Surprise: Nets Could Get #60 Pick; Final Piece in T-Will - Sasha Deal

Reading the NBA press release Friday about tie-breakers, we were a little mystified to see that the league lists the Nets as having the sixtieth and last pick in the 2012 Draft, the so-called "Mr. Irrelevant." Before you walk away laughing, remember that Isaiah Thomas, the Kings starting point guard, was picked in that slot last year.

So we did a little research and here's what we're told by a league source. Indeed, the Nets could wind up with the pick, IF the Lakers agree by June 1 to accept $250,000 from the Nets, which the source admitted was unlikely but possible.

How'd it happen? Back in June 2010, the Nets traded Chris Douglas-Roberts to the Bucks. In return, they got a pick from Milwaukee, a 2012 second rounder the Bucks had acquired from the Bulls.

Six months later, the Nets shipped it and a 2011 second rounder to the Lakers in the Terrence Williams - Sasha Vujacic deal. What wasn't discussed back then was that the Nets can retrieve the pick if the Lakers elect to accept the $250,000.