Basketball Operations Brief

Gregory Spicer – nba draft – 07/03/2025

You can’t talk about controversy in the NBA Draft without discussing the team that broke the NBA record with FIVE first round picks in 2025. The rebuild will take another step in Brooklyn this year as they work through the development of five new, high quality players acquired in this year’s draft.

Part of the rebuild process generally includes tanking for a few years to give the organization some chances to acquire superstar talent with top draft picks. The Nets certainly did this, as using five rookies on one team won’t likely result in wins. 

On the other hand, you want to have an organization with the right foundation for a rebuild, which is where things can get dicey. The leaders of this group are Cam Thomas, who will likely stick around as he was given a qualifying offer, and Michael Porter Jr, who was just acquired along with a first round pick for Cam Johnson. While having talent is a good thing, Thomas and Porter Jr have a reputation for prioritizing their own shots, which could halt some offensive development from the squad’s rookies.

Aside from the rookies’ offensive opportunities being potentially limited, the Nets draft picks can actually thrive together. The key to making their whole operation fit is in the development of their playmaking specialist top pick. With four other rookies trying to establish their spot in a new league, and two proven, prolific scorers, Thomas and Porter Jr, already there, Brooklyn will need someone to spread the ball around: Egor Demin.

Much of the Nets post-draft controversy stems from Denim, the 8th overall selection. Many analysts rated this pick a C or lower, but I would grade it as an A-.

His college shooting splits do raise some eyebrows. Denim shot just 27% from three and 69% from the line, validating questions about his ability to score at the NBA level.

Although the poor efficiency is notable, Denim has all of the physical makings and experiences of a unicorn. At 6 foot 9 inches tall, his high level ball handling and playmaking skills are the best we have seen from a prospect of that size since Josh Giddey. Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez described Denim’s offensive impact, “His positional size and his playmaking. Obviously, it’s very important that we help each other and we give each other the best shot possible, and we believe that he can do it playing pick and roll or simply making the right play” said Fernndez.

The lengthy guard, who averaged 10.6 points, 5.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds at Brigham Young University, already has professional and collegiate experience at age 18. Before making his move to college hoops, Denim played multiple tournaments for the Real Madrid U18 team in Spain, where he averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists. 

On top of his young age/high experience combo and promising physical traits, previous prospects who compare to Denim have fared well throughout the NBA. Giddey is another tall, playmaking guard that is now developing into an NBA star despite spending years in a poor fit situation (OKC). Ben Simmons had many years of all-star caliber offense in Philadelphia until injuries and an inability to attempt shooting broke him down. You can even aim higher and compare him to stars such as Cade Cunningham in Detroit and Luka Doncic in Los Angeles, showing that tall guards have a limitless ceiling in today’s league. 

The key for making this pick worthwhile will be to develop him as a point guard. If the Nets give him real backcourt minutes where he has control of the offense and uses his playmaking to set up Thomas (24.0 PPG) and Porter Jr (18.2 PPG), his rookie season can go very well. At his size, he certainly has “unicorn” potential, but if he is forced into a more off-ball role, his lack of scoring and defense will really hurt his impact. 

Outside of their top selection, all of the Nets picks were late round “lottery tickets” who they hope will develop into viable options for the future. While taking on five rookies and trying to develop them at the same time is a risky choice, the playmaking star they selected first can be the key to making it fit. For a team in the thick of a rebuild and nothing to lose, why not gamble on Denim and take a huge shot at greatness?