2023 NBA Draft: Brooklyn’s First Round Features Quality Back-to-Back Picks

The re-tooling of the Nets could take a significant step forward with two first rounders in the 2023 NBA Draft.

While most of the draft talk over the past few weeks has been centered around the lottery, and most notably the top few picks, this is an extremely deep upcoming rookie class. There’s no question that quality talent will fall out of the lottery and into the middle to late part of the first round.

One team that’s well positioned to take full advantage of this depth is the Brooklyn Nets. Slated to select back-to-back at No. 21 and No. 22, Brooklyn could find a pair of key pieces moving forward. The Nets could also package these selections to move up.

Following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, Brooklyn will now look to build around Mikal Bridges. In Matt Babcock’s most recent mock draft, he has the Nets taking a pair of high upside forward with their two first-round choices. 

Dereck Lively II (Duke) and Leonard Miller (G League Ignite) would be fantastic pieces to continue building with. Both have the upside to be NBA starters at some point and have great positional size and fit the modern NBA.

There’s also a variety of other players that could be available in this range, including Dariq Whitehead (Duke), GG Jackson (South Carolina), Noah Clowney (Alabama) and many more.

While the Nets aren’t expected to roll out a contender next season, there’s no question they have quality pieces on the roster currently with an opportunity to add two more in June. These two selections in the early twenties are highly valuable and should net a pair of long-term contributors.

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