Nets Are Scorching

For the third straight year, we’ll be hosting a draft-day chat here at Nets are Scorching. I’ll be in the building for the draft, keeping you guys updated when I hear things, and the other guys will be around to provide information, analysis, and occasional absurdity.

The chat will be open to all (unless it gets too crazy), so all you’ll need to do is give yourself a screen name and start chatting. Because of that, I have to ask you guys to please be respectful of the site and mindful of our trusty Commenting Constitution.

See you tomorrow night!

In the latest mock draft from DraftExpress and NBADraft.net, the Nets are taking Nolan Smith with the 36th pick. I have already expressed my dislike of the idea of Smith as a Nets player. However, he is a four-year veteran, he has character, and isn’t a poor distributor.

But is that why the Nets are drafting him? News from Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports might indicate something different. Apparently Josh Smith and the Atlanta Hawks are soon to part ways, and Smith has given the team four teams that he would consider going to: the Orlando Magic, the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics, and the Nets.

I would like for the Nets to have Josh Smith, but the assets just aren’t there. The Nets have no expiring contract to match Smith’s 12 million dollar contract; instead they have Travis Outlaw’s 4-year, $28 million clunker of a contract to give the Hawks. Assuming that the Nets draft Nolan Smith, the package could be founded on Smith, Damion James, Jordan Farmar, Anthony Morrow, and the Nets 2012 pick. However, if the Nets are to get Smith it would likely have to be a three-team deal. I don’t think that’s enough to make a deal.

Being a pessimistic fan is generally depressing, but in this situation I can’t devise a plausible situation in which the Nets pry Smith from the Hawks. Your thoughts?

The 2011 NBA Draft will soon be upon us, and the Nets are starting to carve out a list of prospects. This week, Nets are Scorching takes a look at the players the Nets might select.

College Stats: 26 GP, 20.4 MPG, 7.9 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.0 TOV/G, 0.8 SPG, .373 FG%, .362 3P%, .757 FT%

To say Josh Selby had an up-and-down freshman year at Kansas would be a massive understatement. While Selby entered Kansas as a highly touted prospect, he began the year by serving a nine-game suspension amidst allegations that he’d accepted improper benefits. Selby denies knowledge of any mistakes, but warns people in his situation to “just think twice.”
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The 2011 NBA Draft will soon be upon us, and the Nets are starting to carve out a list of prospects. This week, Nets are Scorching takes a look at the players the Nets might select.

College Stats: 34.0 MPG, 20.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.1 APG, 0.1 BPG, 1.2 SPG, 45.8 FG%, 81.3 FT%, 35.0 3P%

There are two things that you think of almost immediate when you hear/read Nolan Smith’s name – jerk and hatred. Okay, maybe that’s more from North Carolina fans, but in all seriousness, the two things you think of (or should think) are leadership and basketball IQ. Smith is the rare four-year college player heading into the draft and it’s not any sort of regular four years, but four years at the storied Duke program where Smith won a national championship in 2010.

Smith doesn’t have any sort of skills or physical ability that jumps out at you, but he’s a plethora of non-stop effort, toughness, and doing a bit of everything. During his senior season, Irving took over the point guard position after super-frosh and projected first overall pick, Kyrie Irving, injured himself. Looking at the numbers, Smith did pretty well and garnered Player of the Year consideration, but had to settle for being a First Team All-American.

Smith has the tools to succeed as an NBA point guard, if that position was the old school version. Today’s point guards are explosive and can drop 20+ points on the regular, which Smith won’t do at the next level. However, with starter minutes and being with the right team, a 14 points/7 assists ceiling is possible. Smith doesn’t have any sort of burst, but will get by on his heady decision-making on his shot, whether to attack the rack hard or to throw up a teardrop. He’s proven that he could run a team and should continue to improve at the NBA level, despite being a senior and convention saying that the upside is minimal. Not so as Smith wasn’t always a point guard exclusively. His experience at the shooting guard position gives Smith some versatility in his game. Defensively, Smith has nice length, good instincts, and can play the passing lanes.

Quotable (on what the NBA wants and what he can give)

“I definitely feel like we’re all first-rounders,” said Smith. “One, I think that we’re all winners and that’s what the NBA is looking for. The NBA wants winners and somebody that’s going to come and bring a winning attitude and a winning feel to a locker room and to an organization. They’re also getting players that can just play the game, can do different things, very versatile… We just want to play basketball and win.”

