Billy King gets a variation of the same question every day but he gives the same answer when asked who he's interested in. "You guys keep going around and about. I keep giving you the same answer," said King Monday. That’s what he said he’d do at No. 27 in the first round and No. 36 on the second.
He worked out for them last May and wanted a promise, but didn't get one. So he went back to Brigham Young and won college Player of the Year. But .Jimmer Fredette tells Dan Patrick Monday he still sees the Knicks and Nets as the two teams he hopes will pick him when David Stern calls the role of teams Thursday.
Is it a hint, a promise, or just a comment? Justin Harper, the 6'10" combo forward from Richmond, was interviewed by Hoopshype last week and when asked which of his workouts was the best responded, "I think that the workout I felt really good about was with the New Jersey Nets".
Fred Kerber writes Sunday that absent someone falling or an trade permitting them to move up, the Nets like three seniors, two athletic shooting big men and a combo guard who knows how to win at the high school and college level: Justin Harper of Richmond, JaJuan Johnson or Purdue and Nolan Smith of Duke.
A year ago May, a rising star out of Brigham Young dropped by the PNY Center with his father to work out and talk about the 2010 Draft. The Nets had three first round picks and Jimmer Fredette was looking for a guarantee Rod Thorn would call his name on Draft Night. The Nets liked what they saw but no go on the guarantee.
In our latest Off-Season Report, we delve into the Draft, We'll have some in-depth pieces on what to expect later in the week but for now, we'll give you some inside info (not much) on what to look for Thursday night, offer our last Sleeper of the Week, who seems to be dawning on people; try to balance Brooklyn news, never an easy task; update you on Kris and Kim.
Travis Leslie, a 6'4" swingman on the first round bubble, will be the big name at the PNY Center Monday when the Nets hold their final scheduled workout before Thursday's draft. Of the other five participants, only one, Ben Hansbrough of Notre Dame, is listed in the major mock drafts.
Sports Xchange, which provides those game day "Getting Inside" reports on each NBA team is hinting that JaJuan Johnson of Purdue, Josh Selby of Kansas and Nolan Smith of Duke are among the players the Nets are targeting as they get closer to Thursday's draft, where they pick at #27 and #36.
UCLA's Tyler Honeycutt, a projected first rounder, was clearly the best player at the Nets' facility on Thursday, even though he didn't shoot very well. Billy King said Honeycutt is "in the mix," but the Nets just don't know if Honeycutt will be there when they pick at No. 27 in a week.
Antoine Wright shouldn't have sat for an interview with Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated. He's trying for an NBA comeback, but by the end of the Amick article, he leaves little to recommend himself. Beyond bizarre complaints that Mario Elie got him dumped by the Kings, he speaks about how he didn't try very hard with the Nets.
