Scouting starts early on NBA prospects. In the last 10 days, the Nets have been represented at two youth hoops events. In early April, Billy King was at a Hoops Summit scrimmage in Portland when the Nets were there to play the Trail Blazers. He was particularly impressed by Andrew Wiggins of Canada. "He's only 17?," King asked.

This weekend, Nets international scout Danko Cvjeticanin was at the Albert Schweitzer classic in Mannheim, Germany where 16 national teams, including the United States competed. None of the top players at the two events will be eligible until the 2013 Draft and Wiggins till 2014.

Meanwhile, the Nets remain in seventh in the 2012 Lottery. But if they win some games, they could rise as high as ninth, surpassing the Warriors and Pistons. If they lose, they could drop to fifth, below the Raptors and Cavaliers. That's the difference between a 15% and 29.2% chance at the top three pick.

The Rockets are in seventh place in the West with a 73.9% chance of making the playoffs --and surrendering their pick to the Nets-- according to John Hollinger. They play back-to-back games vs. the Nuggets starting Sunday. The Nets second rounder has moved up to #57 as the Heat struggled.

• Nets chances of landing Rockets' pick fading - Tim Bontemps - New York Post Nets Blog