@NI

It’s actually 3-1; the chances that they don’t get him are three times greater (75%) than the chances that they do (25%). 75%/25% = 3/1.

I hope we end up with the 2nd pick and grab Turner. In fact, I’d take him with the 21st overall pick.

LOL, I meant to say I’d take him with the 1st pick too

what are the chances the Nets win 3 more gmes this season and will not be remembered as the worst team of all time?

If we get Wall, I hope we don’t just hand the team over to him as a rookie point guard. We should keep Devin and Dooling till at least this kid can show what he can do at the NBA level. With a rookie point guard, we will need a coach who knows point guards. Jeff Van Gundy, as head coach, with Mark Jackson as his #1 assistant would fill the bill. Or JVG and Sam Casell? AND we still need a real big man coach for Brook!

Is it too much to ask for 5 more wins! Ugh

In defense of Roy Rogers, he’s done an excellent job with Brook. The progress from his first game as a rookie to now is quite amazing. Patrick Ewing has been working with Dwight Howard for years and he still has no post moves.

I wonder if this comment from Kiki speaks to the Nets intentions of taking Wall or Turner….

“The two most two difficult spots to fill are point guard and center,” he added. “Obviously, there’s great players at each position, but if you’re starting a franchise historically, you want to start with those two positions. We believed Brook had great upside and potential, and we believe he has fulfilled that — and more — so far.”

Or do we view Devin as the franchise PG and go after Cousins (only if we get the 2nd or 3rd pick – as you can’t pass Wall with the 1st pick or the franchise will be slayed in the media and with free agents)???

And I agree 100% with @Larry Brown – Roy Rogers has been outstanding with Brook. Roy should be a member of this staff for the length of Brook’s career if we can keep him from taking a coaching position elsewhere. The emergence of Brook in 1.5 years has been amazing. Don’t forget he should be a college senior right now. And after every time Brook comes off the court – he immediately goes to Rogers. Just because a guy is a HOF player does not mean he can coach. Explaining and Teaching is an art that few people possess.

The premise of the article makes no sense. Each chance is independent of each other. Casinos must love this writer.

@Ryan

I agree, it would be almost impossible to pass on Wall with the #1 pick and Wall is starting to make me nervous. His shooting % is dropping like a rock and his assist to turnover ratio is still very poor.

I don’t think the Nets take Cousins because he projects as center so it would be very tough to play him and Lopez major minutes together. Additionally, I would think the Nets would shy away from another player who has been described as a head case and uncoachable. You would think they’ve learned their lesson after the last few seasons. Well, at least his last name isn’t Williams

Turner or bust! Turner is a man, not a boy—-he broke his back and still came back and is constantly tearing it up. Don’t pick the over-hyped guy.

@brian

Thorn would have to have cajones of steel to pass on Wall. The hype on Wall compares to Lebron, Ewing and Ralph Sampson

^ this. Turner all the way. I don’t see the hype about John Wall at all. Does anybody else like Da’Sean Butler with either the Mavs pick or our 2nd rounder?

I have only seen Wall twice, but both times I was HIGHLY unimpressed.

No to butler. I rather get a backup center. Solomon Alabi??? Eh… maybe.

I do not know who the Nets draft with our #1 pick, but with Mavs pick Proky would like to have Art Parakhouski from Radford University. Huge upside and steal of the draft.

I can get the argument that Cousins projects as a center due to his size. They list him at 6’11’’ 260 and his frame looks like it can easily support another 25-40 pounds of muscle on it. He is only 19, and could theoretically grow a couple more inches as well.

I have always been of the opinion that defense and bigs win championships. I agree with Kiki in the sense that you build around a point guard and a center.

We have one of the top (if not the top) young center in the league. People are constantly sleeping on Devin this year – but the fact is that he is an All-Star caliber talent, particularly when he is not asked to carry the team. I do believe that Devin can play with John Wall or Evan Turner without a problem. I would not deal Devin…period. So that is not the issue.

Adding Cousins to our young core could be the highest risk/reward in the first 4 picks. He is known to have attitude issues and we do not have a strong veteran leadership presence or coaching staff that commands respect. But the talent is there – and if he and Brook could excel on the court together (I think they could as Brook plays better with a banging PF than he does with a Yi. Remember Brook played alongside Robin his entire life pre Nets. And Cousins isn’t playing poorly alongside Patterson) – they could be a tremendous duo. The best twin towers since Robinson and Duncan.

