The Brooklyn Nets have the No. 6 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after the Lottery unfortunately awarded them with that pick despite being tied for the best odds of getting the No. 1 pick. While Brooklyn could use the pick to bring in a talented player from the 2026 class, it’s fair to wonder if the Nets should consider trading the pick to achieve other goals.
“With the NBA doing whatever it can to try to disincentivize tanking, a team like the Brooklyn Nets could be considering win-now moves,” Andy Bailey wrote for Bleacher Report. The article in question was the outlet breaking down which teams should keep their picks and which teams should trade their picks for other purposes and it seems like Brooklyn could head in a different direction given some recent developments.
“And if the No. 6 pick (and maybe some future assets) is enough to bring a star in to play with Michael Porter Jr., Brooklyn could compete for a play-in spot as early as next season,” Bailey continued. “Beyond that, the Nets already took (and kept) five first-rounders from last year. There’s more than enough developmental cases on the books already.”
With the No. 6 pick, the Nets could bring in a player like Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. or someone like Louisville guard Mikel Brown Jr. if general manager Sean Marks is looking for more of an upside move. However, there is also a case to be made that Brooklyn could trade the No. 6 selection either to move back in the draft and get more draft capital, move up, or even use the pick to acquire a player that is already established.
Objectively, the Nets are not close to winning a championship after finishing the 2025-26 season with a lowly 20-62 record, but given that they owe their 2027 first-round pick to the Houston Rockets, Brooklyn could opt to add as much to the roster this summer to prevent sending a high first-round pick to the Rockets. The Nets are in a good position to go either way, but Marks will have to think hard about what the best move is for the franchise as a whole.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Should the Nets trade the No. 6 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft?