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NBA Draft Grades: Nets get an 'A' for effort in Mason Plumlee

By Tom Lorenzo
USA TODAY Sports

Anything interesting happen last night? Oh, everything interesting happened, you say?

Yes, the big trade for the Big Two in Boston happened, with the Nets getting Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry from the Celtics, but they also made a selection in the draft in Duke big man Mason Plumlee -- a somewhat "out of nowhere" pick, but a very good one, nonetheless.

And as we're waking up to our post-trade, post-draft hangover, the grades are pouring in and, well, the Nets seem to have done pretty well.

Chad Ford gave them 'B,' noting that the trade was a huge win-in-the-now for the Nets and that Plumlee adds the depth they need at center who can step in and compete right away.

He writes:

Analysis: The Nets made their mark on draft day with agreement on a massive trade with Boston that landed Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry for Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, other players and three future first-round draft picks. Clearly in the short term, the Nets came out way ahead.

On top of that, they kept their 2013 first-round pick and landed Plumlee, the most athletic big in the draft not named Noel. Plumlee slid in the draft because of his age. Had he been 19 or 20 years old, he would've been a lottery pick. But at 22, teams question how much upside he has. He runs the floor and finishes high above the rim, but he will probably be relegated to spot minutes in a backup role.

Exactly what the Nets were looking for in this draft: a backup big for Brook Lopez.

The team over at SB Nation had a similar assessment of the pick, with Jonathan Tjarks giving the pick a C+ for upside -- which is perfectly fine at No. 22 and when you're picking an NBA-ready, 22-year-old big; perfectly fine -- Tom Ziller gave them a 'A' for "Fit" and Mike Prada gave them a 'B' for "Immediate Impact." You can't ask for better than that at No. 22, right?

Plumlee is a great fit and no he doesn't have the same upside of someone like Nerlens Noel, but he does give you the "immediate impact" fact by being able to come in and play 15 minutes a night at center.

He's an effort guy, a step-in-and-play-now guy, and he's a Brooklyn Net.

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