The Nets have needs. Lots of needs. Inside scoring. Rebounding. Defense. Not to mention a coach, president and director of basketball operations.
But they hope to position themselves where they can address one of the on-court needs tomorrow when the league determines the lottery order of selection for the June 28 draft.
Despite all the needs, the Nets want to avoid passing up a legitimate star. So the “best-athlete-available” syndrome could creep into their thinking.
“We have needs and you’ve got to weigh ‘best-athlete-available’ versus how great a contribution or how great the guy that fills the need is,” said GM John Nash, who sees Cincinnati’s Kenyon Martin as the top pick in the draft. “The danger you run into when you draft by need is the danger that beset the Portland Trailblazers when they selected Sam Bowie because they had Clyde Drexler and Jim Paxson at the off guard, and chose to pass on Michael Jordan.”
So the Nets are thinking big, especially with the uncertain status of Jayson Williams, who is rehabilitating his broken foot, suffered as he tried to come back from a broken leg and shredded knee.
Yesterday, one day after looking at 6-foot-11 free-agent center/power forward Daniel Santiago, who played in Italy, the Nets worked out two 7-footers: early-entry candidate Jay Przybilla, a 7-1 sophomore, and 7-foot Primoz Brezec of Slovenia. The Nets also are interested in several other early-entry types: 7-foot junior Chris Mihm of Texas, 6-9 sophomore forward Stromile Swift of LSU, 6-8 junior forward Marcus Fizer of Iowa State and 6-9 high-school star Darius Miles of East St. Louis, Ill. Additionally, the Nets have scouted 7-2 Greek National Team star Iakovos Tsakalidis.
The Nets will study every position except point guard and there is always the possibility of a trade up or down. If form holds, the Nets will pick seventh. And Nash is convinced they will find quality.
“Everybody complains about the draft as they approach it, then the closer they get, the better it seems.,” Nash said. “The true test is 2-3 years down the road.
“It’s a decent draft. There aren’t players at the top of the draft like a Shaquille O’Neal-Alonzo Mourning, but it’s possible a player drafted as far back as 10 could wind up rookie of the year.”