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Where Have All the Picks Gone?

There's no doubt that the Nets have used high draft picks as a means of rebuilding, but they're doing it in a way that the NLL and NBA probably haven't seen before... and the jury is completely out on whether or not it is a good thing. In the two drafts since wizkid took over and looking forward to the next draft, the Nets have possessed at least three first round picks in each draft. To this point the only one of those draft picks (Tyus Jones) has made it onto a Brooklyn roster, and not a single player has gotten to triple digits of floor time. For a rebuilding team that is stockpiling picks you've got to wonder where all of the high potential prospects are.

Then you look at the transaction page... Wizkid made it clear within a few weeks of taking the job that they would be rebuilding, but not in the usual way. Trading all of his aging vets for, not piles of draft picks, but underutilized guys just shy of their prime. Some of these bets paid off tremendously - most notably Khris Middleton, but also guys like Austin Rivers and Cory Joseph. But some of them haven't to this point - Jeremy Lamb and Terrence Jones.

Then the picks started going away. The first one in a very big way - the pick that Brooklyn saved all year long struck gold just as they hoped, lining them up at #1 to take Karl-Anthony Towns. Not content to wait and even more so unwilling to stomach the risk, he shipped it out for DeMarcus Cousins. Then this summer saw the same thing repeated in trading the Nets' lottery pick for Tobias Harris. Finally, not even wanting to wait for next year's draft they flipped their own pick for the Pelicans' pick and then that pick for Philly's pick... picking up Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe along the way.

The Nets still have 4 first round picks in the next 3 drafts, with rumors of a 5th incoming. However, all of that trading of draft picks (combined with some players) netted them a possible four of their five starters for next season. They obviously have a lack of young high-potential talent on the roster when being compared to other rebuilding darlings like Charlotte and the Clippers. However, they have a very solid core of players that are just getting ready to enter their prime.

Is a likely yield of KAT, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Jakob Poetl and others better than a group like Cousins, Tobias, Bledsoe, and others? Not right now, but it's not out of the question down the line...

It's tough to call missing out on KAT and the possibility of other future all-stars a success. However, it's gotten them to sustainable playoff contention quicker than any other route could have. In this swing-for-the-fences league, it may not ever bring a banner to Brooklyn, but it will at least let fans take the paper bags off of their heads.

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