Brooklyn Nets hopes of a top three pick in the NBA Draft shattered – NBA News
The 2012 NBA Draft Lottery which was held on Wednesday night at the Times Square Studio of Disney/ABC in Manhattan, did not end well for the Brooklyn Nets.
Formerly known as the New Jersey Nets, the Brooklyn Nets are shifting away from New Jersey into a new arena in Brooklyn next season. And along with the shift, they were looking to add some strength to their roster in order to become a contending team in the Eastern Conference.
That aspiration relies on the Nets ability to retain their star point guard Deron Williams. And things are not looking quite positive now.
Deron Williams is likely to opt out of his contract which would make him a free agent in the summer. He has said that he wants to move from the Nets, but the team management is looking to retain him.
The Nets had a 25% chance of landing one of the top three picks in the NBA Draft this season. However, New Orleans Hornets got the top pick, and are likely to sign Kentucky forward and unanimous college player of the year Anthony Davis.
The Nets finished with a first round 6th pick, which they will have to trade to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of the deal that got them Gerald Wallace two months ago. Had the Nets landed a top three pick which was protected by them in the deal with Portland, they could have used that to land Dwight Howard, the All Star Center of the Orlando Magic.
Howard is looking to sign with another team in the post season and the Nets were quite interested in him. They were also of the view that landing Howard would also convince Williams to stay with them. Now, they do not have a pick in the first round of this year’s NBA Draft.
Nets General Manager Billy King said after the Draft order was revealed:
"We've got a lot of scenarios that we have on our board. This was one where, it sort of lets us know which direction to go. We are not in the sixth pick, but I think we'll come out with some players that are pretty good.”
The Nets have not made it to the playoffs since the 2006/07 season and last won the NBA Draft 1st pick in 2000. With the Draft out of the way, the Nets have some home work to do before the next season.
First on the priority list is to retain Deron Williams. But the Nets have other players who will be free agents as well this offseason, including Gerald Wallace and big man Kris Humphries. However, King was quite optimistic about the Draft this year, saying that the Nets could still land a good pick in the Draft. King has a reputation of aggressively pursuing trades and draft picks.
“We're gonna evaluate it. If there's a player we want, we'll do everything we can to get that player” said King.
The Nets finished with a 22-44 record this season, tied for the fifth worst record in the NBA.
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