For the record, this was up a 5PM, but just on the wrong site.  I accidentally posted it over at my other site NBAPlaybook.  I am a dummy, sorry for the confusion...

• With the 29th pick, the Magic selected Quincy Pondexter
• With the 30th pick, the Wizards selected Craig Brackins

And now, with the 31st pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Nets select Stanley Robinson, Forward out of the University of Connecticut

As you guys may have noticed, the Nets need bodies going into the next season, but not only bodies, but athletic bodies.  Last year the Nets were way too old and nonathletic in the frontcourt playing guys like Josh Boone, Trenton Hassell, and Jarvis Hayes meaningful minutes.

Robinson, while looking like an old man, has a live body and will run around and create chaos, even dunking on a few people.  He's raw, so this may be a good pick for the Nets to take, stash him in the D-League and hope he develops.

Sebastian Pruiti

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• With the 25th pick, the Grizzlies selected Dominique Jones
• With the 26th pick, the Thunder selected Tibor Pleiss

And now, with the 27th pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Nets select Jordan Crawford, Shooting Guard from Xavier University:

I would really like to see the Nets go point guard here (since they only have one on their roster), but there isn't a PG worth the pick at 27.  Because of that, I think the Nets will go best player available and Jordan Crawford is the player who fits that description.  Many NBA fans might remember Crawford as the player who dunked "on" LeBron James, but Crawford is a guy who can really score in bunches, and the Nets are a team that would need a scoring punch off the bench, so the pick makes sense in my opinion.

Now on the clock, Three Shades of Blue, representing the Memphis Grizzlies.

Sebastian Pruiti

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Typically here at NAS, we don't post on every single rumor involving the Nets, but given just the sheer wackiness surrounding the organization and their lottery pick the past 24 hours, I thought it would be a good idea to fan the flames some more until things start to materialize tomorrow night.

The latest comes courtesy of Marc Stein and the TrueHoop mothership. With more and more people buying into the idea that the Nets are going to take Syracuse's Wesley Johnson with the #3 pick, rather than Favors/Cousins is because Johnson has the same agent as free agent PF Carlos Boozer. So, in theory, bringing in Johnson could lead to Boozer.

So, here's my take on all of this. A lot of the rumors that have been circulating the past 24 hours are all based on the same reality - it would appear that the Nets are less interested in projection and would rather put together a team next season that is ready to compete for a playoff spot. I understand Prokhorov wants to make a big splash and this team desperately needs to be competitive for their move to Brooklyn in two years, but this whole strategy is hugely unsettling. Lottery picks, in theory, should be used for the best talent available, and by landing the #3 pick, the Nets, hypothetically should take home one of the three best talents in the draft. By most accounts, that's either Derrick Favors or DeMarcus Cousins. My preference is Favors, and while the addition of Favors and maybe a free agent or two doesn't guarantee the Nets return to the playoffs in 2011 - in fact, they probably won't - if Favors develops into the player most scouts believes he can become, the Nets could have one the leagues most gifted PFs on their roster in 2-3 years. Meanwhile, I just don't think a starting five of Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Wesley Johnson, Carlos Boozer and Brook Lopez is anything more than a bottom half seed in the Eastern Conference - which brings the Nets back to where they were during the Vince Carter/Jason Kidd era - not good enough to win anything significant, and not bad enough to gather assets that could help them rebuild a la the Thunder.

Going on the assumption that three true game changers in FA, LeBron, Wade and Bosh, are not coming to New Jersey, I don't think the best way to accomplish Prokhorov's five-year plan is to import a role player like Johnson with the #3 pick in the draft while grossly overpaying for imperfect players in free agency. This is the same strategy the earned the Knicks an 8th seed and first-round ouster in 2004, followed by six years of salary cap hell.

Mark Ginocchio

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At around noon today, I was on The Basketball Jones' live mock draft (yeah, I am still bragging about that) talking about how Derrick Favors to the Nets was pretty much a sure thing.  After that, the crazy started.  First, there were multiple reports that the Nets were leaning towards drafting Syracuse SF Wesley Johnson.  That has now seemed to settle down, with some reports saying that Johnson is simply just in the conversation with Derrick Favors.

With things starting to become relatively calm once again, Dave D'Alessandro decided to shake things up again with his report that he put out tonight around 10.  Apparently Cousins is now out of the conversation:

“Cousins has great hands and great feet, and he knows how to play,” Thorn said. “But you know, it’s a leap of faith there to suggest that he can play the 4. He can shoot the ball well, and he can face the basket. But I don’t think he’ll take it from 20 feet and go by people, and defensively it could be even more of a problem.”

