Brooklyn has a big night with trade, draft
The Nets had a busy NBA draft night in their home arena. There was a trade, some still-simmering rumors, five picks and a couple of perceived first-round steals in Cameron Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe.
The Nets finally moved Landry Shamet, sending the shooting guard to Phoenix for young Jevon Carter and the No. 29 pick. They then grabbed the high-scoring Thomas from LSU with the No. 27 selection, and grabbed big UNC center Sharpe with the pick they got from the Suns.
“Brooklyn made a really good choice picking me,” Thomas said. “I had a workout with them very early in the process. They loved me and I loved their vibe. I felt like everything was in place. I loved them from the get-go with just that one workout I had with them. Later on we had an interview, like a week ago.
“I just felt like it was just a match made in heaven. All our personalities connected. And with me watching them so much this year, with James Harden being my favorite player, me watching Kyrie [Irving], how skilled he is, and [Kevin Durant], I feel like with me coming in and learning from those guys, scoring the ball-wise, it’s a match made in heaven.”
Brooklyn already had the most star-studded offense in the league behind their Big Three. But when “best available” turned out to be another isolation scorer in Thomas, they gladly pounced on the LSU freshman who had been projected to go as much as 10 picks higher in some mock drafts.
The Nets doubled down on their shooting strength with Thomas, who averaged 23 points and 3.4 boards and had the best plus-minus in the SEC. His efficiency (just 32 percent from 3-point range) belied his shooting form, largely because he took so many contested shots for the Tigers. He certainly won’t have to with the Nets.
“Hoopers figure it out, man. You can never have too much scoring. I feel like all four of us are hoopers, so we’re all going to figure it out eventually,” Thomas said. “I’m going to get my shots, and of course they’re going to get their shots. So I feel like I’ve got to make the most of them, because they’re going to get them.”
Meanwhile, the Nets’ love for Sharpe has been well-documented, after The Post and reported he would be a preferred selection. The 6-foot-11, 265pounder had been viewed as a lottery pick before the year, and averaged 9.5 points and 7.6 boards for the Tar Heels.
Sharpe cleans the glass, moves well for his size and even guarded some power forwards as a sign of his agility — which could improve with weight loss. With Jeff Green and Blake Griffin unrestricted free agents, and DeAndre Jordan out of the rotation, adding Sharpe to compete with Nic Claxton is a shrewd move.
The Shamet deal can’t be completed until Aug. 6 because of Shamet’s current $2 million salary, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks. The Nets had tried and failed to move him for a firstround pick. This time they got their first-rounder, and then some.
Carter may not be the shooter Shamet is, but he’s hit a solid career 38.1 percent from 3. Arguably more important is his work on the other end of the floor, a stout defender under team control at $3.65 million next season and $3.925 the year after that. That’s a cheaper alternative to Bruce Brown, whom league sources say could command as much as $9 million in free agency.
The Nets took Pepperdine forward Kessler Edwards, Creighton shooter Marcus Zegarowski and FSU’s burly switchable defender RaiQuan Gray in the second round. And they may not be done.
The Wizards’ Russell Westbrook blockbuster could have impact ripples that reach all the way to Brooklyn, with Washington reportedly eyeing Spencer Dinwiddie. Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell could be rerouted to the Nets to get Dinwiddie, according to BetMGM, and the guard is amenable to a sign-and-trade.