Nets Get #3 Pick in Draft Lottery

Mikhail Prokhorov's luck didn't hold Tuesday night as the Nets wound up with the #3 pick in the NBA Draft.  The Sixers got the #2 pick and the Wizards the overall #1. 

"The thing about the draft is last year the Rookie of the Year was taken with the No. 4 pick. We're going to get a very, very good player," said GM Kiki Vandeweghe.

The general belief among basketball pundits is that there are at least five players with special talent: Kentucky's John  Wall, Ohio State's Evan Turner, Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins, Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors, and Syracuse's Wesley Johnson.  However, the pundits also think that  there is little to distinguish the next 10 picks.  The Nets also hold the 27th and 31st picks in the draft, which are unaffected by the lottery.

In a news conference before the lottery, David Stern said he expects much from Prokhorov in his bid to turn the Nets around. The commissioner said Prokhorov's money isn't going to be what turns around the Nets.

"He's going to do it by hard work and good management," Stern said. "That's what works -- drafting a good player that comes out the lottery and the draft, by surrounding that player with other good players, by making sure that people understand that he's committed to the entertainment experience at the Prudential Center."