by With the 2025 NBA Draft now concluded, there are some significant moves to keep note of.
Pelicans Make All-In Moves
The New Orleans Pelicans have already had a busy offseason, trading CJ McCollum and Kelly Olynyk for Jordan Poole and Saddiq Bey. To pair with their new guard, the Pelicans drafted Jeremiah Fears seventh overall. Fears is an aggressive scorer who has a lot of offensive upside.
With their next pick at 23, it was presumed that their night was taking a long pause. But when pick 13 came around, the Pelicans gave up their 2026 first-round pick unprotected to obtain the pick. With this newly acquired pick from the Atlanta Hawks, they selected Derik Queen.
Both of these premier offensive players have instilled a playoff mindset in the Pelicans. Unfortunately for them, a significant amount of responsibility is placed on these rookies. The Pelicans are a team riddled with injuries every season, especially for star Zion Williamson, so this makes their rookie seasons much more vital if they don’t want to regret losing next year’s first-round pick.
The Nets Make NBA History
For the first time in NBA history, a team has used five first-round picks in a single draft. The Brooklyn Nets used their plethora of picks on some interesting names. The first name is the BYU guard Egor Demin. Demin is a pass-first point guard who often struggles to score. Some other notable names are the Frenchman Nolan Traore and Michigan forward Danny Wolf. These are more pass-heavy players who leave big questions about how they will translate to the NBA.
With this many picks, at least one player will likely pan out and become a franchise cornerstone. However, as of now, there are significant concerns about how this rookie class will perform in Brooklyn.
Spurs Are Forming a Great Supporting Cast Around Wembanyama
After an injury-filled 2025 season, the San Antonio Spurs ended up with two lottery picks, including the second overall pick. The second pick was a no-brainer, taking Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. Harper possesses a remarkable ability to score downhill, complemented by excellent playmaking and solid shooting.
Although the Spurs already have De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle, Harper shows even more promise and should be Victor Wembanyama‘s co-star for many years.
With their following selection at pick 14, the Spurs took forward Carter Bryant. Bryant is a lengthy forward who can fit on any team. He will be a solid player for this Spurs team as their expectations grow by the day.
Phoenix Lets the Best Players Fall to Them
Just a short time ago, the Phoenix Suns traded away an all-time great, Kevin Durant, in return for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, and the 10th overall pick in the 2025 draft. This trade made the NBA community perplexed, as the Suns already have All-NBA player Devin Booker and the high-scoring shooting guard Bradley Beal. This leaves the question of where Jalen Green will fit on this team.
Even though this key question is still unanswered, the Suns did as well as they could in this draft. With the pick they got from the Houston Rockets, the Suns took the Duke center Khaman Maluach. Maluach is a 7’2″ paint monster that fills a massive void for the Suns. At the same time of their pick, they trade for Charlotte Hornets center Mark Williams. Williams, although injury-prone, is an excellent rebounder who can be a much-needed backup center.
After their great Day 1 of the draft, they are hyper-aggressive on Day 2. Trading up to pick 31 to get the sliding Rasheer Fleming was a great decision. Fleming possesses monstrous athleticism and size, shooting 39% from three-point range.
These choices they made in this draft may save a Suns front office that is on a flaming hot seat.
