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The Morning After

It wound up differently than people expected. Derrick Favors' selection was hardly a surprise. He had been projected as the Nets choice ever since the Draft Lottery and while some might have preferred DeMarcus Cousins or Wesley Johnson, the Nets liked him from the beginning.

He likes them too. "They’re ready to move in a different direction from last year," Favors said after being selected at #3. "They’re ready to improve, ready to contend for an NBA championship in a few years. It just means I have a bullseye on my back. I have to put in a lot of work."

While some draftniks suggested he's not much more than an asset in a July sign-and-trade, Avery Johnson made it clear he sees Favors as "a prototypical power forward".

The big surprise was the trade for Damion James, a 6'8", 225 pound combo forward from Texas. He hadn't been seriously discussed as a Nets pick, at least by the draftniks. But apparently, he had been on the front office radar for a while, with one insider noting that he had been projected by some (HoopsWorld) as a lottery pick and in most mocks between #14 and #17. When they saw him fall to #24 and when some of their favorites get picked ahead of schedule, they made the deal...and were happy with it. He was an 18 and 10 guy in the Big 12, where was the conference's all-time leading rebounder.

One reason: they like his story, growing up tough in Nacogdoches, TX. That's where he watched the draft. "I'm feeling kind of dazed right now," James told a Texas newspaper. "Oh, man, it's great."