Stephen A. Smith: Nets Made Mistake By Not Picking 'Box Office' Darius Acuff

The first round of the NBA Draft on Tuesday went mostly according to script. That included Arkansas guard Darius Acuff Jr. being picked seventh overall by the Sacramento Kings.

You can add ESPN's Seth Greenberg to the list of those who believe Acuff is a long-term cornerstone of Sacramento's roster.

"Darius Acuff Jr., you can give him the ball, he's going to run your team for the next 10 years," Greenberg said.

Greenberg's comments came during a segment of Wednesday's edition of "First Take" debating whether the Brookln Nets made a mistake by selecting Louisville's Mikel Brown Jr. over Acuff.

The Nets' draft room was notably euphoric when shown during the telecast of Tuesday's draft.

"This dude right here [Acuff] is just different," Greenberg said. "Darius Acuff Jr. is the closest thing to Jalen Brunson.

“I'm not saying he's Jalen Brunson. But body type, feel for the game, decision-making, toughness, the concept of winning — you talk about availability, the guy had a boot on his leg the day of the Alabama game. All he does is drop like 49. Put the ball in his hands, surround him with guys that can play off him.

"Sacramento has got their point guard of the future. If anyone can turn that thing around, that guy right there, he just gets it. And he lives in the gym. When you're trying to change the culture and identity of an organization, your best players have to be your most committed players."

Stephen A. Smith agreed and said the Nets should've picked Acuff over Brown, even after commending Brown's talent.

"Acuff is box office," Smith said. "He's a defensive liability because he doesn't prioritize defense, and that's something he's gotta work on. For damn sure they're not gonna teach it in Sacramento. When you look at Sacramento, Acuff is something special. No doubt. Led the SEC in both scoring and assists as a freshman, the brother's phenomenal.

"But the biggest thing about him is, in Brooklyn, could you give the citizens of the borough of Brooklyn something to cheer about? Could you give them something to root for? I mean, my God. Mikel Brown, the brother can play. And I think he's going to have a promising NBA career. With Acuff, the bottom line is this: he's box office. And if you're Brooklyn... Kyrie [Irving] left. KD left. You haven't given the fans anything to cheer about over the last few years. There's a lot of reasons not to go to a basketball game."

Brown and Acuff should have a fun NBA Rookie of the Year battle, but Acuff does seem to be in a slightly better situation.

While Sacramento won only 22 games last season, the Nets won 20.

Brooklyn hasn't made the postseason since the 2022-23 campaign, and it hasn't won a single playoff game since 2021, when it lost in seven games to the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals.

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