In Draft Prep, Nets Navigating New World Order Of NIL At Home And Growth Abroad

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The change in the college sports landscape, where young men and women who used to perform free entertainment services while adults grabbed all the money from them now can earn a fraction of their values through NIL deals, has, in my opinion, been a wonderful development. Always remember that the term “student-athlete” was created by the vile NCAA out of thin air to avoid paying injured kids benefits. The system’s arrogance was long past due to be upended.

Still, there are consequences from this new free market system. For men’s college basketball players, for instance, the decision whether or not to turn pro added a key variable. By Wednesday’s deadline, a bunch of players projected to be picked opted to forgo the 2025 NBA Draft in favor of returning to NCAA ball for another season.

In many of those cases, agents who gauged teams’ interests did not get assurances that their clients would be selected in the first round, where all signed contracts are guaranteed per the league Collective Bargaining Agreement. Some second rounders, like Nets center Nic Claxton in 2019, get guarantees, but they’re mostly at risk. After Claxton, the best a Nets second rounder like Jalen Wilson or Kessler Edwards could hope for in their first contract was a two-way deal.

Two-way salaries are a pittance compared to what players can earn in the new NCAA model, which also includes a free agency style transfer portal. No more lost eligibility years for players switching schools while coaches have always been free to break contracts in search of greater green. Guard Boogie Fland, who was once talked about as a potential lottery pick, renounced the Draft two weeks ago and will reportedly get around $2 million in NIL money by transferring from Arkansas to Florida. It’s head-spinning that a top college player can now earn more in a season than the high end of an NBA second rounder’s salary scale.

What does this all mean for the Nets on June 25 Draft Day? Fewer options at the bottom of Round 1, where Brooklyn boasts picks No. 19, 26, and 27, will likely result in more international players selected. We have not yet seen a wave of players crossing oceans to join NCAA teams—on ESPN’s top 25 Big Board, the only three players to leave overseas club programs last year were Egor Denim (BYU), Khaman Maluach (Duke), and Kasparas Jakucionis (Illinois). As such, NBA scouts still have to be quite discerning when evaluating talent that performs offshore. The games aren’t always translatable. I don’t see a Luka Doncic or Victor Wembanyama in this Draft class whose skills instantly pop out.

On the other hand, who’s to say none of them will develop into a star. Two of the top three vote getters for the 2025 NBA MVP Award never stepped foot on an NCAA court and were drafted outside of the lottery. The game continues to grow around the world, and while no individual nation has been able to match America’s excellence when it comes to Olympic competition, the margin is getting closer. It’s rightly considered malpractice to ignore a foreign prospect’s potential.

Nets General Manager Sean Marks, a New Zealand native, has always scoured the globe for basketball talent. Though the team hasn’t picked one since Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs in 2018, many pundit mocks already have Marks tabbing at least one international player among his five dart throws in the top 36. Marks has even seen Chinese big man Hansen Yang in person, though taking him would be deemed a major reach unless Brooklyn trades down.

Selecting a player still under contract overseas could allow Marks to stash him and avoid having the player count towards the team’s salary cap. Rostering five Draft picks just doesn’t seem appropriate even if the intention is to tank another season.

Could Marks also go international with his precious lottery pick at No. 8 overall? I hope not. I see France’s Noa Essengue, perhaps the second-youngest player who will be selected in this Draft, moving up the mocks to a point where Brooklyn might be tempted to dare take a big swing.

Essengue has tantalizing length and athleticism, but his raw offensive game, including subpar perimeter shooting, makes him too high a risk. If we saw extensive examples of him spearheading the attack a la Giannis Antetokounmpo, then maybe he’d be deserving of the high honor. Alas, Essengue averaged about one assist per game and most of his points came on cuts, putbacks, and in transition, according to scouting reports and video reviews.

Make no mistake, the drop to No. 8 (the Nets placed sixth in the 2024-25 reverse standings) means that, barring a trade up, Marks will be selecting a flawed player with the highest (and most significant) pick he’s ever had during his 10-year tenure. The better shooters projected to be on the board will have questions about whether they’ll be able compete defensively at the NBA level, the athletic wings couldn’t shoot a lick, and the bigs, outside of Maluach, are at a tweener size.

Picks 3-through-10 are quite fluid among the pundit class. According to NBA.com’s consensus analysis from a week ago, the player most often mocked to Brooklyn was Oklahoma point guard Jeremiah Fears. Of course, Fears might not get to No. 8, as I have seen predictions that have him headed to Utah or Washington at 5/6.

Fears’ upside as one of the Draft Class’s youngest players (two months younger than Essengue) makes him intriguing to Nets fans. He’s a dynamic ballhandler and pick-and-roll playmaker. Nearly 6-foot 4 with shoes, he wouldn’t be the worst complement to Cam Thomas in Brooklyn’s backcourt.

However, Fears needs major work on his shooting—he couldn’t even convert 30% of his 3s as a freshman—and his body. It’s going to take time, if that. Think about Scoot Henderson’s growing pains in Portland.

Ironically, if ever a player could benefit professionally, without totally losing out financially, from another year of college seasoning, it’s Fears.