As we approach this year’s NBA draft, I can best sum up what we know about where the Nets are headed with the #27 pick by quoting former WCW wrestler Sting:
“The only thing for sure about Sting is, nothing’s for sure.”
It’s safe to say nobody really knows what the Nets are going to do, and what they do may depend on who’s available or what trades are out there, but I will do my best to sum up what we know so far. Earlier today, NY Post Fred Kerber and The Record’s Al Iannazzone reported it was down to four players:
- Reggie Jackson of Boston College
- Justin Harper of Richmond
- Nolan Smith of Duke
- Andrew Goudelock of College of Charleston
Reggie Jackson’s refusal to work out with most teams raised some eyebrows. I think Nolan Smith will stick in this league, though he doesn’t necessarily fill a pressing need for the Nets.
Al Iannazzone reports that the Nets are exploring options to try to package picks in order to move up in the draft, potentially to select Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert. Shumpert’s stock rose tremendously following all of the NBA’s pre-draft combines. His physical tools are off the charts, but there are still a lot of holes in his game.
In two of the latest mock drafts, Chad Ford of ESPN’s mock draft 7.0 has the Nets selecting Reggie Jackson at 27 and Jonathan Givony of draftexpress.com has the Nets selecting Chandler Parsons of Florida at 27.
Some of the other names that have either been reported or appeared in mock drafts with the Nets:
- Josh Selby of Kansas
- Tyler Honeycutt of UCLA
- JaJuan Johnson of Purdue
- Trey Thompkins of Georgia
- Davis Bertans of Latvia
Selby’s best basketball days are ahead of him, or at least that’s the prevailing thought. Honeycutt could be an interesting player, considering the tract record recent UCLA players have had in the league.
The remaining list of draft prospects (as previewed by the Nets Are Scorching team):
- Jeremy Tyler of Tokoyo
- Charles Jenkins of Hofstra
If Tyler is still there at #27, I think the Nets would have to think long and hard about selecting him. The way we are viewing him now could have been vastly different had Tyler gone the traditional route to college after high school.
