The Brooklyn Nets have five picks in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft, including their own first-round pick at No. 8 following the events of Monday’s NBA Draft Lottery. With the report that Brooklyn is regarded as one of the teams looking to trade up in the Draft, they may have a trade partner that is able to give them the pick they would likely desire to move to.
“It’s expected that the Sixers will listen to offers for No. 3, but it’s unclear whom the team would take if it stays,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie wrote. Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations for the Philadelphia 76ers, said after the Lottery that the team is more likely to use the pick than they are to trade it away given that the team could use some young talent.
“Rutgers’ (Ace) Bailey has been seen as the biggest upside swing, and he fills a theoretical position of need for Philly as a big wing,” Vecenie continued. “But he is also viewed as more of a project by scouts and executives, and this is a Sixers front office that likely needs to win next year to keep its jobs.”
As of this writing, it’s safe to say that the first two picks of the upcoming Draft will be Duke forward Cooper Flagg and Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. Flagg and Harper would be going to the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs, respectively, leaving the 76ers with their choice of Bailey, Baylor guard VJ Edgecombe, and Texas guard Tre Johnson.
The Nets are in a considerably different position as they are coming off a 2024-25 season in which they finished with a 26-56 record. The 76ers finished the campaign 24-58, but they still have stars like Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey as they are trying to maximize the championship window that their veterans afford them.
Brooklyn could be looking to trade up so that they can get a player more likely to make an impact on the franchise moving forward, especially with players like Bailey and Edgecombe potentially on the board with the third overall pick. The Nets may not be able to pull off trades with the Mavericks or the Spurs, but it seems like Philadelphia could be willing to move off of their draft pick.
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