Nets Hold Draft Rights to Two Key Players on Serbia’s National Team

After selecting an NBA record five first round picks in the recent 2025 NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets have no shortage of newcomers on their roster as they prepare for the 2025-2026 season.

However, the Nets still hold the rights to two former draftees acquired through trades over the years. Both players have prioritized their overseas careers to this point, and neither has made the move to the NBA.

For Nets fans curious about these potential future additions, Nikola Milutinov and Vanja Marinkovic will represent Serbia in the EuroBasket 2025 tournament later this month.

Two key players on Serbian national team are Brooklyn Nets draft stashes acquired in trades: 7’0” 30-year-old C Nikola Milutinov and 6’6” 28-year-old SG Vanja Marinkovic. Highly unlikely they’ll ever make it Brooklyn. https://t.co/Dr1TIaprAt
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) August 7, 2025

Most recently, the Nets acquired Marinkovich in 2024 following a three-team trade with the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies were the Nets received Marinkovich, Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin and several future draft picks in exchange for Royce O'Neal.

Since being drafted by the Sacramento Kings in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft, Marinkovich has had his rights traded to the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies before they were ultimately traded to Brooklyn.

Marinkovich has spent all 11 seasons of his professional basketball career playing internationally, suiting up for squads like Partizan Belgrade in Serbia, Spain's Valencia Basket Club and Saski Baskonia, also in Spain. This year, he helped lead Partizan Belgrade to an ABA title after averaging 8.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and one assist per game while shooting 48.3% from the field and 44% from beyond the arc.

A few years before, the Nets acquired the rights to Milutinov from the San Antonio Spurs as part of a five-team trade where they sent Spencer Dinwiddie to the Washington Wizards.

While it would be a long shot for either player to end up in Brooklyn, Milutinov seems like the least likely option out of the two simply due to how long ago he was first drafted. The Serbian native was drafted in the first round (26th overall) of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Spurs.

Although he is yet to give the NBA a shot, Milutinov has had a highly productive career overseas and has established himself among the top big men in international basketball.

Milutinov has led the EuroLeague in rebounding twice, won two Greek League Championships, and was even named the league's MVP in 2017. Last season he helped Olympiacos win a Greek League championship after leading the team in rebounds per game (6.5) while averaging nine points and 1.7 assists per game.