2025 NBA Draft: Nets Work Out Houston Prospect

Houston's J'Wan Roberts worked out for the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week.

Apr 7, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Houston Cougars forward J'Wan Roberts (13) reacts after a play against the Florida Gators during the second half of the national championship game of the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Houston Cougars forward J’Wan Roberts worked out for the Brooklyn Nets earlier this week, Nets On SI can confirm. The Ary Report was first to report.

Roberts is a motor-first, undersized big. He is a tough defender and rebounder, being one of the four players in Houston history to score more than 1000 points and pull down more than 1000 rebounds. 

Roberts said in 2022: “Rebounding, it tears people down. It wears them down. Especially offensive rebounding. No one wants to play defense for 30 seconds and then let the other team get an offensive rebound. And have to play defense for 20 more seconds. Then, they get another offensive rebound and another 20 more seconds.”

However, the Houston prospect is an iffier fit in the modern NBA down the other end of the floor. Roberts was listed at 6-foot-8 by his school, and is not overly explosive, long or creative. He also doesn’t shoot from three and struggles to make his free throws (58.9% for his career).

Scoring won’t be Roberts’ role in the league — it wasn’t at Houston either — but he will still have to remain productive and offer some gravity as a scorer. His career-high with the Cougars was 10.6 points per game this season. During his five seasons of college basketball, Roberts averaged 7.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.6 ‘stocks’ over 173 total games.

The U.S. Virgin Islands native will turn 24 on Sept. 19. Roberts’ first season at Houston was actually 2019-20, but he redshirted that year. He originally moved stateside to Killeen, TX after the eighth grade. Roberts is widely projected to go undrafted, so he could be an interesting pickup for the Nets’ Summer League or G League teams. 

The next key date for Brooklyn ahead of the 2025 NBA Draft is the May 12 lottery. The Nets currently have the sixth-best odds and are projected to pick at Nos. 6, 19, 26, 27 and 36. Head coach Jordi Fernández will represent the team at the draft lottery.

The Nets are likely focused on the G League Elite Camp right now, which is taking place in Chicago from May 9-11. Then, the draft combine goes from May 11-18. Roberts’ teammate, Houston point guard Milos Uzan, was invited to that event. 

The actual draft is on June 25 and 26 at Barclays Center, the Nets’ home arena. Brooklyn assistant general manager B.J. Johnson is in charge of the organization’s pre-draft process, with general manager Sean Marks logically also playing a crucial role.

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