Nets Draft 2017: With 72 hours to go, Nets keeping it close

Nobody knows.

That’s the headline after scouting around the world, 60 some player workouts, and no doubt meeting after meeting and video session after video session. No one outside the Nets front office has a good read on what the Nets will do Thursday night when the roll is called in Brooklyn.

As Greg Logan writes Monday... “it’s a guessing game.”

Marks himself was interviewed by Good Day NY for a piece that has yet to air and offered little insight. He said the Nets are looking for three players to help now and in future, who can they develop. Excuse us, but Duh.

The Nets GM has said a number of things back in April that offer some hints as to what he plans.

—He likes having multiple picks...

“I like having two picks,” Marks said after the season ended. “I think it just gives us another swing at it. I can’t tell you if we’ll draft two guys in the first round. I can’t tell you if it will be one, I can’t tell you if one’s going to be a stash [in Europe]. Who knows? We’ll just have to wait and see. We’ll stay creative and stay as strategic as we can.”

—He doesn’t think they’ll move up...

“I think it's overblown. Having been back in the (draft) room, it's quite a bit more difficult to package picks and move up. but we'll see, you never know.”

—He’ll be prepared if someone drops...

“I think it's a little premature to say this could be 'the guy.' I think there's a group of guys that like all GMs, all organizations have said ‘look this group of four, five, six guys could potentially be there.’” he told Evan Roberts back in March. “Every team has its own mock draft. Maybe a guy we have at 16 is still there at 25, 26. And on the day of the draft, everything changes.”

—In general, he expects to be fluid on Draft Night...

“We'll wait and see. If the players are there that we like, that's great and it's exciting for us. Again, i think we will be fluid and strategic in how we use those two picks and we'll figure it out the best we can,” he told Sarah Kustok. “It's nice to have a first round pick. It's better to have two and we'll just see what happens. I think we can be a little more flexible now. People have commented, 'this is a deep draft' and so forth.”

... And so forth, indeed.

One thing draftniks and others wonder is will Marks go the hurt route again, taking a player who’s dropped because of an injury, like he did last year with Caris LeVert, who was coming off foot reconstruction surgery.

As Logan notes...

Marks could gamble again on either Duke’s Harry Giles, who has undergone three knee surgeries, or Indiana’s OG Anunoby, who underwent knee surgery in January. But while either could fit needs the Nets have, they figure to be drafting in an area of the first round where they will have a wide selection of big forwards.

The Newsday writer also suggests the Nets could be in a good position to grab a solid pick that after the lottery, there will be “a run on big men,” leaving some good swingmen in the mix for when the Nets pick in the 20’s.

“The Nets could have their choice of the second tier of players at small forward and shooting guard and could grab a young player to develop on the perimeter along with LeVert.”

He names a few starting with Terrance Ferguson and Justin Jackson. But he admits, it’s all speculation because “for now, Marks is holding his cards close.’

• NBA Draft 2017: Nets keeping quiet on plans for three picks - Greg Logan - Newsday