I believe at the end of his career Brook Lopez will end up as one of the biggest steals if not the biggest steal in Nba draft or trade history. I also believe that John Wall, and Evan Turner will end up like Jason Kidd and Grant Hill. But you have to pick the point gaurd, I have watched John Wall play and we need a consistent point gaurd who could make plays for us in the clutch and feed the ball to Brook. Does anyone remember when we had Stephon Marbury I believe he is like Devin Harris and we can’t have shoot first point gaurds. Jason Kidd changed this franchise and he was robbed on an mvp in 2002 and 2003. John Wall can change this franchise with a decent free agent signing. We DON’T need Lebron to turn this franchise around.

Best case scenario for the Nets:

*Get the #1 overall pick.

**Entertain trade offers from other teams.

Trade the #1 pick for the #2 overall pick, picking up a valuable young player in the process, then draft Evan Turner with the #2 pick.

You may ask, why would the team with the #2 pick trade for the #1 pick? They would because they want to ensure they get John Wall and not allow any other team to trade with the Nets and move up and get him.

In my opinion, there’s too much hype surrounding John Wall. I’ve seen about 10 Kentucky games so far this year and I don’t see him completely transforming an NBA team any time soon. Evan Turner can do a lot more things on the court than John Wall and is a more complete team player.

Let’s go Nets!!!

Turner is a beast… He looks like a mix of grant hill in his prime/ Brandon Roy… It would be a mistake to pass up on him sen if wall is on the board!

Drafting Cousins also depends on how the organization views TWill. I view him as a PG, not a SF or wing. I know I write this daily – but his court vision and passing skills remind me a lot of Jason Kidd. He is not the talent of JKidd, but has the size, strength, athleticism and PG instincts to become a dynamic PG in this league.

So if you view TWill as an NBA PG….that allows Harris to move to the SG position, which I think is better suited to him at the moment. Your backup guards are then Courtney Lee and CDR and potentially Keyon Dooling (who I think the Nets should keep outright for his leadership presence). You could then draft Cousins to be your starting 4 alongside Brook at the 5. This leaves a glaring hole at the SF position which could be addressed via free agency – or with a new coach who will allow CDR to be effective (even though I view CDR as a 2 and not a 3).

PG – TWill, Dooling
SG – Harris, Lee,
SF – CDR???
PF – Cousins, Hump, Yi
C – Lopez, Boone?

That is not a finals team after the Nets first pick – but its going to compete and ultimately make the playoffs without sacrificing cap space and taking on bad contracts.

I like the idea of resigning Boone to a 3-4 year deal for roughly $1-1.5 million a year. His value is very low at the moment, and quality backups don’t grow on trees.

Is Cousins KMart or Sean Williams? SI reported this week he is on “big time meds” quoting an NBA GM. Big red flag considering how uncontrolled he can seem on the court.

I like Turner a lot. What I have seen of him and Wall makes me think the choice will be tougher than anticipated for whoever gets the first overall pick.

I also agree with Ryan243…Harris is playing well again and would be playing better if he had a complimentary player like he did last season. He is highly unlikely to be traded before the Nets get a look at what they get in the draft. People complain he is injury prone, that he goes into the lane too often with his fragile body. John Wall plays the same game, is a lot skinnier and not that much faster than Harris. He’s also 19.

With the Dallas pick – you could then target a true backup center – guys like Solomon Alabi and Hassan Whiteside fit the bill and could potentially still be on the board when the Nets draft.

Or you could look to take the best swingman on the board – and potentially James Anderson, Xavier Henry (he has been dropping of late), Willie Warren, etc and look to add more depth to the wing position (or backup PG in the case of Warren).

That 2nd round pick is going to be valuable as you should have your pick of Sherron Collins, Jarvis Varnado, Dexter Pittman, Jeromoe Jordan, JaJuan Johnson, Damian James, etc. My pick with that 31st pick would be to go with Sherron Collins as we need a reliable backup PG and I expect him to have similar success to Ty Lawson in the NBA. But his size will inevitably cause him to drop to the late 1st or early 2nd.

Thats adding a lot of young depth in the draft and really gives the Nets the ability to forgo spending foolishly in free agency. If they don’t get Lebron, they shouldn’t panic and instead should target young fallen angles like Joe Alexander and give them an opportunity for a year or two.

And in 2011 go after Carmelo with everything they have.

@Net Income – thats why I think DeMarcus Cousins is perhaps the highest risk/reward player we have seen in the top 3 in the past 5 years+. If he truly has major mental issues – it could be a disaster. If he does not, and can be coached, it could be the missing piece to the young core.

Thats when you have to have faith in our front office doing everything possible in interviews, speaking with every person who can offer insight into his mindset, etc…The one thing the Nets can not do is strike out on this pick or this season is a true disaster.

