Could the Brooklyn Nets trade into the second round? If history is any indication, it’s almost a guarantee they will, and they might not give up anything but money for it.
Here’s how it works: NBA teams are allotted a maximum of $3 million to use to facilitate trades each year. The Nets have all $3 million available for use, and Nets general manager Billy King is no stranger to using it during the NBA draft.
King has bought or traded for four picks in his two drafts with the Nets:
- In 2011, the Nets traded the 27th pick and their second-round pick next year to the Boston Celtics for the rights to 25th pick MarShon Brooks;
- In 2011, the Nets traded this year’s second-round pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves and cash for the rights to Bojan Bogdanovic;
- In 2012, the Nets bought the rights to 41st overall pick Tyshawn Taylor outright for $2 million;
- In 2012, the Nets bought the rights to 55th overall pick Tornike Shengelia outright for $750,000. They later spent $300,000 to buy Shengelia out of his contract with Spirou Basket Charleroi to bring him over immediately on a two-year minimum contract.
You see a mixed bag: two Europeans, three deals facilitated with cash, two pure cash deals for picks after 40, three second-rounders, one rotation player (so far, and he’s on the trading block).
So anything is possible. But here are some names and places to remember:
Workout men: Notable names the Nets have worked out: Jeff Withey, Jamaal Franklin, Tony Snell, Deshaun Thomas, Demetrius Conger, Vincent Council, Reggie Bullock, Tim Hardaway Jr., Gorgui Dieng, Tony Mitchell, Archie Goodwin. After seeing a few workouts, Nets head coach Jason Kidd (still getting used to saying that) said no one impressed him. At the time he said that, Kidd had seen Tony Mitchell and C.J. Leslie, among others.
Pick 26: The Nets are reportedly pushing hard to get the 26th overall pick from the Minnesota Timberwolves, offering guard MarShon Brooks. While the deal isn’t imminent and the Timberwolves have no immediate impetus to get it done, the Nets could use the second pick to either trade up (packaging it with their 22nd pick — see below) or down (buying multiple second-rounders — the Blazers are one option, as they pick 9th, 10th, and 15th in the second round). They could also grab someone with the 26th pick and hold on to them — the names above are all good candidates.
Sergey Karasev: Chad Ford of ESPN.com reported that the Nets are a potential suitor for the 13th overall pick in the draft, currently held by the Dallas Mavericks. If they trade Brooks for the 26th pick, they could package the two first-rounders for 13 and draft Russian forward Sergey Karasev, a lefty scorer.
Alexandre Paranhos: The mystery man of this year’s draft, Paranhos has come out of nowhere as a potential late second-round pick. The Nets worked out the Brazilian forward this week, and he has a physique similar to LeBron James — Paranhos is 6’9″ and 245 pounds with a wingspan of 7’3″. I don’t know much about Paranhos other than what Artur Barbosa says (“the best three-point shooter at Liga Desenvolvimento Olimpico, the second-most important league in Brazil”), and a few grainy videos, but they’re enough to intrigue:
The 21-year-old certainly doesn’t have James’s legendary upside, but if he impressed the Nets in this week’s workout, don’t be surprised to see them buy into the second round late.
The Trail Blazers: I mentioned this already, but the Trail Blazers have three second-round picks — 39th, 40th, and 45th — and traded with the Nets on draft night just last year: they were the team the Nets acquired Tyshawn Taylor from with the 41st pick for $2 million. If there’s someone that caught Billy King’s eye that’s projected there, and he’s available, he’ll make the call to buy again.
