First things first: The Nets are not talking about Draft strategy. They are notorious in that regard. Unlike other teams, they don’t announce who they have in for workouts and interviews. They even frown upon agents who reveal which clients have traveled to HSS Training Center. (Last year’s SCOUT series on the Draft was remarkable in that it gave some insights into the process but really kept the most sensitive info off camera, fuzzing out every screen, whether the big board in the Draft room or someone’s
laptop.)
That said, fans and draftniks want to know the latest. Among them Jeremy Woo who compiles ESPN’s mock drafts. In his latest mock, out Tuesday, Woo speculates that the Nets pick is, in the minds of NBA executives, a “wild card,” meaning it’s possible that we could see it move.
After a second straight disappointing lottery result dropped the Nets three spots, this pick is viewed around the league as a potential wild-card spot, with Brooklyn needing star power and still developing young players at every position after rostering five first-rounders a year ago. What direction the Nets wind up going might offer insight into how they view their current prospects. They also have cap space and a supply of tradable future firsts at their disposal. Acuff Jr. doesn’t fit Brooklyn’s established positional-size philosophy, but he has a best-available case if this is how the board falls. It’s not viewed as a given that the Nets select a guard, however, and they could find value in trading back.
Acuff was helped by his combine measurements, standing 6-2 barefoot with a plus-4 ½ wingspan. While still on the smaller side, those dimensions are solid for a starting point guard, and his sturdy build should help him keep up with NBA physicality. None of that assuages the concerns around his poor defense, but his offensive bona fides vaulted him into this range of the draft and will keep him there. The Kings at No. 7 are viewed by rival teams as Acuff’s floor: Sacramento needs a point guard, and there are existing connections, including the fact that GM Scott Perry coached Acuff’s father at Eastern Kentucky.
A lot of what Woo talks about is not that new. The Nets have options. In order of degree of difficulty, they could stay where they are, they could move down, they could acquire a second first rounder using their multitude of draft assets or finally, they could (try to) move up. Four days ago, Brian Lewis reported this:
Whispers going around the combine suggest Nets general manager Sean Marks is open to moving up or down from the No. 6 spot.
And in his latest mock draft, Kevin O’Connor implies that the Nets universe of possibilities may not be limited to the four or five guards linked to them by draftniks: in alphabetical order, Darius Acuff, Mikel Brown Jr., Brayden Burries, Kingston Flemings and Keaton Wagler.
The Nets shocked a lot of people when they took Egor Dёmin with the eighth pick one year ago. And maybe they will shock again this year. Multiple league sources have connected Brooklyn to Michigan center Aday Mara and Tennessee freshman forward Nate Ament. But in this mock, we’re sticking with the best guard available.
In his opinion, that’s Wagler, but is there another implication from KOC: that the Nets could add a second first and take the 7’4” Mara or 6’10” Ament or, as Erik Slater speculated, the 6’9.5” Karim Lopez or the 6’10” Yaxel Lendeborg? A league source told ND before the trade deadline that of course the Nets have interest in adding a second first with such a deep draft. But he added that teams were unlikely to answer calls until after the lottery when they know the lay of the land. Of course, we’re there now. Another league decision-maker told us that he thought with all those assets 32 picks — including nine tradeable firsts — they could move up.
Indeed, Bobby Marks on Wednesday ranked the Nets draft assets at the top of the NBA. Breaking things down into seven tiers, the former Nets assistant GM put Brooklyn at the top of Tier One.
Brooklyn has four unprotected first-rounders over the next seven years, acquired in two separate trades (Mikal Bridges to the Knicks and Cameron Johnson to the Nuggets). Three are from New York (2027, 2029, 2031) and one from Denver in 2032.
Brooklyn also has the most favorable pick in 2028 among Philadelphia (if 9-30), New York and Phoenix.
The downside? Houston has the right to swap picks next year, the final condition from the James Harden trade in 2021.
Again, if you’ve been following this site, that’s not new either. Sean Marks (no relation) & co. have accumulated picks willy-nilly. They have seven in 2029 — three firsts and four seconds — and six in 2032 — two firsts and four seconds. As the league decision-maker said, there’s only one reason to husband all those assets: to be able to move quickly and opportunistically when the time comes, but that time may is unlikely to come till a month from now and if history is any guide, as a surprise.
Stay tuned.
