mocked<\/a> him to the Nets following the lottery drawing\u2026<\/p>\nThe quick sell is simple: Flemings defends, he drives the ball, and his 2.9 assist:turnover ratio could indicate some real playmaking ability. And for a guy whose shot was questioned, well, 38.7% from deep on six attempts per 100 ain\u2019t bad, nor is 84.5% from the line and 44% on long twos. At 6\u20194\u201d, can he play with enough force to finish inside consistently? Does his outside jumper have room to grow?<\/p>\n
These are the questions, but given his strengths \u2014 not to mention a lauded work ethic and disposition \u2014it\u2019s easy to see the Nets taking a chance on him at #6.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s probably going to be there at #6. Maybe the Chicago Bulls take him at #4 ahead of Caleb Wilson, and it\u2019s also possible the Los Angeles Clippers take the SEC Player of the Year at #5 despite already rostering another small guard in Darius Garland.<\/p>\n
But it feels like this 19-year-old and the Nets are going to hear a lot about each other in the coming months. Listed 6\u20193\u201d, Acuff is a polarizing prospect, not because of his height but in part because of his frame. He is quite skinny \u2014 shifty but not overly explosive \u2014 and he is the betting favorite to be the worst defender in the NBA next season. He rarely rebounded, stole, or deflected the ball in college. It\u2019s not easy for any young guard in the league, but Acuff\u2019s defensive effort at Arkansas was consistently under the microscope, not to mention the frame.<\/p>\n
Now that that\u2019s out of the way, good God can he play offense. He was at the absolute center of John Calipari\u2019s offense, handling a ton of pick-and-roll, and shot 60% at the rim, 40% from the midrange, 44% from deep, and had 3x as many assists as turnovers. Again, he won SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Tournament\u2019s MVP. The arguments about what it means to be a small guard in the NBA won\u2019t be fun, but his highlights\u2026that\u2019s another story.<\/p>\n
The Illinois guard could certainly get picked by the Clips at #5, but we have another offense-first guard (get used to it) in the mix. ESPN and The Athletic each have the 19-year-old as the #5 overall prospect, as the 6\u20197\u201d 19-year-old can theoretically play at either guard spot and bring valuable shooting + passing skills to the table. He and Egor D\u00ebmin would comprise the NBA\u2019s least explosive backcourt next season, but some of Wagler\u2019s highlights are just nutty\u2026<\/p>\n
Worried that he\u2019s not blowing by people? Fair. But the frame might help him survive; sounds a little bit like a certain Russian ballplayer I know.<\/p>\n
Mikel Brown Jr. is already 20 years old and played just 21 games for Louisville in his lone NCAA season, dealing with a lower back injury. You want the sell? Just check out his 45-point night against NC State\u2026<\/p>\n
Like Acuff Jr., Brown\u2019s not gonna provide much defensive or rebounding value; he\u2019s going to have to be an overwhelming offensive threat \u2026 which he might be.<\/p>\n
He rarely got to the rim this season, and didn\u2019t finish well when he got there, and he only shot 34.4% from deep. But Brown shot a million of \u2018em, largely off the dribble, shot well on midrange jumpers, and dropped some high-level dimes out of the pick-and-roll. Plus, he was a consensus top-10 player in his high school class, and we know the Brooklyn Nets love them some pre-draft-year pedigree.<\/p>\n
My gut is that those are the four names you\u2019ll be hearing the most, but there are certainly not the only options for the Brooklyn Nets at #6. Remember, Egor D\u00ebmin wasn\u2019t even in the picture when Brooklyn first drew #8 last season.<\/p>\n
Labaron Philon Jr.: He\u2019ll turn 21 early next season after playing at Alabama for two seasons, but the 6\u20194\u201d guard has an electric highlight tape and shot nearly 40% from three this season. He was a better playmaker his sophomore season, and though he put up very few rebounding\/defensive numbers, posting a 63 TS% while carrying a huge offensive load is more than impressive.Aday Mara: He\u2019s 21, he\u2019s slow, yes, yes, yes. But the Spanish big man is also 7\u20193\u201d with commendable passing and rim protection instincts. Drafting him at #6 wouldn\u2019t be the sexiest pick, but it\u2019s conceivable that he ends up as one of the draft\u2019s six best players.Yaxel Lendeborg: Born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents but raised in New Jersey, Lendeborg is 23 years old. He\u2019ll be 24 when training camp opens. However, the big wing was one college basketball\u2019s best all-around players this past season, winning a title with Aday Mara at Michigan while making threes, making twos, rebounding, passing, blocking shots, and rarely turning it over. Is Lendeborg going to be the ideal role-playing wing?Dailyn SwainNate AmentBrayden Burries<\/p>\n
If we\u2019re making a really long list, I could\u2019ve thrown a couple more names in there. There is little consensus after the first four picks. The Brooklyn Nets have the opportunity to select the best prospect they\u2019ve had since moving to Brooklyn, but it will not be easy.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get this out of the way now: They are not trading up. It\u2019s not happening.<\/p>\n
What the heck would Brooklyn have to offer the teams at the very top of the draft?<\/p>\n
Trading down is infinitely more feasible, though perhaps not likely. But it may be the right move for the Nets if they particularly like one of the older prospects like Swain\/Lendeborg\/Joshua Jefferson or a less heralded guard like Tyler Tanner or Bennett Stirtz. The guards projected to go in the 5-9 range are quite talented, but all have very real question marks. The older prospects, if nothing else, could be more ready to help Brooklyn take a step forward next year, perhaps quelling some of the fanbase\u2019s frustrations. (And saving some jobs?)<\/p>\n
The NBA Draft Lottery Gods did not smile upon the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday afternoon, but once again regarded them with wrath. That doesn\u2019t mean the Nets can\u2019t draft a great player, though. Here\u2019s to hoping.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Not sure if you heard, but the Brooklyn Nets fell to the sixth overall pick in the 2026…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":731292,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3767],"tags":[7,670,247,3803,6,671,2168,5229],"class_list":["post-731291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn-nets","tag-basketball","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-nets","tag-brooklynnets","tag-nba","tag-nets","tag-nets-analysis","tag-nets-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116554491703176635","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}