NetsDaily Off-Season Report – No. 11

Every weekend, we’ll be updating the Nets’ off-season with bits and pieces of information, gossip, etc. to help fans get ready for … whatever.

Back in June 2001, we went to the NBA Draft at The Theatre in Madison Square Garden. The New Jersey Nets had one first round pick, No. 7 and no seconds. They had won 26 games in 2000-01 despite having Stephon Marbury, Keith Van Horn and Kenyon Martin on the roster. The 2001 Draft was filled with future All-Stars and solid NBA players including Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Jason Richardson, Shane Battier and a young, barely known French point guard Tony Parker. One of the prospects, though, was as troubled as he was talented: 6’7” Seton Hall forward Eddie Griffin. He had problems with his temper, once reportedly punching his Pirate point guard at half time of a game, believing he wasn’t getting the ball enough.

Nonetheless, Rod Thorn took Griffin at No. 7 to great cheering from the assembled Nets fans. Griffin made a less than encouraging comment about winding up in New Jersey again. Then, not long after, Peter Vecsey of NBC Sports ruined the fan buzz, beginning his comment with a warning that Nets fans weren’t going to be like the news he was about to impart: the Nets had traded Griffin’s rights to the Houston Rockets for the Nos. 13, 18 and 23. The booing could be heard on 33th street. Woe was us.

Rod Thorn, knowing the Rockets interest in Griffin called Carroll Dawson, his Houston counterpart after the Griffin pick and suggest they talk.

And so, the Nets took Richard Jefferson of Arizona at No. 13 and Jason Collins of Stanford at No. 18, both of whom would help the Nets get to the NBA Finals twice. Brandon Armstrong of Pepperdine went at No. 23. He never panned out and the trade could’ve wound up even more lopsided if the Nets had taken Gilbert Arenas, RJ’s Arizona teammate, instead of Armstrong. The night ended with New Jersey fans heading back across the Hudson, lamenting that their team had missed out on a generational talent. Griffin of course never panned out in the NBA — his troubles continued — and he died six years later when he drove his SUV past railroad gates and flashing lights and into the side of a moving freight train in Houston, as ESPN reported.

It’s a tragic and albeit an extreme example of how wrong fans and pundits can be when looking at the NBA prospects of teenagers. There have been other memorable reactions that were dead wrong at the Theatre then later at Barclays Center. Who can forget the wild cheering by Knick fans in 2003 when New York took Poland’s Maciel Lampe at top of the second round and he triumphantly strolled to the podium from a ticketed seat. Famously in 2015 there was the crying Knicks fan when the Knicks took Kristaps Porzingis over a slew of never wases.

The situation was different in various ways Thursday when the 26-win Brooklyn Nets picked at No. 8 and took Egor Demin of BYU. It was a polarizing selection and the first of five on the night. Draftniks had Demin three to five spots lower in the Draft and Sean Marks and B.J. Johnson were excoriated by fans and pundits, mostly anonymous, alike for missing out on Collin Murray-Boyles. Cedric Coward, Khaman Maluach and Noa Essengue.

Fans also didn’t like it that the Nets had decided to use all five of their first round picks rather than consolidate all that draft gold to move up to grab Ace Bailey of Rutgers, maybe Kon Knueppel of Duke. Nor were they happy when the team took other players far higher than anticipated. Should they have taken Nolan Traore of France over Kasparas Jakicuonus? How about taking Drake Powell with their newly acquired 22nd pick, seven to 10 picks higher than he was projected and ahead of fan favorite Rasheer Fleming who later fell to No. 31? Ben Saraf too. Only Danny Wolf went lower, taken at No. 27 after being projected by ESPN at 25.

As Sean Marks noted in his post-draft media accessibility, “I know a few of these guys probably thought they were going a little bit higher in this Draft.”

Tempers have cooled a bit since as fans in particular look at what they got rather than what they didn’t.

Most of the vitriol was directed at the selection of Demin. As Lucas Kaplan noted in a post-draft conversation, the Nets wouldn’t have faced so much criticism if they had taken Maluach, the conventional pick instead of him. One anonymous league source was quoted by multiple reporters as saying the Nets two-way laden lineups from last season were as good as their draft selections. Multiple lesser sites called the Nets night a disaster, the worst of any of the 28 teams who made picks. Even the respected Kevin O’Connor gave the Nets only a C grade for Demin.

But there were other voices who were praising the Nets and Demin in particular. They just didn’t get as much attention. A league executive told ND that he liked the selections of Demin and Traore, saying the Russian point guard has a “high ceiling.” Saraf, he said, “has a chance” and Wolf is “interesting,” normal assessments for late first rounders. He wasn’t crazy about Drake Powell.

Danny Green was most effusive on ESPN’s post-draft show, saying he thought the Nets won the Draft! The three-time NBA champ with 15 years and 832 games to his name had this to say on ESPN…

“I got to give a lot of love to Sean Marks in Brooklyn what they did drafting Egor, I love him, Egor, 6’9” point guard, can do a little of everything, kinda Luka-like. … I like what they did in Brooklyn, and good things coming.” (Emphasis ours.)

Kevin Durant signaled his approval with a “like” from his @easymoneysniper account on Demin’s selection…

We prefer these takes than those of clickbait artists we had never heard of before Wednesday.

Also before the Draft, Demin was seen as the best passer, Traore the fastest prospect and Green the best athlete. (FYI, his 43” vertical was three inches higher than the next prospect and top 10 all-time. He finished top 10 in three other categories that measure athleticism.)

Still, fans want to know why they didn’t try to move up and why they missed out on so many prospects with higher profiles. They did call San Antonio on the No. 2 pick, they did call Philadelphia on the No. 3 pick and they did call Charlotte on the No. 4 pick as beat writers noted before the Draft. It should also be noted only one lottery pick got moved on Draft Night: the Atlanta Hawks traded the No. 13 pick to the New Orleans Pelicans for the No. 23 pick in and unprotected first in the 2026 Draft (more favorable of the Pelicans and Milwaukee Bucks.) As Lucas Kaplan noted in a contemporaneous tweet, “If this is the going rate to move up 10 spots, perhaps that sheds more light on why Brooklyn hasn’t made any trade-ups.”

As for the choices, Brian Lewis had this to say…

The Nets made their plan as clear as Waterford crystal. They wanted players who can pass, move the ball and make plays.

“Yeah, that goes hand-in-hand with IQ, and how they play the game … very quick decisions. It’s 0.5-second basketball, you catch and make a decision. You don’t hold the ball,” Marks Marks has preferred high-character players, but now he’s clearly seeking quick-processing, ball-moving playmakers.

“Where we’re going with this is, we’re trying to find a brand of basketball that not only we think translates to a competitive brand out there and it’s going to fit with the Brooklyn community,” Marks said, “but it’s also where the NBA is going: guys who can play multiple positions, guard multiple positions and make it hard on the defense.”

So add, “quick processor” to your lexicon of what Brooklyn likes. You know, like the Indiana Thunder and Indiana Pacers.

Yes, it could all go south. Remember the New Jersey Nets once drafted a Malian goat herder in the second round! Things could wind up disastrous. Indeed, no one was more critical of Demin’s possibilities than our Lucas Kaplan both before the Draft and after. The guys they passed on could become mega-stars. Lucas thought that Khaman Maluach who went 10th was a strong possibility for stardom. He’s now in Phoenix taken with a pick that was Brooklyn’s before last June’s deal with Houston that got them back the No 8 pick. The reality though is that we won’t know how good or bad the haul was for years. The Summer League which is 11 days away will be fun but it’s not that telling. Busts have won the MVP, Stars can look like busts.

In the meantime, we’ll confine ourselves to watch videos of the picks, like the Pro Day performance of Demin where he hit 16 straight threes (in 35 seconds) alleviating some of the concern that he can’t shoot. As Jonathan Givony wrote afterwards, it was “one of the most impressive pro day performances we’ve seen in some time…”

And of course, we have Sean Marks introducing all five picks on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. ET. Expect them all to hold up their new jerseys for the team photo.

Roster math

It’s getting tight out there following Tuesday’s trade for Terance Mann and the No. 22 pick, followed by Wednesday’s selection of five draft picks each of whom will get a four-year deal, the first two years of which are guaranteed.

