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Sean Kilpatrick is Nets gain, 76ers’ loss

Denver Nuggets v Brooklyn Nets Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Nets fans tend to forget where Sean Kilpatrick came from. They’re just so happy with his success, that Sean Marks first big move turned out so well.

In Philly, fans remember and if they don’t, Keith Pompey of Philly.com is reminding them Sunday.

He is, as Pompey writes, the one that got away from the Sixers. When the Nets called him up in February of last season, he was playing for the Delaware 87ers, the Philly D-League ... and averaging a league-high 26.4 points per game.

Sam Hinkie, the Sixer GM at the time, thought about bringing him up, said Brett Brown, the Philly coach.

"I think Sam with the [front office] group felt like with Isaiah (Canaan) here and other people here . . . I don't really remember how it really played out. I do know that Sam thought highly of him, but obviously not highly enough to bring him in."

Canaan is no longer in the Sixers picture, but Kilpatrick is a big part of the Nets. As Dan Favale of Bleacher Report noted this week, he has the highest offensive rating of any of the Brooklyn starters. The Nets (7-18) are scoring 105.4 points per 100 possessions when he's in the game compared with 96.2 with him on the bench. Not to mention that he’s the highest scorer among undrafted players at 16.2 ppg.

Kilpatrick remembers waiting for the Sixers to call him up.

"It did get frustrating," Kilpatrick said. "There were nights when I was wondering what I was doing wrong. Then I just kept saying to myself maybe I would get a different opportunity for me."

it’s nice to see the Nets make the smart move.