2013 NBA Draft Results: Brooklyn Nets Live Draft Grade
By Ben Beecken
Draft Grade: B+
The Brooklyn Nets selected center Mason Plumlee out of Duke with the #22 pick. I actually mocked Plumlee to the Nets earlier today. So…there’s that.
Plumlee is an athletic big man, or as Bill Simmons so eloquently put it on live draft coverage, a “rich man’s Greg Stiemsma”. He’s a good fit for a team that needs some more physicality down low, especially if they go ahead and move Reggie Evans to the Boston Celtics in the proposed Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade.
I like the pick for Brooklyn, as he should absolutely be a solid back-up for Brook Lopez. He won’t be relied on to do much other than to rebound, use his fouls, and play some solid defense. The Nets will be a very, very intriguing team to watch in 2013-14, if for no other reason than Jason Kidd is their head coach, and the Deron Williams-Kidd potential drama is absolutely intriguing.
Jeff Withey is still on the board as a likely solid back-up, defensive-minded center, and look for someone to grab him before the first round is up. It’s rarely a bad thing to have a back-up center on lowish, guaranteed money, so it’s a pick that would make sense. At this point, gambles will wait until the second round.