Nets Dealing As Draft Approaches
The New Jersey Nets are doing a lot of wheeling and dealing as the 2010 NBA Draft approaches. First, I’ll say NO the Nets have NOT made a trade and a trade looks pretty unlikely. The dealing I’m talking about involves an agent by the name of Rob Pelinka. Pelinka is the agent for Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer and Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson.
The reason for the dealing with Pelinka? Many mock drafts have the Nets selecting Johnson with the third pick in the draft but more importantly Boozer is a free agent. Could the Nets be working out a deal with Pelinka where they draft Wesley and Rob steers Carlos towards New Jersey? It’s very possible and a theory Marc Stein at ESPN mentioned today.
Drafting Johnson would be the first sign that something is up as he’s not the third best player in the draft. Chad Ford of ESPN currently has Wesley at number five on his big board. He’s without a doubt the best small forward in the draft but some question his upside.
Johnson has a solid shot and typically excels in the transition game. He’s a very unselfish player which would work well with Devin Harris and Brooks Lopez, as they’re the focal points of the team. What the scouts really question is his ability to create shots, playing the three in the NBA will mean he has to create more then he had to at Syracuse. Can he do that?
If the Nets do take Johnson with the third pick there is no guarantee they’ll get Boozer but it would definitely help. My question thou is to they really need Wesley to land him?
Stein mentions that a source “close to the situation” says Boozer has been very interested in the Nets and they could land him with or without Johnson. The Nets have $27 million in cap space and could easily afford the big guy whose averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds a game over his career. On top of that why wouldn’t Boozer want to join the Nets? They’ve got Harris at guard and Lopez at center, add a power forward like Boozer to the mix and you’ve got a nice three headed monster.
Now in my mind I have to think about the tampering aspect here. If Johnson is drafted and Carlos signs VERY quickly on July 1st wouldn’t you think the Nets and Pelinka had something worked out? Doubt the NBA would look into it thou especially since every team with cap space has been lobbying LeBron James for months.
Here’s a video that goes over the Nets possibilities in the NBA Draft
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