And with Proky’s money – I would look to either buy an additional 2nd round pick or trade a future 2nd rounder to take a flier on Lance Stephenson. The kid was anointed King of NY 6 years ago – his game is impressive. His head not so much. But could be a very good move down the line – from both a basketball and a marketing (Brooklyn – Lincoln High) perspective.

Another guy the Nets need to seriously consider making a move to acquire in the 2nd round is Damion James from Texas. He will be a very impressive bench player for 10 years in the NBA.

Yes…Turner must be the pick if he is available…Turner does it all…if turner is taken…cousins or wall.

The problem with a Lopez/Cousins combo is which on guards athletic 4’s in space and the NBA is filled with them. I don’t think either one is athletic enough to play Bosh, Stoudamire, Jamison, Dirk, etc. Comparisons to Robinson/Duncan or Hakeem/Sampson don’t wash because those combos were far more athletic.

Hassan Whiteside is now projected to go #5 at NBA Draft.net. He’s not a secret anymore.

*99-to-1

Do the nets even play man to man…but i understand what ur saying. I REALLY hope turner lands to us…he’ll be perfect next to harris…

i’ll like to see that lineup

harris
turner
gay
scola
brook

@Tim Man – Yeah I just saw that on ESPN. I still don’t see him going in the top 10. Teams have to be concerned about his lack of experience against big time players….But 7 footers always at a premium.

As for the guarding athletic 4s question – its a good point and neither really is able to guard them in space. On the flip side though, they can really pack the paint and keep the guards/wings from easy penetration – essentially forcing the 4s to beat them with outside jumpers. And does anyone really play defense in todays NBA?

I haven’t seen Whiteside play but he averaging 9 RPG an over 5 BPG in only 25 MPG. He also supposed be a big time athlete with a 7’6’’ wingsan. It will interesting to see where he’s drafted.

Whiteside could stay in school…although it could hurt him…like ed davis, greg monroe, etc…there is always lots of hype on freshmen.

re:Cousins

I just noticed that NBA Draft.net now has Eddie Curry and Derrick Coleman as Cousins’ pro comparisons. Two guys who ate themselves out of the league is not a good omen

@Andy

I think the plan was for him to stay in school but if he thinks he’s going to drafted in the top 5 he almost has to come out.

No to Cousins, as good as he “potentially is”, he has character issues. If we learned anything from the past 3 drafts, character issues and “tremendous potential” mean squat once they put on the Nets uniform.

As long as the Nets get one of the top 3 picks, I’m sure we will be happy with whom we draft.

@JB – I agree with you on the fear of character issues. Thats why I said Nets Front Office has to be incredibly dilligent with finding out everything about this kid.

It all becomes a question of where we draft and if we draft for our biggest need or for best player available? I’m not sure you can go wrong with either of the 3 (Wall, Turner or Cousins). But I’m sure you will agree – the Nets biggest weakness for the past 5 years has been at PF since losing Kenyon.

I would still take Favors ahead of Cousins if the Nets wind up with the 3rd pick

“With two wins this decade…”

WEAK

Haven’t seen much of Favors to be honest, but I have never been impressed with watching him or seeing his stats after the fact.

From what I have seen, I wouldn’t take Favors over Cousins

@ryan

Favors doesn’t have Cousins off court issues, is much more athletic than Cousins and is a natural PF. He’s struggled offensively but he doesn’t have Wall setting him up and is still shoooting 60% from the field. He’s also a full year younger than Cousins which is important for a big man.

Favors has been slipping in the mocks and I think he’ll stay in school if he doesn’t have a top 5 guarantee. He is supposedly a very good student who is enjoying college life.

I think the worst case scenario for Favors is someone like Tyson Chandler while Cousins’ worst case scares me.

i dont know about cousins’ off court trouble

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnG9HC_ucbI

but in that interview he was funny and showed personality…

Wall is #1 not because of his skills, its his hype. with this we can now sell to free agents and sell tickets to get the organization going.

If we get two it is turner. in that case harris is our guy at point. we sign joe johnson and our line up is

Harris
Johnson
Turner
Yii
Lopez

we dominate

@Tin Man, yeah Cousins lack of athleticism worries me, he’s a lot bigger and stronger than most college front court players so it’s easier for him to dominate them. But what’s going to happen when he runs into NBA front courts that are just as long and strong and more athletic? Plus I imagine with a team as young as ours we can’t afford to bring in anyone with character issues, since we don’t have the veteran presence to help guide them.

