Who the Brooklyn Nets Should Target in the 2015 NBA Draft
With the Brooklyn Nets' season over, the organization's priorities have turned to free agency and, more urgently, the draft.
The Nets will select 29th with the Atlanta Hawks' pick, one they will receive due to a swap that was part of the 2012 Joe Johnson deal. They're second-to-last in the first round, but that doesn't mean all hope is lost.
Even if Billy King has earned a poor reputation because of trades like the ones for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett or Deron Williams or Gerald Wallace or Joe Johnson—that went on longer than expected—the Nets general manager actually has a pretty respectable record on draft night.
Go back to last year, when the Nets didn't even have a first-round pick, and King found a way to acquire both Markel Brown and Cory Jefferson in the second round. Brown started the final 29 games of the year for Brooklyn. Jefferson, meanwhile, looks like he could sneak into a rotation at some point.
The year before, he snatched up Mason Plumlee with the 22nd pick. Nets fans may have been frustrated with Plumlee's second half, but he was one of the better value picks in that draft even if hindsight makes you yelp, "Oh no! They could've taken Rudy Gobert!"
Sure, this is the optimistic take, but just because the Nets have the second-to-last pick in the first round, it doesn't mean they won't be getting value this year. Brooklyn actually had as many rookie contributors as any other playoff team this year, considering Bojan Bogdanovic was in his first NBA season as well.
There are a bunch of prospects who could end up falling to the end of the draft. At this point, stocks are still as volatile as ever. We haven't gotten to the lottery or the combine or the interviews yet. But there are certain players who seem like particularly optimal fits in Brooklyn.
George Lucas, PG, Brazil
No, not that George Lucas...
Can you imagine how excited the hybrid Star Wars/Nets contingent of fans would get every time Brooklyn played a lineup that included "J.J." and George Lucas? Doesn't King have to make this happen just to appease them? That's got to be a pretty high percentage of the Nets' target demographic.
Lucas is actually the guy DraftExpress has going to Brooklyn in Round 1. He may not be someone who could come in and help immediately, but he might be able to take over once Williams and Jarrett Jack are on the way out the following season.
Lucas is considered one of the draft's rawer prospects, which makes sense. The kid's only 18 years old. But man, he can play, as he showed off running in the Brazilian League this past season.
The appeal for Lucas comes on defense. The end of the first round is where teams tend to take leaps for higher-risk players. Lucas' 6'5" height and 7'1" rumored wingspan, according to DraftExpress, makes him enticing in that spot.
He's still learning how to play and will obviously have to adjust to a new life and a new culture, but Lucas could be a legitimate contributor down the line.
Chris McCullough, PF, Syracuse
McCullough is another prospect who would come with some risk at No. 29. Then again, this is the 29th pick we're talking about. No one is going to be perfect.
There's no question the Syracuse one-and-done product has a high ceiling for a late-round pick. Early in the year, there were people saying he could hear his name called in the lottery. But an ACL tear ended the power forward's season after only 16 games.
Now, he's recovering from that injury in his hometown, New York City. How cool would it be for the Nets to keep him home?
When healthy, McCullough is an above-average athlete with a 7'3" wingspan. He showed off solid defensive skills (even if he gets lethargic and "gambly" at times) during his short time playing at 'Cuse, blocking 2.1 shots and garnering 1.7 steals a night.
But even players with incredible wingspans, wonderful athleticism and the counting numbers to back it up elicit legitimate defense-related questions coming out of a program that exclusively plays a 2-3 zone.
Still, coach Lionel Hollins has nurtured big-man talent successfully before, as he did with many of the guys he worked with in Memphis, namely Marc Gasol, and could do it again given the opportunity. Maybe McCullough, who's skilled but often reckless offensively, could be just that.
Christian Wood, PF, UNLV
One of the Nets' priorities in the draft will be finding a big man who can play alongside both Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young, a tough task to do.
Lopez demands a power forward who can play away from the paint, who can set solid screens and who can cover more ground on the defensive side of the ball since he doesn't like to stray from the rim. Young needs someone who has rim-protection potential.
Wood, since McCullough may not have the size to slide over to center as consistently, is possibly that guy. Possibly.
At 6'11" with a 7'3" wingspan, he has the size to play both the 4 and the 5, lineup dependent. He may have only sunk 28 percent of his threes at UNLV last season, but much of that was because of his questionable shot selection. Most importantly, he appears comfortable taking those attempts. It's supremely possible he develops an effective jump shot, which is all Brooklyn needs.
Lopez doesn't require his tandem in big-man crime to be an automatic shooter. He just needs someone who forces defenses to close out on him. All that's essential is the actual ability to spread.
Of course, it doesn't hurt that Wood is athletic enough to finish ferociously and efficiently around the basket as well.
He's clearly still learning the game, but the Nets could use his athleticism, his ability to run the floor and his natural feel. If Hollins can teach the more complicated basketball concepts to him, he could turn a possible top-15 talent in this draft into a real commodity.
Follow Fred Katz on Twitter at @FredKatz.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are current as of May 6 and are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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