2019 NBA Draft grades for every team: Pelicans get an A+, Rockets get an F
3. Brooklyn Nets – C-
31st Overall – Nic Claxton, Center (Georgia)
56th Overall – Jaylen Hands, Guard (UCLA)
The Brooklyn Nets started the draft with three picks in the top 31 of the draft, yet they wouldn’t make their first pick until the top of the second round when they selected Nic Claxton with the 31st overall pick. 17th had been sent to Atlanta as part of Brooklyn’s attempt to open room for two max contracts. They sold the 27th overall pick to the Los Angeles Clippers in order to maintain the ability to go star chasing in less than two weeks. It is believed that Kyrie Irving is committed to joining the Nets and he is doing all he can to bring Kevin Durant with him. Though Durant will miss all of next season after tearing his Achilles, many teams (Brooklyn, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and New York Knicks) are still willing to give him whatever he wants to sign with them.
Claxton is a prospect that was thought to be rising up draft boards thanks to impressive workouts and teams believing that he has the ability to put the ball on the floor and make plays. At Georgia, Claxton primarily played center and was a rim runner who occasionally shot an open three-pointer. He is tall and lean but if he can be someone that Brooklyn trusts in dribble handoffs or to make plays for himself and his teammates then getting him at the top of the second round is double the pleasure.
With their second pick of the night, they chose point guard Jaylen Hands from UCLA. Hands was a highly-sought after recruit but after two disappointing seasons with the Bruins, his NBA stock took a big hit. For a team with Spencer Dinwiddie under contract and that’s the frontrunner to bring Irving into the fold taking a point guard here doesn’t make sense. Especially when you look at who was still on the board and who ultimately go undrafted. Brooklyn might’ve saved enough space to go star hunting, but when they make a choice like this you wonder what they were thinking.
If the Nets bring in Kyrie and KD, not too many fans are going to harbor over the fact that they could’ve used the fourth-to-last pick in the 2016 NBA Draft on a better player. Brooklyn isn’t in a Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers situation where they are desperate for depth to surround their best players with. Having Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris, and Caris LeVert already on the team gives them quality role players to share the floor with whichever stars they end up with in free agency.