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The Nets front office and ownership are thrilled. They got a player at No. 22 that they thought should have required a lottery pick. No need to trade up, but they were ready to ... if that’s what it took to get Jarrett Allen, their 6’11” rim protector.
Most in the pundit community agreed, with grades mostly positive. Only Chad Ford thought it was mediocre. Here’s a random sampling. Some attached a grade. Some did not. Best to call it a day and call it a solid B+. (Of course, all draft grades should be I for “incomplete.”)
Allen is the heir apparent to Lopez, but they couldn't be more different. Lopez is a huge, skilled offensive player, while Allen is a slight, athletic rim runner and shot-blocker. Given the style the Nets want to play, he should be a good fit, but he's a project. Luckily the Nets have plenty of time to see if he pans out as they build around Russell.
Jarrett Allen won’t do anything great, but he will do everything well. There is some Brook Lopez to his game, and his 7-foot-5 wingspan is a huge boon for a Nets team that craves a shot-blocker. At pick 22, Brooklyn gets a guy who will play 10 years in this league.
Jarrett Allen has a great potential as a defensive center thanks to his 7’5 wingspan and quick feet on the perimeter. After the Nets’ Brook Lopez trade, Allen gives them a high-upside young center to grow with D’Angelo Russell. I love the Russell trade too for the Nets. If you factor that in, it’s an A.
Allen was seen as a possible lottery pick coming into the season, but an up-and-down year on a Texas team without a point guard or much 3-point shooting depressed his draft stock. Brooklyn may end up benefiting from Allen’s difficult college situation, as centers with his skill and athleticism (and a 7-foot-5 wingspan) are rarely available this late in the first round. While he will need to get stronger, develop his perimeter jumper, and learn to leverage his length on the defensive end of the floor, he has all the tools to be an excellent two-way center in today’s game.
Everyone was expecting the Nets to take a big risk here, and that’s exactly what they did. Allen has impressive physical tools, but has a lot of learning to do. He improved over the course of the season at Texas, which helps his cause a little bit, but scouts were mixed about whether or not Allen would ever tap into his full potential. It’s smart in theory and certainly justifiable, but there’s equal reason to be skeptical. The good news is that Brooklyn can afford to wait and see.
A true project, Allen slid a little more than he would’ve liked, being picked after most of the rest of the green room attendees, but he ended up on a team that could really use a high-potential guy in Brooklyn. With little talent on board, young or otherwise, they will certainly be hoping to develop Allen into a more skilled and consistent player whose massive wingspan and athleticism will allow him to be dominant in a few years. While there’s a lot of risk involved with taking a guy as raw as Allen, the upside is so great that taking him when he falls is a no-brainer for the Nets.
Jarrett Allen has incredible upside in the wake of losing Brook Lopez.
Allen had been the top player left on most draft boards for quite a while, so the Nets seemingly got a bargain with the 22nd pick. They may have found a reasonable replacement for Brook Lopez, who left in the D’Angelo Russell trade. If Timofey Mozgov is healthy enough to play, that will take some pressure off Allen to develop immediately.
Texas center Jarrett Allen is a good defender and a solid rebounder. He’s a little raw offensively, but he has the tools to be a rim protector right away. The Nets traded franchise center Brook Lopez to the Lakers on Tuesday, so they needed to upgrade at that position, and Allen certainly was one of the best options at No. 22.
Jarrett Allen will be the one of the youngest members of the Brooklyn Nets franchise — ever. A one-and-done prospect that played out of position on an underachieving Texas team, Allen dropped from his expected range in the draft. Many mock drafts pegged him as an early teens prospect, ahead of players like Bam Adebayo, Harry Giles, T.J. Leaf and D.J. Wilson, among others. For the Nets, the acquisition of Allen was a step in the right direction for a team needing youth, and in more general terms, talent.
Allen needs to build upon his frame, but his ceiling should continue to skyrocket under a development-focused Nets coaching staff. Allen will have plenty of playing time with a Nets team looking to build off its young core of newly-acquired D’Angelo Russell and Caris LeVert, combined with the veteran leadership of Jeremy Lin.