The Too-Early Preseason Assessments Of Nets' Draft Haul

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OK, I really want to believe.

The Nets took an unprecedented five first round picks at June’s Draft. For fans with little hope for a successful 2025-26 campaign (and even for those rooting it’s not successful at all), the allure of the upcoming games is limited to watching the rookies—and other younger players—develop to see if any of them possess the goods that can make them viable components for when the program turns around.

Or, as General Manager Sean Marks calls them, “The Next Nets.”

I’m not here to tell you that any of the five are lost causes. Danny Wolf is the oldest at 21 and three are just 19. It is exceedingly rare for any rookie player that young to take this league by storm. And preseason NBA games aren’t exactly the tell-all measuring ground. Results should be flushed with the proverbial toilet water.

However, I’ve seen a few tells that warrant flagging. And in the case of all but one of the rookies, those flags are red. (Note: Egor Demin, the Nets’ sole lottery pick selected at No. 8 overall, has not played this preseason due to a plantar fasciitis tear.) For those players, I believe it will take years, if ever, before the fruit from these seeds is revealed, and then there’s no guarantee it will be sweet.

Here’s my too-early takes on the rookies following Brooklyn’s weekend split with Phoenix in China, in order of their Draft selections:

Nolan Traore (No. 19 overall)

Speed is generally an asset on an NBA court. Traore, one of the 19s, has it to the nth power. Except he needs to learn how to play fast efficiently. It does the Nets no good if he drives into traffic and makes a poor decision. Or when he gets to the rim only to smoke the bunny or have it blocked.

Decision making and shooting were the main knocks on Traore’s game coming out of France, where he played against men at 18, and they will continue to pose as major bugs until he gains confidence in his long-range stroke. I’m less distressed over the ballhandling difficulties he encountered when the Suns dialed up the pressure; those kinks can be worked out by getting stronger in the gym and with experience. It’s easier when you first have his innate blow-by ability.

The shooting, on the other hand, will remain a concern until he shows otherwise because hard work doesn’t always take, typically not in Year 1 anyway. However, it’s simply a necessity in the modern game. It’s the difference between the righty versions of De’Aaron Fox versus Killian Hayes.

Drake Powell (No. 22 overall)

The most NBA ready of the four rookies who played in China, in my opinion, belying his status as the fourth youngest Net at 20. Powell has an athleticism level that already translates to what title contenders look for when configuring a rotation. See Cason Wallace, who earned important minutes for Oklahoma City at a similar age.

Powell, who missed the Nets’ preseason opener versus Israeli team Hapoel Jerusalem due to his rehab from left knee tendinopathy, made the most of his limited China minutes on both ends. While no one should expect him to knock down 50% of his three pointers when the games count, the rhythm in which he appeared to take the six attempts over the two games was assuring. He’s not someone you’d want running a pick-and-roll at this moment, but he can be successful driving closeouts, finishing or making the extra pass.

It’s his defense, though, that will make Head Coach Jordi Fernandez find court time for him this season. Powell did not back down from Devin Booker or any of the Suns’ main ballhandlers, creating a few turnovers with his length and quick hands. NBA tracking data is not available during the preseason, but the eye test suggested that he was difficult to score against as the nearest defender.

To reiterate from prior posts: That Marks was able to get the rights to Powell for nothing but the rent for Terance Mann’s salary cap space was undoubtedly his best transaction of the summer.

Ben Saraf (No. 26 overall)

There are divergent views on Saraf. One group is impressed with his NBA body type, his ball-sharing, and his change-of-pace attacks. The other side sees Ben Simmons minus the athleticism.

Count me among the latter. Whereas I see Traore having a shooting base on which to build, Saraf looks like he needs a whole remodeling. His balance looks funky and his shot can be flat. NoCeilingsNBA.com reported that he shot 39% on 54 catch-and-shoot 3s for Ulm of the German pro league last season, but he has been reluctant to pull the trigger on open opportunities after missing a few in these exhibitions and at the Las Vegas Sumer League.

The underlying problem is that he’s being groomed as a point guard, a position that requires a better foundation of speed and shooting efficiency. Saraf is too slow to hang with ballhandlers and, though he knows how to use his shoulders to create space in the paint with the ball in his hands, he is too easily moved deeper when bumped while defending those same moves.

Saraf has earned raves from Fernandez and teammates over his pickup efforts during summer workouts. The 11 assists aside on Sunday, I have yet to see the attraction. Since Saraf is 19, I am also aware that I could be proven wrong. I hope I am.

Danny Wolf (No. 27 overall)

Another too slow, meh shooting pick. At 6-oot 11, Wolf has a lower three-point percentage bar to hit than Traore and Sarah. And the fact that he drained all three of his attempts in China, though the last one was a banker, is indicative that he may expand that range into his regular season arsenal.

Or, he might be equally likely to struggle getting his shot off when facing regular season closeout speed.

Much has been made of Wolf’s ballhandling and passing, with some going so far as to call him a poor man’s Nikola Jokic. At this stage, the reality is that while Wolf can pull some exquisite dimes out of his bag, he’ll also throw the ball away almost as many times. He was a turnover magnet at Michigan last season.

Still, my biggest question is: Where can Fernandez play him without disrupting the defensive structure? Who can he guard? Certainly not the mammoths and probably not the quicker tweener types. He’s an ok rebounder but he hasn’t blocked a shot all preseason.

If asked which of the five will spend the most time at G League Long Island, I’d bet on Wolf. Whether he can use the time there to advance into Brooklyn’s late season rotation like Noah Clowney did a few years ago is, from my chair, a longer shot.

Bonus Note: Fanbo Zeng

I’m over it now, but the ploy I assume was spurred by ownership to play an obviously undeserving China native during Friday’s exhibition had me seething. Ok, maybe if you’re going to have Zeng on the training camp roster, giving him six minutes during the second and fourth quarters can be justified as a goodwill gesture to the hosts. But did the Nets have to play him in the overtime? The Suns targeted Zeng mercilessly by forcing him to switch onto their ballhandlers, where he got toasted, and then the Nets rarely passed him the ball on offense.

Brooklyn blew a seven-point lead in the last two minutes and dropped a 132-127 decision. No one cares about the “L”, but I felt for the rest of the Nets on the floor who were trying to earn jobs. They had to figuratively run uphill by playing the extra five minutes at 4-on-5.

Joseph Tsai, from all appearances, wants a player of Asian descent on the team. The Nets gave a similarly ill-suited Jacky Cui five games last season before he suffered a horrific knee injury.

Given that, don’t presume that Brooklyn’s last two-way spot will be allocated to a superior player with more NBA potential.