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Harry Giles, the easiest name to pronounce in the Draft, and Anzejs Pasecniks, the most difficult. Both bigs were linked to the Nets in four mocks each, out of 18.
Giles, of course, is the embodiment of risk/reward. Coming out of high school last year, the 6’11” center was seen as a top lottery pick, maybe even overall No. 1, but his third ACL surgery early in his freshman year, continuing worries about structural issues in his kness and an underwhelming performance at Duke hurt his stock. In just the last three days, he dropped from No. 17 to No. 26 in the Draft Express mock. Would Sean Marks do what he did last year, take a shot at an injured player? It worked with Caris LeVert. who also had three surgeries (on his foot). The Nets have one of the world’s best ACL surgeons, Dr. Riley Williams III, as their medical director. He’ll know.
Pasecniks is the prototypical European center. Great fundamentals, nice shot, could use some beef on the bones. At 7’3”, he is the tallest player in the draft. Pasecniks grew up playing against Kristaps Porzingis. The Knick center developed quicker and may have a more sophisticated game, but Pasecniks can play. When 11 NBA scouts, including Trajan Langdon, went to see him in a big Spanish League game, he put up crazy numbers, 24 points and and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes. He shot 11-of-13 from the field. Nets would automatically become Latvians’ favorite New York City basketball team.
In the second round, freshman point guard Kobi Simmons of Arizona got nods from three of the six sites that did full 60-pick mocks, including Chad Ford. Oddest pick has to be NBADraft’s Aaron Smith who suggested Wesley DaSilva of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Who? Of course, the Nets went for a hot shooting Brazilian in 1984, Oscar Schmidt, but could never get him to come up. He wound up in the Hall of Fame.
Also, for all of you who want sound smart, here’s a handy pronunciation guide from FanSided. It’s AHN-Zayz Pa-SESH-nicks (Pa-SECH-nicks appears to also be accepted)
Finally, whose opinion do we trust? We’d go with Jonathan Givony and Chad Ford (his last draft for ESPN) nationally and Fred Kerber of the Post and Mike Scotto of Basketball Insiders locally.
So see you at 7:00, Barclays Center, Brooklyn.
Draft Express
—D.J. Wilson, sophomore, Michigan, 6’11” PF
—Dwayne Bacon, sophomore, Florida State, 6’5” SG
ESPN
—Anzejs Pasecniks, 21, Gran Canaria, 7’3” C (Latvian)
—Kobi Simmons, freshman, Arizona, 6’5” PG
NBADraft.net
—Harry Giles, freshman, Duke, 6’11” C
—Wesley DaSilva, 21, Paulistano, 6’6” SG/SF (Brazil)
Tankathon
—Isaiah Hartenstein, 19, Zalgiris Kaunas, 7’1” C (German)
—Jaron Blossomgame, senior, Clemson, 6’7” PF/SF
Sports Illustrated
—Jarrett Allen, freshman, Texas, 6’11” C
—Kobi Simmons, freshman, Arizona, 6’5” PG
SB Nation
—John Collins, sophomore, Wake Forest, 6’10” SF/PF
NBC Sports
—T.J. Leaf, 19, UCLA, 6’10” PF (Israel)
CBS Sports
—Justin Patton, freshman, Creighton, 7’0” C
Bleacher Report
—Jordan Bell, junior, Oregon, 6’9” PF
Basketball Insiders
—Harry Giles, freshman, Duke, 6’11” C
—Peter Jok, senior, Iowa, 6’6” SG/SF
MyNBADraft
—Anzejs Pasecniks, 21, Gran Canaria, 7’3” C (Latvian)
—Kobi Simmons, freshman, Arizona, 6’5” PG
Sporting News
—Bam Adebayo, freshman, Kentucky, 6’10” C
The Ringer
—Harry Giles, freshman, Duke, 6’11” C
—Davon Reed, senior, Miami, 6’6” SG
Fan Rag
—Anzejs Pasecniks, 21, Gran Canaria, 7’3” C (Latvian)
FanSided
—Harry Giles, freshman, Duke, 6’11” C
Newark Star-Ledger
—Semi Ojeleye, junior, SMU, 6’6” SF/PF
Newsday
—Ivan Rabb, sophomore, California, 7’0” C
New York Post
—Anzejs Pasecniks, 21, Gran Canaria, 7’3” C (Latvian)
Note: all the mocks have been updated in the last few days. Some will continue to be updated throughout Thursday, with Draft Express usually posting its final mock as the Draft begins.
ENJOY!