Nets take Manu Ginobili-type player in 2025 NBA mock Draft

Posted by Admin December 18, 2024 NBA

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The Brooklyn Nets (10-16) have had one goal coming into this season after trading for their own draft picks back: get their next impact player as soon as possible. For a team like Brooklyn, the best way for them to get a star-level player is to take them in the Draft and it’s possible that this player could remind people of a left-handed Hall-of-Famer.

Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report recently published his latest mock for the 2025 NBA Draft and in it, there were a couple of interesting tidbits. Firstly, he has the Nets ending up with the ninth overall pick in the Draft and while that is not good news because it takes Brooklyn out of the running for players like Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper, it does mean that they could end up with a player that Wasserman compares to former San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.

“Ulm (Ratiopharm Ulm) has won five consecutive games, with Ben Saraf averaging 16.0 points (54.3 percent FG) over the last three. He’s scoring from three levels with tough ball-handling, signature deceleration and mid-range shotmaking,” Wasserman wrote. Saraf, a guard listed at 6-foot-5 and 201 pounds, is only 18 years old and is averaging 13.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 45.0% from the field and 25.0% from three-point land.

So far in his young career, Saraf was named 2024 European U18 Championship MVP after leading the tournament in points per game (28.0) and steals per game (4.0) and was named to the 2024 European U18 All-Tournament Team among other accomplishments. Saraf, teammates with former NBA player Isaiah Roby, has been a key part of leading Ulm to a 7-4 record in the EuroCup and could be a lottery pick by the time the 2025 NBA Draft comes around.

“Coming off the bench lately, he’s played more of a scoring role, but scouts should still see lead-guard playmaking potential tied to his creativity, gravity and passing skill. Front offices will debate the translatability of his shooting mechanics for range and athleticism at the rim. But the consistent production in Germany at 18 years old is making it tougher to poke holes in Saraf’s draft case,” Wasserman wrote.