Pick 57: Who Should the Brooklyn Nets Take?

Added by Deshawn Jelani on June 28, 2012.

Kris Joseph of Syracuse, is a player the Nets may look at in the second round.

The Brooklyn Nets will have the 57^th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft which is scheduled to take place tonight, Thursday, June 28, at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.

The Nets, who are absent of a first-round draft choice, will look to make a slight improvement in their current roster late in the second round.  Their first-round pick was lost when the team traded center Mehmet Okur, forward Shawne Williams, and their first-round pick to the Portland Trailblazers for forward Gerald Wallace before the trade deadline earlier this year. 

Wallace opted out of the final year of his contract (2013) to test free agency this summer, so the Nets ended up with essentially nothing in the trade during a relatively strong draft year.

Poor pick notwithstanding, the Nets will have the opportunity to draft one player this year.  But who will they take?

There will not be a ton of quality talent remaining when they select, and history tells us that few players have had great success after being drafted in the second round.  But it is possible to draft great second round talent (Manu Ginobili, Monte Ellis, and Gilbert Arenas are some former second round greats of note). 

Nevertheless, the Nets will have to select someone.  The following is a short list of the best players likely to be available at the time of the Nets selection:

1. JaMychal Green, PF/C, Alabama.  This player has skill and upside.  Although he is a bit undersized to play the center position, his long wingspan and scoring skillset makes up for it.  Green averaged 14.1, 15, and 14 points per game over the past three seasons at Alabama.  In addition, he recorded averages of 7.2, 7.5 and 7.4 rebounds per game during his three year stint.  He undoubtedly would be a solid addition to the Nets roster going into next season.
2. Khris Middleton, SF, Texas A&M.  I like this player.  I had the pleasure of watching a ton of Big 12 basketball in the past two years and believed that Middleton was the most underrated swingman in the conference.  His knee injury caused him to struggle last season in addition to a change in coaching in College Station, TX.  Middleton however still led the team in scoring and was a solid player all around.
3. Kris Joseph, SF, Syracuse.  This seems like the easiest pick here since the kid is local.  But this guy is an athlete and plays the game with a ton of maturity.  His lack of strength and consistency is what makes him a second-round pick, however just remember that he did lead the number seeded and ranked Syracuse Orange in scoring last year.  That speaks for itself how valuable he could be to the Nets organization.

Other players of consideration include J’Covan Brown (Texas), Henry Sims (Georgetown), and Scott Machado (Iona).  Whoever they pick, lets just hope that they will have some sort of an impact going into next season and hope management doesn’t make another ill-advised decision, which is what we are so use to seeing.