Focus turns to draft with Lottery, Group Workout

Put aside the speculation about the Nets next coach. For the next few days (and weeks), the front office focus will be on preparing for the NBA Draft, with or without a new coach.

The Draft Lottery will be held Tuesday night in Times Square and although the Nets won't have a represent on the dias for the first time since 2007, the front office will be watching intently. Four lottery teams --Utah, Cleveland, Minnesota and Phoenix-- each have a pick inside and outside the lottery. The Hawks have two first round picks in the teens (and two in the second round as well). Clubs with multiple picks are often popular on Draft Night.

Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, more than 30 prospects, mostly late first rounders and second rounders, will gather at PNY Center for one of two NBA-sanctioned group workouts. The list of those attending is not yet finalized and one player who could go late first --Ricky Ledo-- has dropped out. The 6'6" shooting guard looked good in the Pre-Draft Combine last week and will now move on to individual workouts, which will also begin this week.

Expect the Nets to work out both first and second round prospects. Although they have no picks in the second round, they do have a record of buying picks with the $3 million in cash they must use before July 1. Over the last two years, the Nets have spend $4.25 million to buy three picks who turned into Bojan Bogdanovic, Tyshawn Taylor and Tornike Shengelia. So far, there's word of only one individual workout, that of Jamaal Franklin, the San Diego State shooting guard, in early June.

Meanwhile, Tickets for the NBA Draft on June 27, the first in Brooklyn, will go on sale on Wednesday, at 10 a.m. but Nets News Subscribers and season ticket-holders have access to an exclusive presale starting Tuesday..