With the restructuring of the Marcus Williams trade this summer and the Chris Quinn trade this week, the Nets have added to their stockpile of draft picks and now have 10 over the next three years, five first rounders and five second rounders. The Nets have more picks over the next three years than any other team.
Until this week, the Heat and Nets both had nine, but then the Heat traded their 2012 second rounder to the Nets along with Quinn. Moreover, several of the Heat 's picks have extensive protections and other conditions. Only two of the Nets picks have protections. One set of protections is completely meaningless and the other is light. The Knicks and Mavericks, on the other hand, have the fewest. They have four picks: two first rounders and two second rounders, but neither has a first rounder in the deep 2010 draft.
Here’s the list, with protections noted, of what the Nets have over the next three drafts:
--2010
Nets — First round: their own pick and the Mavs’ unprotected pick, obtained in the Jason Kidd trade. Second rounders: The Nets’ own pick, protected 31-50 against the Heat. (Unless the Nets finish in the top 10 at season's end, the Nets retain the pick. Count on it.)
--2011
Nets — First round: their own pick. Second round: their own pick and the Warriors’ unprotected pick, obtained in the restructuring of the Marcus Williams trade.
--2012
Nets — First round: their own pick and Warriors’ pick, protected 1-7, acquired in the restructuring of the Marcus Williams trade. (Should the Warriors’ pick in the top seven in the 2012 Draft, the Nets would get the Warriors’ pick in 2013, also protected 1-7. If the Warriors again pick in the top 7 in 2013, the Nets would then get the Warriors’ pick in the 2014 draft, this time protected 1-6. In the unlikely event that the Warriors once again picked that high, the Nets would get the Warriors’ second round picks in 2014 and 2016 instead.) Second round: their own pick plus the unprotected Heat pick acquired in the Quinn trade.
The Nets also had ten picks over three years after the summer of 2004--six first rounders and four second rounders. Two of the first round picks were the primary bait in the Vince Carter trade with Toronto while two of the second round picks were traded to Golden State for Cliff Robinson. The Nets themselves did poorly with the remaining picks: Antoine Wright and Mile Ilic in 2005, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Hassan Adams in 2006, and Sean Williams in 2007.