Five NBA Teams That Turned Heads on Night One of the 2025 NBA Draft

As the first evening of the NBA Draft draws to a close, we are left with a variety of subplots to parse across the NBA landscape. Five franchises in particular were overtly active as Adam Silver worked his way through the draft order, be it daring transactions or out-of-left-field draft selections. Let’s run through the organizations that turned over a new leaf during the first round—for better or for worse. 

Utah Jazz

Additions: Ace Bailey, Walter Clayton Jr.

The apple does not fall far from the tree, as Austin Ainge just demonstrated by prioritizing talent above all else. In the lead up to Wednesday night, the general consensus shifted convincingly towards the Utah Jazz targeting Jeremiah Fears at No. 5. But as it turned out, where there was smoke, there was no fire. After the first four picks rattled off without a hitch and Charlotte selected Kon Knueppel, the die was cast. Ainge and the Jazz said preferred destinations be damned, and selected Bailey fifth overall. Reports swirled in the week leading up to draft day that Ace had little to no interest in playing in Utah. Evidently, his upside was impossible to overlook despite the myriad of red flags throughout the pre-draft process. 

Will Hardy has deployed an egalitarian, jump-shooting-centric scheme over his three seasons as head coach. Bailey fills both a positional need and a coveted archetype as a natural swingman. If Ace’s focus is, in fact, on basketball, Utah represents a fortuitous landing spot with the surrounding infrastructure to accentuate his strengths. Walter Clayton Jr., on the other hand, adds to a deep backcourt rotation that features Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and Isaiah Collier. With more transactions bound to be on the horizon, Hardy’s lineup optionality is shaking out quite nicely. 

Washington Wizards

Additions: Tre Johnson, Will Riley

While Washington’s evening will be primarily viewed through the prism of missing out on Ace Bailey at No. 6, it is what happened in the latter half of the first round that could prove costly in the long haul. With Kasparas Jakučionis slipping out of the lottery, they were bestowed with a unique opportunity to solidify their backcourt going forward. Johnson and Jakučionis both have positional size and happen to neutralize each other’s weaknesses seamlessly. One is a shooting savant who thrives with off-ball movement, the other an apt dribble penetrator with promising passing instincts. 

Instead, the Wizards opted to trade back to No. 21 and select Will Riley. While Riley has several tantalizing qualities himself, to come out of the first round without a frontcourt partner for Alexandre Sarr or a load-bearing playmaker in the backcourt is a missed opportunity in my estimation. Outside of Bub Carrington, Washington possesses a core of forward-sized youngsters. They pose to go another year without a bankable offensive initiator or defensive backbone. 

New Orleans Pelicans

Additions: Jeremiah Fears, Derik Queen

Following David Griffin’s dismissal in April and the ascension of well-tenured Executive and NBA Legend Joe Dumars, New Orleans was at somewhat of a team-building impasse entering Wednesday night. The new regime kicked things off by jettisoning C.J. McCollum for Jordan Poole after a 2024-25 campaign that was strewn with debilitating injuries. 

Khaman Maluach and Derik Queen quickly emerged as frontrunners with the No. 7 pick. But when Utah spurned Jeremiah Fears in favor of Ace Bailey, the Pelicans’ decision tree grew new branches. With Fears, a crafty point guard with elite potential as a lead ball carrier, in tow and the lottery unfolding, Dumars saw an opportunity to double down. He sent the No. 23 pick and a 2026 unprotected first-round pick (the most favorable of Milwaukee and their own) to Atlanta in order to move up to No. 13 and draft Derik Queen. Such a move is admirably resolute, albeit it brings immense risk. Dumars is not only betting on his squad to be competitive in a crowded Western Conference next season but is also putting a ton of stock into the Pelicans’ talent evaluators. It is a steep price tag for Queen—a deal that pushes an invaluable trade chip in for a prospect whose NBA future has been a divisive topic. But it is reflective of how enamored the Pelicans front office is with both Queen’s talent and fit. Some will deem it commitment to the cause, others blind faith.

New Orleans’ current frontcourt rotation of Derik Queen, Yves Missi, Zion Williamson and Karlo Matkovic does not inspire confidence defensively, but there remain moves to be made. Queen is a skilled hybrid big with a uniquely diverse floor game. His defensive challenges tilt his positional fate further towards playing power forward. Derik has inherent stylistic overlaps with Zion, which will be mitigated if the jumper eventually comes along. Nevertheless, Willie Green will have plenty of real estate to explore offensively, especially in lineup machinations with Zion initiating from the top. 

Brooklyn Nets

Additions: Egor Demin, Nolan Traoré, Drake Powell, Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf

Sean Marks and the Nets’ front office broke new ground by drafting five players in the first round. Brooklyn volunteered to be the dumping ground for Terance Mann as a means of Atlanta acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, receiving the No. 22 pick in return. 

The Nets threw the first real curveballin the lottery by selecting Egor Demin eighth overall, whose over/under draft position was 14.5. They proceeded to triple down by adding two more international guards with shooting concerns in Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf, then rounded out their haul with Drake Powell and Danny Wolf. Whether Marks intends to ride the wave or flip a couple of these prospects for other assets is unclear. But the fact remains that a youth movement of this magnitude is often more damaging than it is auspicious. Experience cannot be undervalued and the battle between NBA neophytes for touches and on-ball reps cannot be overstated. Just ask Stephen Silas. 

Phoenix Suns

Additions: Khaman Maluach, Mark Williams

For a team that traded for Nick Richards ‘ last trade deadline out of desperation, suffice to say the center position has not been a strong suit of the Phoenix Suns since sending DeAndre Ayton to Portland. But alas, the 2025 NBA Draft flipped the script. 

With Brooklyn and Toronto reaching for Egor Demin and Collin Murray-Boyles at No. 8 and No. 9, respectively, the Suns were thrown a lifeline with their newly minted lottery pick. Within a five-minute span, they traded for Mark Williams at a reasonable asking price and were served Khaman Maluach on a silver platter. Their frontcourt shortcomings and size deficiencies were eviscerated in an instant. Acquiring two natural fives seems, and quite literally presents, rotational redundancies. But Matt Ishbia and the Suns are in the talent acquisition business, bereft of their own pick equity and clamoring to convince Devin Booker that they are worth his time in the near term. Mark Williams has been a walking hospital bill in the past, and Khaman Maluach will need ample runway to polish his fledgling game on the interior. After all, he does not turn 19 until September. Phoenix availed themselves of an ironclad big man rotation and 48 minutes of vertical spacing. Two years of Drew Eubanks and Mason Plumlee off the pine provided all the more reason to fork out assets for Mark Williams.