Even though the pick they traded in the Deron Williams deal struck lottery gold and moved up to third, the Nets are still involved in this draft, owning the 27th pick (via the Los Angeles Lakers). As per usual with late first-round selections, draft experts are everywhere on who the Nets might select.
ESPN Insider Chad Ford and NBADraft.net both have the Nets selecting Justin Harper, a 6’10” senior power forward from the University of Richmond. Harper is a stretch 4 who can shoot well for his size and is an excellent leaper, but tends to fall in love with his jumper and avoid banging down low.
Note: Ford’s draft is Insider-only and can be found here. You can find NBADraft.net’s mockhere.
Sports Illustrated’s Draft Expert Sam Amick agrees that the Nets will take a 6’10” forward, but a different one – Unviersity of Georgia forward Trey Tompkins. Tompkins is 20 pounds bigger than Harper, but other than that I don’t know much about him. Amick seems very reserved about his potential, noting that he lacks drive and could be good “if he starts meeting his potential,” which is always a red flag.
Draft Expert Jonathon Givony of DraftExpress thinks the Nets will go small, selecting Josh Selby. A freshman guard from Kansas, Selby is undersized at 6’1″ but a solid shooter-scorer who can play defense. His translation to the NBA is difficult to define – Chad Ford sees him as the 5th-best point guard in the draft, while Joe Treutlein of DraftExpress and HoopData says he’s not even close: “Quite clearly a shooting guard and not even a combo guard at 6’2, Selby shows very little in terms of point guard abilities, almost always looking for his own shot except for rare spurts where he’ll try and set up others off pick-and-rolls.