Turner is likely going to measure in between 6-5 and 6-6, I’m not sure that’s an ideal sf, he’ll probably be better off playing sg in the NBA.

agreed…Turner at Sf is like playing Twill at SF…both are better suited for the Sg/SG role.

@redemption026

how are we going to dominate with yi in the starting line up?

We aren’t dominating anything but the loss column if Yi is our starting PF next season.

@Gina
Based on what? This reminds me of all the people who said Hansbrough was 6’7" or 6’8" and he measured out at 6’9.5" at Pre-Draft camp.

And I think the Nets have had their of guys with questionable attitudes.

Evan Turner or Bust.

NO YI IN STARTING LINEUP!

This guy Cousins isn’t just a talent, he is a potential HALL OF FAME TALENT. That being said, if he proves mentally unstable you pass. But you have to take a look. If his psych reports check out, wall might slip to 3 behind Turner – A cant miss (barring injury) Star – and Cousins.

Wall also has that great potential but like NI said, he’s a frail speedster whose game is premised on penetration currently without a reliable jumper

Ohio State lists Turner and 6’7’ 210 so even if that is accurate he is less than ideal size for the 3. By looking at him I’d guess he’s a bit smaller and at 21 yrs old he’s done growing. The Nets play CDR and TWill at the 3 so they could certainly play him there but he’s probably better suited to the 2.

This is the line up I’m most hopeful for. The more I read from you guys, the more I feel it’s the most realistic:

harris
turner
gay
lee
lopez

If we do fall out of the top 2, I think Derrick Favors is not that extremely terrible of a consolation prize. Guy’s got the body and athleticism. Based on body alone, a Lopez Favors frontcourt is a very sizeable frontcourt. At worst, he’s gonna be a good rebounder and shotblocker, a good fit to pair alongside Lopez.

But what makes him a worthy number 3 guy in this draft is his attitude. The guy’s got his head on straight and is a solid character. This guy doesn’t complain when he doesn’t get the ball, doesn’t wanna be around bad influences, wants to get better, doesn’t want to have bad games, and loves to rebound rather than score

Read this article on him:

http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/despite-stand-out-skills-312944.html?cxtype=rss_sports_61523

I think Courtney Lee is better suited to being a 2 off the bench anyways. Remember Turner can play the point as well.

I wouldn’t under any circumstance take Joe Johnson. Not ever. He is going to be an albatross around the team who takes him. Watch and see. He is not a max player. Far from it. But someone will pay him like a max and regret it immediately.

The only free agent I would really pay for is David Lee (if we don’t get a PF in the draft). Yi can not be a starter on this team again if we have any hopes of winning.

On DeMarcus Cousins, there’s no doubting his talent, but his attitude is very ominous. He’s the type of guy that won’t help the team that drafts him, it’s his 2nd, 3rd, or 4th team that’ll reap the rewards.

I quote:
“You probably heard about UK’s DeMarcus Cousins and how he’d been getting harassing calls and texts from some Mississippi State fans that found out his cell phone number. Cousins taunted the MSU crowd after Kentucky beat them the other night, making the "Call me" gesture and getting chewed out by Calipari. On the road again yesterday, Cousins was baiting the Vandy crowd and got yelled at by Coach Cal, then when the game was over, you could see him doing the "Call me" thing again. Yeah, he’s just a kid, but how does he learn nothing from this?”

@Muwu – Great find on that article on Favors. He sounds like a really good guy. High class, high character. That is definitely a nice piece to add to this young core. Maybe him and Brook will instantly bond over cartoons and comic books. And nobody can doubt his size or his athleticism.

I still think Cousins is going to be a beast – and like I said a very high risk/high reward player. But perhaps on this team with such a young core – its best to forsake the high risk part and go with a guy you can expect to be good who will not cause problems on or off the court….

John Wall worries me a bit – in that he seems very caught up in his own hype (which is completely understandable). Evan Turner seems to just play his game, and is very consistent night in and night out, with much less of a supporting cast around him.

Favors and Lopez would play better together then brook in cousins IMO…but Cousins has just been playing better…

But…Favors also doesnt get as much touches and attempts per game. My top 4 right now…

1.Turner
2.Wall
3.Cousins
4.Favors

Ur right. But with those 4 around him or hump we will be fine. 4 stars and one C players. Not bad at all

Lopez was also 18 yr old freshman and had a very similar season to the one that Favors is having. Solid but unspectacular. They both chose to go to academically competitive schools and have similar personalities. They would make a very nice big man duo for the next 10 years and it would be very easy to root for them.

