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The Brooklyn Nets have an unprecedented challenge ahead of them. After making an NBA-record five first-round picks in the 2025 draft, general manager Sean Marks and head coach Jordi Fernandez must figure out how to maximize the development of their rookie class.
The success or failure of the group could set the tone for the next decade of Nets basketball. How will Brooklyn find enough playing time and offer the individual attention needed for each player to reach his potential?
“That's a good question,” Fernandez said. “I'm going to focus on the team and what we're trying to build as a group… But they're going to have to earn it. I think that's how it should be. They'll put the work in. They've already shown who they are. That's why we drafted them… It's going to be my decision to go and put five guys on the court and to have, most likely, a ten-man rotation and go through the process. I think that's definitely on me.
“Player development is going to be important. We've been very diligent. The coaching staff has done a great job of making our players work, and those guys have improved. We believe they'll do the same thing [with these rookies]. So it's an exciting part of our journey right now to welcome these guys and put them to work.”
Brooklyn shocked the NBA draft community by selecting Egor Demin with the eighth overall pick. The Russian floor general is the team's first lottery selection since 2010, when they selected Derrick Favors third overall. Demin's development will be the main storyline of the rookie class.
However, fellow first-round selections Nolan Traore, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf also have the potential to be fixtures in the Nets' future.
Nets' Sean Marks, Jordi Fernandez facing challenge of developing historic rookie class
Before this year's draft, Sean Marks had made seven first-round selections in nine years as Brooklyn's GM. This year's class presents the organization with an unprecedented opportunity.
“We've never had three tables up here, so that shows you the size of the draft class, right?” Marks said with a laugh at Tuesday's introductory press conference. “This is great. It was a unique opportunity for us, to be quite frank. We've never had five picks in one draft, and to be able to draft all of them in a draft class that we saw was unique; that was something that we want to take advantage of. Especially in our build, where we see these young men fitting into our group and into our roster.
“It was about us capitalizing on the hand we were dealt. What a lot of our scouting department and so forth did all year long, the work they put in, and we felt very confident about not only this class, but these men that we're able to put in front of you right now. So it's exciting for us.”
It wasn't just the volume of the Nets' draft class that shocked most draft observers, but also the overlapping skillsets of their selections. Brooklyn brought in three pass-first point guards in Demin, Traore and Saraf. Wolf also boasts unique ball-handling and playmaking ability, albeit in the frontcourt.
Powell was the lone deviation from the team's emphasis on ball handling and playmaking. The North Carolina wing, known for his defense, was limited to a spot-up role offensively as a freshman. However, he's arguably the most athletic draft pick in Nets history, and as a former five-star recruit, could have untapped offensive potential.
While many believe Brooklyn's rookies will be redundant, Jordi Fernandez sees a pathway for them to fit together within the team's rotation.
“Starting with defense, positional size is very important… I would play these guys almost one through four, one through five. So that’s a good thing for us. You’ll see length, athleticism, and we’ll keep working on that physicality, communication… and [giving] multiple efforts,” the coach said. “And then offensively, we wanna play with pace, right? In my opinion, we have the fastest guy in the draft, and we have a lot of playmaking. All these guys can really pass the ball. All those paint touches and ball reversals, it just helps you when you have not primary ball handlers, but also secondary ball handlers, and all these guys can do it.
“So it’s all a positive. There are no negatives here. And I told them already today: if your teammate touches the paint and creates a three for you, you have to let it fly, otherwise you’re gonna come sit with me. They already know what we’re trying to do. It’s been a good couple of days here. This preparation for summer league is exciting.”
Jordi Fernandez on how the Nets' rookies can fit together on the floor:
"Defensively, positional size is very important… I would play these guys almost one through four, one through five. So that’s a good thing for us. You’ll see length and athleticism… And then offensively,… pic.twitter.com/oMgnGMnXrb
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) July 1, 2025
Marks relayed a similar message of versatility when explaining his front office's draft philosophy.
“We were obviously looking for the best available. That factors in. But also, the scouting work we've done on these guys throughout not just this year, but leading up to this year, would lead us to believe it's a versatile class,” the GM said. “As Jordi [Fernandez] said, they can play multiple positions… Multiple ball handlers… [We won't] limit these guys and say you can only fit into this category or this position. You’ve heard all the cliches, positionless basketball, and so forth. But you want high IQ guys. That's what we've got here. You want versatile guys. That's what we've got here.
“So it gets back to it being an exciting group and us not limiting them on how they can play. We saw attributes throughout the year of how each one of these guys played individually. And Jordi, the coaching staff, and the development staff have proven that they've done a great job. That gives me utmost confidence in developing these five guys. If we didn't have that confidence in our staff, we probably wouldn't have done it. But yeah, the sky's the limit for all of them.”
The Nets' rookie class will take the floor together for the first time at the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League, which tips off July 10.
