Nets Reportedly Viewed as Candidate to Trade Up in 2025 NBA Draft After Lottery Slide

After falling two spots from their initial position in the 2025 NBA draft lottery, the Brooklyn Nets would like to use the trade market to improve the spot where they will pick in the first round.

Per NBA insider Jake Fischer, rival teams have mentioned the Nets as a "likely" trade-up candidate from the No. 8 spot.

The Nets had the sixth-best odds to land the top overall pick and a 37.2 percent chance to get a selection in the top four.

Brooklyn didn't have as precipitous a fall as a team like the Utah Jazz, who were tied for the best odds and landed at No. 5, but it did land outside of a spot for the very top-tier prospects.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman projected Maryland center Derik Queen to the Nets in his post-lottery mock draft. NBA analyst Zach Buckley did note in the mock that the Nets have the ability to do basically anything this offseason and in the draft because they are "in the blank-slate stage" of rebuilding.

One reason the Nets figure to be active ahead of the draft is that they currently have four picks in the first round this year. Their own is at No. 8 overall, plus three others at 19 (via Milwaukee Bucks), 26 (via New York Knicks) and 27 (via Houston Rockets).

The Nets also have multiple first-round picks in 2027, 2029 and 2031 to use in trades. They are a team that's been cited as a potential landing spot for a disgruntled superstar because of their draft cache and by virtue of being the only club with at least $50 million in cap space available this offseason.

In the wake of ESPN's Shams Charania reporting on Monday that Giannis Antetokounmpo was open to exploring his best fits outside of the Milwaukee Bucks, it wasn't a surprise that Brian Lewis of the New York Post reported the Nets will be one of the teams heavily pursuing the two-time MVP if he decides to seek a trade.

Trading up could increase the amount of options available to the Nets. They could either try to move up with the goal of drafting a player they consider to be better than what they can get at their current spot, or they could use a higher pick to increase their potential offer for a superstar player.

The Nets are coming off back-to-back losing seasons, including a 26-56 record in 2024-25. They have just one playoff series win since the 2014-15 season.