The NBA Finals are done. That means the 2023 NBA Draft is coming.
Brooklyn has three picks in the June 22 draft, including back-to-back first-rounders.
Almost without fail since taking over the Nets, general manager Sean Marks has been active on or before draft night, and this year appears to be no exception.
But despite all that activity, he’s never once had a lottery pick to work with.
Could that be about to change?
After a potential pursuit of Portland superstar Damian Lillard has dominated headlines, now comes news that the Nets are exploring the possibility of moving both of those picks — Nos. 21 and 22 — to move up in the first round.
ESPN reported that Brooklyn was looking into “packaging both picks and moving into the late lottery or middle first round.”
That appears to be a tall ask with the 21st and 22nd picks, but the Nets could always add another sweetener, like a future second-rounder, a player or even cash.
The Nets have $2.4 million in cash considerations remaining they can use in any trade consummated before July 1, which would rise to $5.9 million in any deal afterward.
There could be a number of reasons for the desire to move in the draft.
While sources have told The Post that Brooklyn’s interest in Lillard is “genuine,” there are no indications yet that the Trail Blazers are willing to move him.
And Lillard himself has stated that his preference is to remain in Portland if they can get him a star running mate, and All-Star Bradley Beal just became available.
Zion Williamson might soon be as well, with the Blazers holding the No. 3 pick.
In addition, league front office personnel have suggested that this draft is 1) far better than next year’s is expected to be; 2) set to be rife with trade activity; and 3) does not have a great difference between the talent at the bottom of the first round and the better prospects projected to go undrafted, i.e., the talent from 20-70.
If Brooklyn has identified a talent or talents rising up into the middle of the first round, and end up not expending capital on Lillard (or another star), it would be logical to at least explore the cost of moving up for said prospects.
After dealing away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Nets’ 13-15 losing record the rest of the regular season and first-round sweep in the postseason showed them to be in desperate need of shot creation and upgraded guard play.
The likes of Michigan’s Kobe Bufkin, Indiana’s Jalen Hood-Schifino, Arkansas’ Nick Smith Jr. and Kentucky’s Cason Wallace are all combo guards who fit the bill expected to go somewhere in the middle of the first round, while Baylor’s Keyonte George and Jordan Hawkins of reigning national champion Connecticut are shooting guards who might be challenging to land if Brooklyn stands pat.
Any could conceivably fall to the Nets at No. 21. But one player frequently linked to Brooklyn in the earlier stages of the draft process — 18-year-old Bilal Coulibaly — seems almost certain to be long gone by then.
The French wing played alongside generational talent Victor Wembanyama on Metropolitans 92, and while his playoff performances have prevented him from working out stateside, they’ve been impressive enough to see him skyrocket up mock drafts out of the 20s where the Nets reside.
At least where they currently reside. Reportedly, that could change.
The Nets announced the debut of the “Something to Prove” podcast, a five-episode series hosted by Bill Raftery that will look back on their runs to back-to-back NBA Finals in 2002 and ’03.
Alongside Raftery, the podcast will feature interviews with broadcasters Ian Eagle, Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw, and ex-Nets from the era including Jason Kidd, Kerry Kittles, Jason Collins and others. The first episode will be released Thursday.