In their internal discussions, the Nets have concluded that in spite of Cousins’ great talent, it would be very hard for him to complement Brook Lopez as the full-time power forward unless he trimmed down to 265 pounds — and he might have enough trouble getting down to 275.

So things simplified?  Not so fast, there is now a new big man that the Nets are considering.  His name is Greg Monroe:

It just means Thorn is in the mood to confuse everybody by suggesting that Greg Monroe of Georgetown is now also in the mix.

“We like Monroe a lot,” Thorn said, when reviewing his short list today. “He’s a lot different than Derrick Favors. He has an all-around game — left hand, right hand, great size. So I don’t think you (eliminate him) by any stretch. Monroe’s looking very good to us.”

That's not the only news made tonight either.  Chad Ford is reporting in his newest post to the TrueHoop blog that the Nets have dealt Chris Douglas-Roberts to the Bucks for a second round pick:

Finally, it looks like the Bucks aren't done dealing. This afternoon they traded Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell to the Warriors for Corey Maggette. Now sources say that the Bucks and Nets are in serious negotiations on a deal that would send Chris Douglas-Roberts to the Bucks for a second round pick. With the addition of Maggette and Douglas-Roberts, you have to wonder if the Bucks may look at something other than a wing with the No. 15 pick in the draft.

That puts this CDR tweet in perspective now.  10 hours ago, he tweeted:

Got news for yall later! Yall ready for this??? Ahhahaaahaha. I jus can't hide it. FTD. Yes yess! FTD yes yess!

FTD meaning Fear The Deer.  Well then.  I have never denied Chris Douglas-Roberts talents, and I think when he wants to be, he is one of the better pure scorers in the NBA.  To me, it just seems that the Nets were fed up with his off the court issues and were getting rid of him anyway (the Nets had until late in the month to decide whether or not they wanted to pick up his option) and they took what they could get for him, and that was a second round pick.  The Nets now have four picks in this draft (two first rounders and two second rounders).

There has been a lot of action over in Nets-land, and the draft isn't even until Thursday, so don't expect for everything to be over and done with (especially with the four picks the Nets have).  Hold on guys, this is going to be a wild ride...

Sebastian Pruiti

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Minutes after I got off the phone with the fine people of The Basketball Jones, doing their live mock draft (you can see the replay here), and talking about how the Nets are probably going to go big, news broke saying that might not be the case.  Draft Express, Chad Ford, and Adrian Wojnarowski all are reporting that the Nets are leaning towards Wesley Johnson for the number three pick, meaning that the Nets are going after a PF hard in free agency.  From Wojnarowski's post:

All along, the Wolves had planned to select Johnson at No. 4, and yet the New Jersey Nets are holding serious discussions about drafting the small forward and taking their chances with trying to sign a power forward in free agency. The Nets had long favored Derrick Favors, but are debating now about how long it will take for him to become a regular contributor. New Jersey is still contemplating DeMarcus Cousins, too.

Ugh.  This strategy is good in theory, you don't want to draft a PF if you are going to sign a youungish one to a max contract (Amar'e or Bosh), that is a waste of a pick.  Plus it isn't like Johnson is a bad player (in fact he is very good). However, this could blow up in their face and ruin all the good will they built up with Nets fans after their awful season last year.

I am worried about it for two reasons.  One, if we don't draft a PF and somehow whiff in free agency, we are going to see the Nets either give a max deal to a guy like Carlos Boozer or David Lee (trust me that's bad) or the Nets are going to be stuck with Yi starting at PF for another year.

The second reason is my main worry, and that is the overcrowding at the wing position.  For a guy like LeBron, you don't worry about overcrowding, but to draft a wing when you already have Courtney Lee, CDR, and Terrence Williams on the roster?  That just doesn't make sense.  My fear is that the Nets' new staff sees Terrence Williams as a back-up point guard instead of what he actually is.  A starting small forward with the skill-set to be a point forward type of player.  In my opinion, those are two different things.

A few hours ago, I was fairly confident the Nets were going with Favors, now?  Who the hell knows.  After the Vince Carter trade at draft night, I didn't think that the Nets could match it this year in terms of surprises.  Apparently, they are well on their way.  Thursday is going to be interesting.

