makes it difficult for us to use the format we used for the 11 mocks we surveyed. So for the purposes of our summary, we came up with a consensus at each Nets pick.<\/p>\n #6 – Kon Knueppel<\/a>, wing, 6\u20197\u201d, Duke<\/p>\n #18 – Nolan Traore<\/a>, PG, 6\u20194\u201d, Saint Quentin (France)<\/p>\n #26 – Carter Bryant<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d, Arizona <\/p>\n #27 – Hugo Gonzalez<\/a>, SF, 6\u20196\u201d, Real Madrid<\/a> (Spain)<\/p>\n CBS does not project second round picks.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a very important summer, as you know,\u201d Nets coach Jordi Fern\u00e1ndez said before Tuesday\u2019s game. \u201cWe have four firsts and one second. We\u2019re not going to know where the lottery is going to fall, because that\u2019s part of the odds and so on and so forth. You can only control what you can control, and right now, that is what we know for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, Brooklyn may not have five picks by Draft Night. Or different picks. Remember back in December, they had six picks before trading a protected Miami second rounder to Golden State in the Dennis Schroder deal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first thing to understand about mock drafts, particularly those two plus months out. is that they\u2019re entertainment.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2710,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7,98,1191,28,1831,1154,6,12,1779,1835,1778,65,1832,1834,1833,1830],"class_list":{"0":"post-2709","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-draft","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-draft","10":"tag-drafts","11":"tag-front-page","12":"tag-guards","13":"tag-mock","14":"tag-nba","15":"tag-nba-draft","16":"tag-nets-draft-rumors-news","17":"tag-nets-features-profiles","18":"tag-netsdaily","19":"tag-point","20":"tag-r","21":"tag-say","22":"tag-us","23":"tag-watch"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/114414460821771767","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2709"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2709\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}