Brooklyn Nets Grab Interesting Swing in Latest Mock Draft

The Brooklyn Nets are in a somewhat precarious position.

The team has won three of four games, and has four wins in its last 10. While head coach Jordi Fernandez is certainly happy with his team’s overall progress, each win pushes Brooklyn further down the draft standings.

After grabbing a record five first-round picks at last year’s draft, the Nets are desperately needing to land some star-power in 2026, and that could come in the form of Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa or Cameron Boozer — the draft’s top-three prospects.

Right now, the Nets are 6-17, granting them the sixth-best draft odds and a slim chance at landing in the top-three.

In a recent NBA mock draft published to YouTube, Brooklyn landed at No. 7, and took a big swing on Washington forward Hannes Steinbach.

A 6-foot-11 forward, Steinbach joined the Huskies as a decorated international player, having led Germany to the silver medal at the 2025 FIBA U19’s. He was expected to be on draft radars this season, but has gotten off to a hotter start than anticipated.

Across six games, he’s averaged 18.5 points, a blistering 12.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 63% overall and a blazing 67% from 3-point land.

Steinbach missed a few games due to injury, but came back with a fury, issuing a 29-point double-double versus UCLA, and a 24-point, 16-rebound performance in a comeback versus No. 24 USC.

With center Nicolas Claxton offering a potential trade chip this deadline, the Nets could look to a center of the future at the 2026 NBA Draft, and Steinach fits in stylistically with what they’ve built so far.

While the Nets certainly want one of the top three, Steinbach is a worthy gamble if they fall. He has premier touch around the rim, and elite footwork. He’s shown he can stretch out beyond the arc, and even play-make seldomly.

If anything keeps Steinbach from the top-10 it will be his defense, which is spotty at best presently. Though his huge frame allows him to make up ground in this area, and Fernandez would likely help him develop in this area.

After grabbing numerous play-makers in last year's draft — such as Egor Demin, Nolan Traore, Ben Saraf and even Danny Wolf — Steinbach could be a fun fit in the frontcourt as Brooklyn continues building for the future.

The Nets will undoubtedly continue to monitor the 2026 NBA Draft is they churn through the 2025-26 regular season.