NBA Draft 2017: Nets take Jarrett Allen at No. 22
With the No. 22 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Brooklyn Nets selected Jarrett Allen.
One might consider this a lucky year in Brooklyn. Compared with last year, when they lost their pick outright to Boston, and next year when that happens again, the Nets were surely happy to have a selection in this draft. They entered the week with picks Nos. 22 and 27, but flipped the latter for guard D’Angelo Russell on Wednesday. It came down to just No. 22 tonight, and the Nets got Jarrett Allen out of the University of Texas.
The Nets have been aggressive under Sean Marks in searching for and acquiring talent, and their strategy ahead of tonight’s draft is no exception. As mentioned previously, they were lucky to actually have a selection in this year’s draft. Last season, the team had to trade forward Thaddeus Young in order to get into the first round. This year, they basically drafted the replacement to Young and Lopez in the skilled Allen. He will have little competition for playing time; that’s the way it should be for a developing player.
After trading for Russell this week, Brooklyn’s backcourt was starting to overflow. The team signed Jeremy Lin last year to be their veteran leader and top play-maker before investing heavily in the position out of the draft. Caris LeVert, Sean Kilpatrick and Isaiah Whitehead all project as NBA-level talent already on the Nets’ roster. And don’t forget about Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, a bit older than this group but still undeveloped on the wing. With Allen manning the middle, Brooklyn’s young nucleus begins to even out a bit.
Next year will be the last in which Boston controls Brooklyn’s assets. With tonight’s pick of Allen, a lottery talent, the Nets are creating a roster that can help take them to the next era under Marks and Coach Kenny Atkinson.
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