Sebastian Pruiti

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Just spoke with 2 sources & looks like Turner is lock at 2, & Wes Johnson now has lead at 3 in NJ.

Via Chad Ford

Wesley Johnson is moving up to 3, New Jersey, on our next mock coming shortly. Told New Jersey will take him and go for a PF in free agency. ...
Wes is the most ready guy and New Jersey wants to be competitive next year.

via DraftExpress

All I can think is that this has to be a red herring. Forgive me for saying this, but Wesley Johnson should absolutely not be the #3 pick in this draft. He is a fine player and will continue to be at the next level, but he doesn't 10% of Favors's upside and is about as NBA-ready (if not less so) at 22 as Cousins is at 19. This entire year, I've said that I was content with having a guaranteed top-4 pick in this draft because it had a sure set of four top prospects: John Wall, Evan Turner, DeMarcus Cousins, and Derrick Favors. I was of course upset that we lost out on the John Wall sweepstakes, but we at least would have a decent consolation prize between the other three. Wesley Johnson was the consensus 5th best player - better than everyone else (except maybe Monroe, who has been climbing) but not as good as the top four. The fact that the Timberwolves were considering him at #4 even was surprising to me, although their logjam at the 4/5 spots made it more plausible.

Now, two days before the draft, Nets sources are reporting that they're skipping out on that top four entirely. This has to be a smokescreen. I'm hoping this is a smokescreen. As I said earlier, Wesley Johnson is a good player, and will be a good player at the next level. But I don't just want "good" with the third overall pick. If Wesley Johnson gets his name called third, I don't know about anyone else, but I'll sure be praying that it's for another team.

Devin Kharpertian

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As the New Jersey Nets look to rebuild themselves from their disastrous 12-win season, a lot of to-do has been made about the fact that in addition to their lottery pick, the Nets also have a second first rounder, and the first pick in the second round, which some consider has the potential to be “as good as a first rounder.”

Or is it?

Obviously, draft picks are a good thing for a rebuilding team, and almost every single draft has a few gems or solid rotations players in the second round - but history has shown that there’s generally something off about the player picked with the first pick in the second round.  Since the draft lottery era, the pick has only yielded one player who’s appeared in an all-star game, while producing far more players who have only played in one or two NBA seasons. In many cases, the pick has yielded players who have never played a single NBA minute. So when looking at mock drafts and imagining how that 31^st pick might look in the rotation next season, keep your expectations low Nets fans.

... MORE →

Mark Ginocchio

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According to Mitch Lawrence and the Daily News, the Nets are still trying to trade for New Orleans Hornets' PG Chris Paul, apparently offering Devin Harris and the #3 pick in the draft to make it happen. But with a new coach coming in and NOLA trying to turn over a new leaf, they reportedly are not interested in trading their lone box office draw in Paul:

"We are not going to move him," said one team official Monday. "He's our foundation and is not exactly 'touchable.'"

I think given all of the Avery Johnson/Devin talk that's transpired since Johnson has come aboard, it would be interesting to see the Nets just turn around and trade for Paul. It's the kind of move this team hasn't made since Kidd for Marbury.

***

Also, our boy Sebastian is going to be appearing on The Basketball Jones mock draft, streaming live at noon today. Good luck Sebastian. We're all counting on you.

Update:

Here is the link for the post.  Check in around 12.

Mark Ginocchio

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OK everyone, this Favors vs. Cousins debate has kind of turned the comments into mush.  So before we get to the draft, I just wanted to remind everyone to take another look at the commenting constitution.  Specifically the section about  being "that guy"

5.  Don’t be what Dave from the Blazers’ Edge calls THAT GUY.  Allow him to explain:

* He posts something and then responds to every…single…comment with an overly-defensive comment of his own, not letting people have real conversation about his points.  It’s fine for people to disagree.  In fact debate makes the best conversations.  If you don’t want anybody to disagree with what you’ve written, go to Hallmark, buy a journal, and write your thoughts there.  If you write them here, give people some space to reply with good, solid points of their own.

* He talks about the person posting instead of the post and its points/ideas.  This is completely unnecessary.  Hint:  Limit the use of the word “you” in your posts.  “You’re an idiot if you think LeBron will be traded.  Cleveland values him too much…” should be just “Cleveland values LeBron too much to trade him.”

* He begins posts with phrases like, “If you had actually watched the game…” or “If you knew anything about basketball…”  These are inflammatory and again unnecessary.  It’s possible that people actually did watch the game and simply saw something different than you did.

