The Brooklyn Nets’ D-League affiliate, appropriately named the Long Island Nets, are set to tip-off their inaugural season with Yogi Ferrell, Beau Beech, and Egidijus Mockevicius — but that’s not enough for a full roster! For most franchises, the D-League Draft may not mean much, but to the Nets, who have a pick deficiency themselves, finding a diamond in the rough with their revamped front office could be important in the grand scheme of things.
And, lest you forget, Sean Kilpatrick has arguably been the Nets’ best player through three games and until he was scooped up last February, the three-point marksman was stuck toiling away in the D-League. If the Nets could find another Kilpatrick-esque producer, then it may just take some sting out of Jaylen Brown in green and white.
But who did they pick? Here are our quick-hitting capsules on the Nets’ selections:
1st round, no. 14 overall: Boris Dallo, France
Dallo is a 22-year old combo-guard and has spent time with both Partizan Belgrade and Olympique Antibes. Last season, he averaged 5.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in about 19 minutes per game for Antibes.
From Draft Express’ last mention of Dallo in early June:
French point guard Boris Dallo was a very highly touted prospect early on in his career, but hit a roadblock in his development upon leaving France for Partizan Belgrade, and has struggled to regain his mojo since. Dallo had a solid role for surprising Antibes in Pro A France this year, and showed some impressive quickness offensively, an ability to lock down multiple positions on the other end, and some occasional glimpses as a distributor. His inability to make shots from the perimeter, or even offer a consistent scoring presence, as well as his wild decision making, will be scrutinized closely in Treviso, but it’s hard to argue with his physical tools.
Best of all? It sounds like Dallo and his agent, Chris Patrick, are both excited about to the opportunity to join the Nets’ franchise this fall. From a Twitter conversation with our friends at NetsDaily:
@BrooklynNets he is and very excited. Exactly where we were hoping he would end up!
— Chris Patrick (@ChrisPatrickJr) October 30, 2016
2nd round, no. 36 overall: Trashon Burrell, Memphis
Trashon Burrell is a 6’7 forward that played for the Memphis Tigers over that last two NCAA seasons. Naturally, Burrell was born in Albany, New York and averaged 9.6 points, 5.7 rebounds. 2.3 assists, and a steal per game on 44% shooting. With just Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Sean Kilpatrick soaking up minutes at small forward, the Nets will look to build another two-way player and Burrell managed to hit 31% of his three-point attempts (49-160) in 2015-2016.
12 players working out for the Celtics today in Waltham includes some first round prospects. pic.twitter.com/IUgoogQ4jk
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) June 18, 2016
3rd round, no. 58 overall, J.J. Moore, Rutgers
Moore is a 6’6 small forward that played for the University of Pittsburgh from 2010-2013 before transferring to Rutgers University as a senior. In that fourth year, Moore averaged just 11.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and a steal over 26.6 minutes per game.
According to iLuvBBall, a basketball blog in New York, went to the Nets’ open tryouts earlier this month and noted that Moore was one of the standout performers:
iLuvBBall saw a lot of REALLY great players showcasing their skills, but there were four players that stood out to us. These guys competed, battled and put on a show. As we watched these guys compete, it was evident that they were the best of the best.
#12: Daquan Brooks – #104: Anthony Cox – #35: J.J. Moore – #24: Devin Brooks
4th round, no. 77 overall, Palpreet Singh Brar, India
Thanks the Nets new investments in overseas prospects, this may just be one worth getting excited about. Brar is a 6’8 power forward that has dominated in India for years, but his path the D-League hasn’t be easy. With much of the overseas attention focused on Europe, very few Indians get the opportunity to jump to the states, but because of a new program called ACG NBA Jump, Brar is making the most of it.
From a great feature on Hoopistani about Brar’s journey:
NBA joined hands with ACG Worldwide to launch the ACG-NBA Jump, a first-of-its-kind talent search programme to find the best young basketball player in India. After scourging through multiple cities over several months, national finals of the ACG NBA Jump were held in Greader Noida this week and Palpreet Singh Brar – 21-years-old – emerged as the national champ. With his victory, Brar has won an opportunity to be trained by NBA level coaches and participate in NBA D-League tryouts later this year.
And from Brian Shaw, the former Denver Nuggets head coach:
“His feel for the game and understanding, I could tell he grasps it,” Shaw said, “Palpreet Singh, we all thought, was the guy who had the best chance to succeed.”
5th round, no. 92 overall, Austin Witter, Reno Bighorns
Witter is a 6’8 guard/forward that played for North Carolina A&T for four years from 2009-2013, averaging 6.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.9 blocks per game. Since then, he’s played one season with the Reno Bighorns in 2014-2015, but put up a much more modest statline of 3.9 points, and 2.6 rebounds in 14 minutes per game.
This month, The New York Times wrote a feature about the Long Island Nets’ open tryouts and, in it, Witter was one of the players they profiled:
He spent part of the 2014-15 season with the Reno Bighorns of the D-League and was in camp with the team last season when he broke his hand. He returned home to Princeton Junction, N.J., and took a job stocking shelves at a warehouse. He quit a few weeks ago to pursue basketball once more, perhaps for the final time. The dream, he knows, does not pay the bills. (D-League salaries reach roughly $25,000, plus playoff shares.)
Last Saturday, though, he plied his familiar trade in a team-issued practice jersey, No. 83. He has a growing collection of such keepsakes. “Something to sleep in, wear outside, take the trash out,” Witter said.
In Marks&
Atkinson&
Langdon&
Nored
We trust.