Bill Simmons on Wall, Turner and Cousins:

“The top-2 picks are John Wall and Evan Turner in some order. Wall has the inside track, but Turner is gaining on him and could make it a 50/50 thing with a monster March Madness (I think he’s the next Wade, personally). So you’re No. 3, DeMarcus. And yet, I wouldn’t go near you. You frighten me. I would trade down or trade the pick. It’s nothing personally. I just don’t trust you to keep your head on your shoulders. I mean, not literally… but you know what I mean. I want to be the GM who trades for you for 20 cents on the dollar in 2018 after you’re more mature”.

Alexander Johnson and Larry Hughes please!

Who could Nets get if they traded all their youth to one team except Harris and Lopez? *$10 Million worth of contracts.
Boone
Yi
Roberts
Lee
Williams

I would still take Cousins in a heartbeat.
I bet he is no worse than a young Alonzo Mourning or KMart.
Would anyone with a chance to get Zoe again, not draft him #1?
The big question is how Cousins and BLopez would co-exist.

It is ridiculous to recite stories of other players who later developed just fine, when there are already two guaranteed All Stars who are ready to play in the NBA in Turner and Cousins.

I would even consider trading a future 1st round pick + Dallas pick + TWill (who I really like) + CLee (who I like) to get a 2nd top 4 pick, so that we can have both Turner and Cousins.

LeBron would probably come to that team:

LeBron
BLopez
Cousins
Turner
Harris

Who do you not double-team (LOL)!!!

I think one of the things to think about with who we draft, is who’s going to be our head coach. But I think we need to draft a player with high potential, if we just stick to players who we feel are nice, were not going to get anywhere. I don’t just mean Cousins but anybody, yeah check their attitude and history, but we need some more toughness on this team, and guys who want to go get it and not back down.

Like mr DB said, Turner or bust for us. Wall is just mehh

Personally, I feel Evan Turner’s peak potential is a combination of D-Wade & Vince Carter.

I’ve heard people compare John Wall’s peak potential as being Jason Kidd…

Opinions, thoughts, etc….

I think we should try to get that kid Joe Alexander formally of the Milwaukee Bucks were is he at, I liked his size and athleticism as a cheap rotation player.

Turner is not athletic enough to be compared to D-wade and Vince Carter. I’m thinking like Brandon Roy or Richard Hamilton put into one.

I think John Wall could be like Kevin Johnson honestly or Devin Harris lol

@jerry

I’m not suggesting that Favors should be considered over Wall/Turner. This has turned into a very obvious 2 player draft. What I was suggesting is that before dismissing Favors because he isn’t putting up big numbers you have to take his age into consideration.

How do you think Cousins would have done a year ago playing with the guards that Favors plays with instead playing in high school?

How do you think Favors would do next year playing with someone like Wall?

The difference between being an 18 or 19 year old freshman is significant.

More Evan Turner support from Bill Simmon’s chat this afternoon.

Jim (Akron)

“I’m glad you’ve noticed Turner’s play. Everyone just assumes he’s below Wall But the kid BROKE his back, and missed 6 games. In his first game back he drops 30. His numbers are off the chart and he literally carries a big-time program (OSU) during much of the game. He also gets not rest as Matta has decided a bench is merely for sitting.”

Bill Simmons (1:30 PM)

“Check out Turner’s game log – ”http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/gamelog?playerId=36135" target="_blank">http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/gamelog?playerId=36135 The injury obviously didn’t help matters, but this guy can play either guard spot and he’s averaging 9.2 RPG in COLLEGE. It’s ridiculous. The only downer for him is 3-point shooting. I am a huge huge huge fan. For him to come back from that back injury and play like he has was the most underrated college story. Huge heart. Plus, he knows Mark Titus."

You can view the entire chat here -

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/31052/page-2-bill-simmons

gotta figure barring some player coming from no where either Wall, Turner, Cousins or Favors will be a Net.

> When Favors arrived at Tech, projected as a one-and-done into the NBA, assistant coach John O’Conner asked him what he did best.

> “Rebound,” he said.

Damn, I am sold on Favors

The thought the Nets would pick John Wall scares me.
He makes bad decisions and doesn’t listen to his coach. Bledsoe is more of a pure point guard than him.
The other night after a timeout Wall ignored his coach as he went to the bench.
A freshman in college needs coaching, him tuning out his coach is a red flag.

The knock on Devin Harris is he’s not a point guard, not a perimeter shooter. I don’t see much of a difference between him and Wall.

Draft a big or Evan Turner.

I’d take Cousin with the 3rd pick in a heartbeat.