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On June 2nd, 2012, the Atlanta Hawks reached a deal to send perennial All-Star Joe Johnson up the coast to the new, vibrant, grandiose, braggadocios and confident franchise recently relocated in Brooklyn.
At the time, it seemed risky, but a necessary evil. The Nets desperately needed to achieve two things that summer: make a splash in New York, and convince the cornerstone of the franchise, Deron Williams, to re-sign.
A month later, Williams signed on, and the Nets rolled out the red carpet for “Brooklyn’s Backcourt” and hyped the living hell out of basketball in New York. They went 49-33 and won a playoff series the next year. All was well.
But lost in the celebration and return to moderate success was the miniscule fine print: the Hawks had the right to swap picks with the Nets in 2014 and 2015. At the time, it seemed like nothing: the Nets were trending upwards and the Hawks, who had just traded their best player to Brooklyn, would most likely trend downwards.
In 2014, Brooklyn finished six games ahead of Atlanta, so no swap. But In 2015? Well, you know the rest of the story by now: the Hawks went supernova, won sixty games, knocked the Nets out of the playoffs in six games, and now own the 15th pick in the 2015 NBA draft.
Brooklyn will pick 29th.
So, as Joe Johnson slides into the final year of his max contract, the Nets, a team that has struggled finding youthful, athletic contributions since their move to Brooklyn, will select fourteen picks below Atlanta. Ah, the wonderful irony.
Of course, the Nets could use some serious help at every position this summer so the selection at 29 is still an immensely important piece towards saving a franchise with a potentially bleak future. Who could they grab there? What should they be looking for? Here are some early-on possibilities.
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Tyus Jones, Point Guard, Duke:
Since April’s NCAA Championship, Tyus Jones has risen up draft boards. The Duke freshman averaged 11.8 points, 5.6 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, nailing a slew of clutch shots en route to the college crown. Following Deron Williams’s sudden disintegration and Jarrett Jack detrimental plus-minus, finding a way to add a player like Jones to the roster could be a shrewd move by fellow Duke alumni and general manager Billy King.
Although the Nets are likely stuck with the two point guards for the time being, it’s never too early to look towards the future. The National Champ would add some much-needed athleticism to a slow, plodding squad. But Jones’s rising stock may put him out of Brooklyn’s reach.
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George Lucas, Point Guard, Brazil:
No, not that George Lucas! He’ll have just turned nineteen by the time of June’s draft and boasts a 6’6″, 202-pound frame. And, yes, he plays point guard.
It’s unlikely that Billy Perpetually-On-The-Hot-Seat King would take on a project with much of the franchise’s direction up in the air as of now. But Lucas cannot be ignored. He measures up closely with Shaun Livingston, the #4 pick in 2004, and has a ridiculous wingspan at nearly 7 feet. While Jason Kidd has moved on from Brooklyn to coach the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo, Livingston’s contributions in those small/long-ball lineups still hold true.
For me, there are two factions of Nets fans. The first one wants the Nets to win now. The second fan wants the Nets to blow it up. Either way, isn’t taking a flyer on a lanky athletic teenager at 29th a decent move? Should the Nets find a new home for Deron Williams, Lucas might be a good replacement down the line. In that scenario, Lucas becomes the absolutely perfect pick for Brooklyn.
Besides, don’t you want your own Giannis? Don’t you want to read about Lucas discovering American cultures every day in what is shaping up to be a bleak season? Don’t lie to me right now. (But don’t hold your breath.)
Other potential options: Terry Rozier, Louisville, Travis Trice, Michigan State.
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RJ Hunter, Shooting Guard, Georgia State:
Hunter was the bell of the ball this March: going into the tournament, the Georgia State guard was well known for scoring in bunches with the same kind of irrational confidence that was made Alan Anderson a mainstay in Brooklyn the last few seasons. After the tournament? Hunter proved that he can do it on a big scale on the national stage.
He scored 19.7 PPG last year, good for 20th in the NCAA. At 6’5″, Hunter projects as a shooting guard for his future franchise, but could always assume some ball-handling duties if the moment called for it. For a Nets team that struggled to score off the bench at times this season, Hunter might be a good man for the job.
Hunter’s game is not just limited to getting open looks. He constantly came off screens and created his own shot with major success this past season. Hunter dished 3.6 APG, and what impressed me the most was his basketball IQ. For many college stars, they often try to win games on their own. However, that’s not Hunter’s game — he made the right pass more often than not and never held onto the ball too long.
For now, NBADraft.net projects Hunter falling to the San Antonio Spurs at 26th, which is bad news for the entire non-Spurs universe.
Other potential options: Norman Powell, UCLA, Rashad Vaughn, UNLV
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Cliff Alexander, Power Forward/Center, Kansas
The 6’8, 250-pound freshman bruiser didn’t exactly set Kansas on fire this year. After coming in as a projected top-five pick, Alexander managed just 7.1 PPG with 5.4 RPG in 17 minutes per game. Perhaps the jump to college surprised Alexander, as he was no longer able to simply take advantage of smaller, lighter athletes.
But you can’t coach size and athleticism, and Alexander comes pre-equipped with both. Alexander has a 7’2 wingspan and can finish once he gets the ball under the basket. His jumper is below average, but with Brook Lopez next to him in the frontcourt, it’s hard to imagine he’d need to expedite finesse and footwork.
Alexander is defensively sound, averaging 1.3 blocks per game and 12 rebounds per 40 minutes.
And, uh, there’s this.
Alexander is projected anywhere between 25 and 40, so keep an eye on him during the combine. Many experts believe Alexander has the potential to shoot up draft boards, but, for now, he’s right in Brooklyn’s wheelhouse.
Other options include: Christian Wood, UNLV, Chris McCullough, Syracuse
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Cedi Osman, Small Forward, Turkey
The Nets went from lethal legend & master troll Paul Pierce and Russian army knife Andrei Kirilenko in 2014 to a pu pu platter backing up Joe Johnson.
With Alan Anderson’s impending departure this summer, it should come as no surprise when I say Brooklyn must make it it a top priority to draft a small forward.
Enter: Cedi Osman (at right in the photo above). He’s young (nineteen), he’s fast (they were called the ZombieNets this year), he’s a great three-point shooter (Nets will need to replace Anderson) and has an awesome name (Cedi!)
In this video, Osman gets a block on one end and the assist under the hoop on the other. He’s all over the court in a good way, a bit like Kirilenko used to, and his energy is clearly infectious. NBADraft.net notes that Osman’s maturity and basketball IQ are impressive; and if we’re learned anything about Lionel Hollins this year, we know he lives and dies by those words.
Still not convinced? Check out 1:37 in the above video. The announcer proclaims: “[He’s] going to have nightmares about Cedi Osman!” And don’t you want a full year of Ian Eagle-isms about this guy?
Osman is projected as a second round pick and I’m officially obsessed.
Other options include: Terran Petteway, Nebraska, Aaron White, Iowa
