Lichtenstein: Nets Will Be Mostly Invisible While Hosting NBA Draft

By Steve Lichtenstein
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Is there some sort of NBA-related event going on at Barclays Center on Thursday night?

As a Nets fan, I may need to medicate myself to get through the draft. It may be held inside the Nets' house, but they weren't invited.

Well, at least not until very late in the evening.

Despite sporting the third-worst record during the 2015-16 season, Brooklyn will be spectators until pick 55.

The Nets' first-round pick belongs to Boston as penance for going for broke in their summer 2013 blockbuster trade for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. The Nets also had to swap their second-round slot (22 selections later) in this draft with the Clippers per their 2012 trade that yielded Reggie Evans.

No need to remind me that none of these players are still on Brooklyn's roster.

To be fair, this will be the first time Nets fans will feel the pain from former general manager Billy King's legacy deal. The Celtics used the first of their three acquired first-round picks (they also have the right to swap first-round slots next year) in 2014 on James Young, who has not yet established himself as an NBA rotation player.

But thanks to King's multiple pivots, the Nets have since spiraled down the standings, and are now on the verge of supplying their division rival with lottery picks, starting with the No. 3 overall selection on Thursday night.

There isn't a pain reliever strong enough to alleviate what I'll be feeling when the Celtics are on the clock.

Meanwhile the Nets, in dire need of youthful injections, will most likely be forced to take an alternative route.

Oh, there are rumblings that Sean Marks, who succeeded King in February, is intent on acquiring a pick on Thursday. With what, I'm not exactly sure.

Assuming reserve guard Wayne Ellington declines his player option to become a free agent (EVERYONE has been opting out with the NBA salary cap for the upcoming season rising to around $94 million, a 34 percent jump from 2015-16), the Nets will have seven players -- Brook Lopez, Thaddeus Young, Bojan Bogdanovic, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Chris McCullough, Sean Kilpatrick, and Jarrett Jack -- under contract.

That's less than half a basketball team.

ESPN reported that certain teams would be willing to part with high picks, but they're asking for stars like Chicago's Jimmy Butler and Utah's Gordon Hayward in return. The Jazz just dealt the No. 12 selection for George Hill, a solid point guard. No reports have indicated that Bogdanovic is on anyone's wish list.

In the good old days, before this new league year, Jack's expiring contract (his $6.3 million salary for 2016-17 can be bought out for $500,000 prior to June 30) would have had some value. A team needing to clear cap space could dump an onerous contract onto the Nets, who could then command a decent draft pick as compensation.

However, according to Spotrac.com, half the teams in the league are projected to have more than $20 million in cap space this offseason, and that's before taking into account opt-outs and renounced free agent cap holds.

The highest values in this new era are attached to young players, including draftees, on relatively cheap contracts.

Why, for instance, would the Nets include in a deal for a draft pick a player like sophomore forward McCullough, who the team controls for the next three seasons at no more than 2 percent of the cap? For a not-so-sure thing?

The cheap labor incentive will also make it harder for Marks to buy a selection, as the Nets have done in prior years. Second-rounders are where teams go for Euro-stashes or to fill out D-League rosters. They don't need Mikhail Prokhorov's money.

Alternatively, it would be a mistake for Marks to part with either Lopez or Young simply for a draft pick.

With virtually every team competing for talent during the free agency signing period that begins on July 1, the Nets' prime needs (point guard, wing, an entire bench) will be difficult to address, never mind finding a replacement for one of their frontcourt building blocks.

That's because, outside of the top few players, this draft class has generally not been rated as high-caliber.

The Raptors, who have been reportedly shopping the ninth overall selection, may want to take a shot at getting Young as opposed to say, drafting a Henry Ellenson (Marquette) to fill their desire to improve at power forward.

Again, Marks would be wise to pass on such a hypothetical offer. There's no need to rush into a deal that would use one of the Nets' few assets to obtain a project.

Marks and his staff have been busy over the last month working out a large number of players, both draft-eligible and free agent pros. With some luck, they just might find a hidden gem or two either late in Thursday's draft or thereafter. A stream of international signings wouldn't be unexpected given their alleged expertise in various foreign markets.

Marks promised a new blueprint, one that called for a careful and constructive rebuild without the pie-in-the-sky reaches that defined the King Era and that we just witnessed across the East River.

Even if it means we'll need to up the dosage at next year's draft.

For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1