* He makes comparisons between basketball matters and things FAR beyond their scope, things in such poor taste that the mere mention of them obliterates any valid basketball-related conversation.  (“The refs were the Nazis and we were the Jews tonight!”)

We all love the Nets and we all love discussing ways we think they will become better.  Realize that you probably aren't going to change anyone's minds about something no matter how passionate you are (think about someone trying to change your stance on a topic).  Let's keep the comments fun to read/participate in.

Sebastian Pruiti

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As always, Dave D'Alessandro has the skinny:

Here’s all you need to know about Cousins: He flubbed a shooting drill – just didn’t have it the first time through. Brick, reload, brick, snort, brick, angst. So after his turn was over, he asked to do it again – and he knocked down a very respectable percentage from a few steps above the nail.

The problem: He’s undoubtedly a five – say, the kind that Philly should seriously consider building around, but probably won’t. He’s lost some weight – down to 292 – but his size and skills say center, period.

...

That report from Minneapolis about Favors being out of shape? It was a feint, obviously. At least the Nets think so: Their internal dialogue in the last few days was about how Minnesota has already told the kid he’s their choice at No. 4, so the Wolves want to see him drop.

“I didn’t think so,” was all Polinsky would say when asked if the Georgia Tech kid was out of shape.

There is a ton more very good info over at Dave D's post, but the gist of it is that Derrick Favors didn't shy away from the contact.  That is what I thought they would be looking at, and I think now that they see he won't be afraid to bang inside, he is going to be the pick.

Also of note is that the Nets scouts think that Cousins will be better suited to play the center position in the pros.  Since the Nets already have an All-Star caliber center on their roster it won't make sense to draft them.  I agree.  There is no question that DeMarcus Cousins is going to be a solid pro, but I have said this over and over, it is about who the better fit with the roster is.  That better fit is Derrick Favors.

Sebastian Pruiti

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• With the first pick, the Wizards selected John Wall
• With the second pick, the Sixers selected Evan Turner

And now, with the third pick in the 2010 NBA Draft the Nets select Derrick Favors, Power Forward out of Georgia Tech:

With John Wall and Evan Turner off the board, it is up to the Nets to select between the best Power Forwards available, Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins.  I think the Nets think tank are going to select Derrick Favors.  I already did a pretty extensive post on it, but here are a few excerpts:

This way, when Brook is on the outside with the basketball his big-man alongside of him can work in the post, and vice-versa.  Despite being very raw, when watching the tape, you can tell that Derrick Favors has this skill-set, and this is why I want to see the Nets draft Favors with the third overall pick.

...

If you were to think of one word that has been associated with Derrick Favors so far, that word would be “raw.”  That is all you hear from some scouts and draft experts.  While he might be raw when it comes to basketball skills (his shooting ability for example), there are two things that catch your eye when you watch Favors play.

The first is his work ethic on the basketball court.  Georgia Tech’s offense was very helter skelter during this past season, and that is putting it nicely.  There would be series of five to ten straight possessions where Derrick Favors wouldn’t even get a touch.  Despite all of that, every time down the court, Favors would get to his spot on the court and post up, just as hard and strong as the last time (even though he didn’t get the basketball).

The second thing you notice is Favors’ basketball IQ.  Despite being “raw,” Favors seems to know what he is doing with the basketball.  In the four or five games I was able to see, Derrick Favors never looked flustered.  He was comfortable with the basketball and always knew where he wanted to go with it.  He also does the little things.  We already talked about Favors putting his hands up when retreating to his man, but he also runs the floor very well, knows how to properly space out the court, and instinctively chins the basketball when grabbing a rebound, getting those elbows out and preventing defenders from reaching in and stealing it.

Now on the clock is A Wolf Among Wolves, representing the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Sebastian Pruiti

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After Avery Johnson was introduced as the Nets' head coach, he did a brief interview for the YES Network.  One thing he said especially caught my attention when asked about getting his players to buy-in and play defense (around the 4:00 mark):

"More than anything, we are going to have a system.  The system is going to be laid out from game one.  How we play pick and rolls.  How we function in transition defense.  How we close out, and how we play the post.  There isn't going to be a gray area."

I thought it would be fun to look at a few Mavs games from when Avery was coaching them to see what that system is and if the Nets have the players to execute.  We are going to look at a different aspect that Avery mentioned every week, and today we are starting with maybe the most important part of defense in this era of the NBA, the pick and roll defense.

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Sebastian Pruiti

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