The Brooklyn Nets are the only team in the NBA that is headed into the 2024 NBA Draft without a draft pick in the first round or the second round. While Brooklyn is devoid of 2024 draft picks because of the James Harden trade, it’s possible that they could be doing something to remedy that situation.
Per Aran Smith of NBADraft.net, the Nets could be one of the teams that tries to trade into the first round before the draft begins on Wednesday. More to the point, when Brooklyn general manager Sean Marks spoke earlier in the summer, he made it clear that trading back into the Draft will always remain an option for the Nets.
“Word is there’s a good chance a team like Brooklyn will make a deal to grab one of the Knicks picks,” Smith wrote. Smith was writing a passage about who the New York Knicks could take with their second pick in the first round, the 25th overall pick.
“Tyler Smith is considered a player that could be targeted,” Smith said. “If they keep the pick, Smith would help bolster the Knicks’ frontcourt, adding shooting ability.” Based on this reporting by Smith, it’s hard to tell if the Nets would be targeting Smith with the 25th (Knicks also have the 24th overall pick coming from the Dallas Mavericks) or another player late in the first round.
If Smith is someone that the Nets could want to take with one of the Knicks’ picks, here’s what Smith had to say about him as a player:
“He has good length and used two seasons at OTE, prior to this season with the Ignite, to refine his jumpshot. He has become a deadly mid-range and outside shooter, the best aspect of his game, but struggles to impact the game much in other areas. He’s a little like a smaller Myles Turner with his lack of great speed and athleticism but a very composed and mature game and the ability to play as a stretch big. Smith lacks huge upside, but is intriguing due to his length and shooting stroke. Late lottery is a possibility for the sweet shooting big man.”
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