Nets general manager Sean Marks said his team’s timeline to compete in meaningful playoff games remains the same — even after he and his front office used both the 21st and 22nd picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft to add one-and-done college rookies to the roster.
The timeline to compete — and compete for a championship — has been a topic of conversation ever since the organization detonated a legitimate contender at the trade deadline with the pair of trades that sent Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to the Western Conference. When the dust settled, the Nets identified “The Twins” Mikal Bridges and restricted free agent Cam Johnson as franchise cornerstones.
But now what?
Fresh off a first-round sweep at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets were expected to be aggressive in improving a roster with tons of depth yet a glaring need for a star scorer. Their most aggressive trade package to do so would have included one or both of Brooklyn’s first-round picks in Thursday night’s draft.
Marks said he and his front office had “a lot of conversations ahead of the draft” about moving up or packaging the picks to acquire an impact player from another team, but ultimately he and his staff settled on Alabama’s stretch-four Noah Clowney at pick No. 21, and Duke’s three-and-D wing Dariq Whitehead at No. 22. The Nets also selected Kansas’ Jalen Williams in the second round at pick No. 51.
An important note, Whitehead underwent two procedures on his right foot during his freshman season and is not expected to participate in Las Vegas Summer League.
“I wish I could honestly share the interviews that we had with these guys. I think the public would be pretty impressed with how they were raised and who they are,” Marks said at the HSS Training Facility in Industry City early Friday morning, the top two buttons of his white polo shirt unfastened, a telltale sign of a long day’s work. “That gives me great confidence, when you bring somebody in like that who is about the right things and carries a chip on their shoulder. I think that’s really important.”
Yet as high as Marks and his staff are on the team’s draft haul — Marks said the front office was “very, very happy with how it played out for the Brooklyn Nets” — there still remains the question of timeline.
After just a taste of championship contention, when can Nets fans expect a full serving?
The Nets have a payroll north of $145 million in guaranteed salaries entering free agency, which begins Friday, June 30 at 6 p.m. That doesn’t include the contract they’ll be forced to hand Johnson, the restricted free agent sure to command a deal north of $20 million in annual salary after an impressive transition from Phoenix to Brooklyn was followed by an eye-turning playoff performance as the Nets’ second offensive option.
The surest route to meaningfully improving the roster for a deeper playoff run remains a trade, and while the Nets continue to have coveted trade chips in the form of battle-tested veterans (Royce O’Neale, Dorian Finney-Smith, Joe Harris and Spencer Dinwiddie), draft compensation is always needed to sweeten a deal for a superstar.
And after Thursday night’s draft, the Nets have two fewer draft assets to bargain with — though it must be stated: Brooklyn can still use two firsts in 2025, two more in 2027 and three first-round picks in 2029 as the general framework for a deal involving a superstar player.
“Our timeline — we’re going to compete,” Marks said after the draft. “That’s what we’re here for. I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re a contender overnight. But I think we’ve shown the ability, as an organization, to pivot and compete, potentially quicker than we probably were thought.
“At the end of the day, with a new CBA, a new group, some really good returners, let’s let these guys develop. A new coaching staff, let’s let them put their fingerprints all over this group and see where it goes in the next couple months, then a couple years and go from there.”
For now, Marks and the Nets’ front office appear elated with their selections. They have a long history of finding diamond-in-the-rough talent with draft picks outside the lottery: Nic Claxton was a second-round pick. Cam Thomas fell to pick No. 27. Marks nabbed Jarrett Allen 27th-overall and drafted Caris LeVert at pick No. 20.
The lanky, 6-10 Clowney averaged 10 points and eight rebounds as a freshman at Alabama and shot the three ball at a 29% clip. More notable regarding his perimeter shooting was his willingness to shoot the three: Clowney averaged just under 3.5 attempts from downtown per game through 36 games with the Crimson Tide.
“It does factor in. You watch him shoot. We have him here in our building and we critique and evaluate their shots, amongst many, many other things,” Marks said. “He doesn’t shy away from shooting it. That’s what we want.”
Time will tell with Whitehead. He is beginning his rehab process after undergoing a second procedure on his right foot to address a “fifth metatarsal Jones fracture.” Whitehead was a 43% college three-point shooter for Duke with prototypical three-and-D size at 6-7, 220 pounds.
Which naturally brings us back to the plethora of veteran wings in Brooklyn, many of whom remain coveted by true championship contenders. It’s clear the Nets are no longer that — a true championship contender — unless they pull off a deal for the ages.
It doesn’t appear, however, the Nets are in any rush. Thursday night was all about the rookies. And Marks and his staff feel fortunate to have preemptively hit the lotto on another set of late first-round picks they had to maximize.
“I don’t think any of these guys quite know how good they can be yet, and I don’t expect them to,” Marks said. “… And then the light bulb goes off. It’s, ‘Alright: This is what it takes to be a real NBA player. This is what it’s gonna take. I’m gonna have to develop. It’s gonna take time, but I’ve got the right group around me to help.’
“That’s what we’re committed to do for these three young men.”
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