Final Thoughts: Smith is a solid player and will start his career on the bench, which would work out nicely for the Nets. He’d provide solid minutes and if, heaven forbid, Deron Williams should bolt, Smith would be a capable stopgap for the next star point guard the Nets would surely crave. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

In Jordan Farmar, you have a shoot-first lead guard. Despite being a huge fan of Sundiata Gaines, he still has a lot to prove. Smith is indubitably about team and is more polished than most players coming into the A from college. If he gets a chance to learn from the bench and play against Deron Williams everyday, Smith will learn quickly and just as fast translate that into production.

The 2011 NBA Draft will soon be upon us, and the Nets are starting to carve out a list of prospects. This week, Nets are Scorching takes a look at the players the Nets might select.

College Stats: 31.8 MPG, 17.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.2 BPG, 0.6 SPG, 53.4 FG%, 79.7 FT%, 44.8 3P%

Analysts and pundits alike have connected Justin Harper’s name with New Jersey before, and it’s no secret why. His combination of shooting and athletic ability is certainly intriguing. In his senior year, Harper was able to raise his three-point shooting percentage to 49%, which is excellent even for the college three-point line. Harper has a very quick release, and his 6-9 frame means his shot will rarely get blocked at the next level. Harper is an athletic “shooting forward,” has decent ballhandling ability, and can beat defenders to the basket with his speed and a variety of moves & pump fakes.

In terms of weaknesses, Harper is a tweener. He’s quick, but doesn’t have lateral quickness. Even a guy like Corey Maggette could blow by Harper with relative ease. He has the length of a 4, but like Brook Lopez, he’s not bulky. If Harper wants to defend power forwards, he has to bulk up. On offense, his size is again a problem. He does not have an NBA-ready post up game and his rebounding could use some work.

Quotable: (On his improvement in his senior year)

“I think it’s just work ethic, man. I really changed my mindset, working out in the summer before my senior year, just approaching the game more as a professional, and just putting more time into getting better everyday and not wasting any time as opposed to just a normal college player who takes time off. I just focused and just the different level of confidence, a new level of confidence, that came going into my senior year. I think that was the major difference.”

Final Thoughts: Harper reminds me of a shorter Channing Frye type. Shooting is a skill that translates well to the NBA, and Harper has the potential to be a deadly shooter. However, Harper’s rebounding and defense need a lot of work, and he’ll also need to bulk up to get better. Despite this, he’s probably worth a look at #27. His workouts have been great, and he embodies many of the traits Billy King and Avery Johnson look for: he is a four-year college veteran, a hard worker, and a consummate professional. If he continues to work on his game with the same intensity, he could become an impact player at a position that the Nets lack depth in.

In an interview with ESPN LA, Nick Young talked about his close friendship with Nets’ point guard Jordan Farmar. The two met when playing on the same travel team in LA, and have been the best of friends since.

Does this mean that the Nets have an advantage over the other 29 teams in the NBA in vying for Young’s services? I would think so. LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh wanted to play together on the same team. Nick Young isn’t LeBron, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Young is the same way.

However, do the Nets want Young? I’m not so sure. The guy can score but isn’t the most efficient of scorers and can tantalize fans with poor shot selection and rushed shots. Personally, I feel that the Nets should go after Young only as a fourth or fifth target and avoid overpaying for the restricted free agent. What are your thoughts?

With the draft coming up, the Nets have started to narrow their focus a bit. According to the most recent Nets team report on Yahoo!, New Jersey is currently targeting about ten players, including JaJuan Johnson, Josh Selby, Nikola Vucevic, Trey Tompkins, and Nolan Smith.

I have mixed feelings on all of these guys. If I had to pick one, I would have to go with Selby. Johnson is athletic but he is a tweener and lacks the immense strength needed to dominate in the paint. Is his ceiling really higher than a poor man’s Tyrus Thomas? As for Smith, the Nets are currently loaded at point guard. I understand the need to take the best player available, but when picking at 27 & 36 you have to account for team need.

Selby is a combo guard, but more on the shooter’s side: he’s a sub-par ballhandler and a pretty good outside shooter. At 6-3, he could become a good penetrating scorer of the bench (like JJ Barea, except bigger). On top of that, Selby is a pretty good defender and from what I’ve seen of him, he closes out on shooters well.

As we approach draft night (just one week away!), draft experts are slowly starting to carve out some common ground. Kyrie Irving is the consensus #1 pick. Derrick Williams should follow him at #2. Brandon Knight and Enes Kanter will go some combination of 3-4. Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Jan Vesely, and Bismack Biyombo round out some of the lottery.

However, by the time mock drafts get down to around #27, there’s a little more variance. Actually, the most variance possible. In 11 NBA.com mock drafts, the Nets are connected to 11 different players. There’s some names we’ve heard before, but no two draft experts agree on what the Nets will do with their first-round pick.

Here’s some of the more intriguing ones:
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