Here’s a good breakdown where things stand at the moment;

GUARANTEED DEALS (5)

—Nic Claxton (C)

—Cam Johnson (SG)

—Terance Mann (SF)

—Noah Clowney

—Dariq Whitehead

ROOKIE DEALS (5)

—Egor Demin (PG)

—Nolan Traore (PG)

—Drake Powell (SG/SF)

—Ben Saraf (PG)

—Danny Wolf (C/PF)

RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (3)

—Cam Thomas (SG)

—Day’Ron Sharpe (C/PF)

—Ziaire Williams (SF)

UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS (3)

—D’angelo Russell (PG)

—Trendon Watford (SG/PG)

—D’Anthony Melton (PG)

TWO-WAY DEALS (1)

—Tosan Evbuomwan (PF)

NON-GUARANTEED (4)

—Jalen Wilson (SF)

—Keon Johnson (SG)

—Tyrese Martin (SF)

—Drew Timme (C/PF)

CAMP & SUMMER LEAGUE INVITES (3)

—Grant Nelson (C/PF)

—T.J. Bamba (SG)

—Drew Davis (SG)

Two days ago, Maxwell Lewis was waived and two-way Reece Beekman signed with Denver, also to a two-way.

That brings us to 24 players … and free agency starts at 6:00 p.m. ET Sunday so things are likely to change. D’Lo seems bound for Dallas. So subtract him. We’ve detected no interest in Melton either. He spent the season rehabbing in California. We don’t know the status of Watford at this point either. Bottom line: NBA teams can bring 20 players into camp which doesn’t begin till late September (a little earlier because the Nets play in Macao, China, on October 10 and 12.) So plenty of time.

Expect at least one more camp invite and Mike Scotto suggested that Nelson, the 6’11” Durant of the Dakotas, is playing for a two-way. Nelson, it’s been reported, had opportunities to go in the second round but declined in favor of free agency and the Nets. It’s not that uncommon. Austin Reaves of the Lakers did the same.

What do we expect at 6;00 p.m. ET. Don’t have a clue. None.

Per Yossi Gozlan, the Nets still have about $45 million left in cap space even after taking on Terance Mann and adding Drake Griffin in that deal. The $45 million also doesn’t include the $19.7 million the five rookies will earn.

Bobby Marks has suggested that the Nets tender an offer sheet to Santi Aldama, the 6’11” Memphis Grizzlies forward and then see if the Grizz will match. They’d have 48 hours. And he proposes a figure for Cam Thomas as well.

“With the available cap space, sign restricted free agent Santi Aldama to a two-year, $40 million offer sheet,” Marks proposed. “Then re-sign Cam Thomas to a three-year, $54 million contract.”

The native of Spain has been rumored to be of interest in the past, and he has improved every year since he was drafted at the end of the 2021 NBA Draft. Last season, the 24-year-old averaged 12.5 points on 48/37/69 shooting splits along with 6.4 points and 2.9 assists. Did we say he is Spanish?

The key to all of this is the sequencing of moves so that the team can take advantage of Bird Rights, rookie deals, exceptions — they have the $8.3 million room exception and a $23.3 million trade exception that expires July 7 — and other aspects of the CBA.

One of our favorite stories from years gone-by was one in which we catalogued how Billy King and his then-capologist Bobby Marks used iPhones and iPads to sequence things to maximum effect. The players, technology and CBA have changed since, but the same strategy applies.

We expect that no matter what, the Nets will be ultimately at or just over the cap of $154.6 million but well under the luxury tax threshold of $187.9 million. No sense to pay a lot of money when you’re planning on another tank.

Draft picks update

Going to the Draft on Wednesday night, the Nets had 32 picks between 2025 and 2031 — 16 firsts, 16 seconds. They used five firsts and traded their second rounder to the Suns for two more seconds. Add in the first and second round picks from 2032 they’ll have available after July 6 and the total now appears to be 30 picks total — 12 firsts and 18 seconds. Still a Sam Presti-like haul going forward.

Final Note

Bojan Bogdanovic announced his retirement Sunday morning, the wrist and foot woes that kept him out of action all season finally taking its toll. After being included in the Mikal Bridges trade, he never got untracked after two surgeries and the Nets ultimately waived him in February to create roster space. He was paid $19.3 million.

Bogdanovic played two and a half years for the Nets from 2014 through February 2017 when he was traded to the Wizards for their first rounder in the 2017 Draft which became Jarrett Allen that June. In his 212 games with Brooklyn, he scored 2,370 for an average of 11.2 points a game, hitting his threes at a 33.6% clip.