2023 NBA Draft Team Recap: Brooklyn Nets
After completely changing the direction of the franchise at the NBA Trade Deadline - trading away stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving - the Brooklyn Nets had a somewhat quiet offseason outside of their 2023 NBA Draft additions.
Veteran guards Joe Harris and Patty Mills are no longer with the organization and will be replaced by a couple sneaky under the radar additions in Dennis Smith Jr. and Lonnie Walker IV. The Nets were also able to lock up their young floor spacing wing, Cam Johnson, to a four year and $108 million dollar extension after acquiring him from the Phoenix Suns in the Durant deal.
Instead of a big move for a star, or continuing to sell on their talent, the Nets decided to simply continue to add to a young and interesting roster via the 2023 NBA Draft.
With the first of their back-to-back selections in the early twenties, they took the intriguing forward out of Alabama, Noah Clowney. The forward was a four star, top 100 recruit coming into the 2022-2023 college basketball season but many would have called it a surprise for him to be a one-and-done. With all eyes on the Alabama Crimson Tide season due to their team success and individual success of No. 2 overall pick, Brandon Miller, Clowney took full advantage to raise his own draft stock.
While there is plenty of projection and growth to his game, the 6-foot-10 forward still offers plenty of versatility on both ends of the court.
One of the biggest areas to keep an eye on in his rookie season is the jumper. Many project Clowney to be a floor spacer but he did shoot just 28% on 3.3 attempts per game and perhaps a more concerning 65% from the free throw line. He could make an immediate impact on the boards - 7.9 per game with over two per game on the offensive end - and add some rim protection from the “four” position that Nets currently lack.
There is an opening on this roster for minutes - depending on the playing status of Ben Simmons - but Clowney’s NBA Summer League showcased that rawness on the offensive end.
He displayed the rebounding and rim protection in his five games but averaged just 4.8 points per game on 23% from the floor and 24% from beyond the 3-point line.
Perhaps the impact made in other areas of the game will be enough to at least see minutes off the bench with the Nets.
The very next selection in the 2023 NBA Draft was also made by GM Sean Marks. In complete opposite fashion from Clowney, No. 22 overall pick Dariq Whitehead was one of the top recruits in 2022 and a projected one-and-done prospect from day one. Some early NBA Draft Big Boards even had Whitehead as high as No. 3 overall.
Unfortunately, a preseason injury resulted in a late start for the Duke wing and an overall inconsistent season that dropped him on draft boards. Whitehead didn’t live up to expectations with his overall scoring punch during his freshman season but did display one very valuable skill, shooting.
The 6-foot-7 Montverde product made 42% of his 3-point attempts on over 3.5 attempts per game. We were not able to see Whitehead at all this summer and this is a very crowded wing depth chart for the Nets that could prove problematic for him to carve out a significant role. It would not be surprising - due to that depth and the injury history - to see Whitehead spend the majority of his time this year with The Long Island Nets.
The third and final selection for the Nets proved to be most impactful during NBA Summer League. Jalen Wilson had a banner year for the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence, KS that resulted in some very impressive numbers.
Wilson averaged over 20 points and eight rebounds per game while also improving his 3-point percentage, free throw percentage, free throw attempts, assists, steals and blocks per game.
The 6-foot-8 forward was able to continue that positive momentum with a great showing in Las Vegas in July. Not only did he continue to score and rebound the ball at a high rate but for a five game sample size he answered perhaps the biggest question around his offensive game. On just under five attempts per game he shot 46% from beyond the 3-point line.
Wilson will start the year on a two-way contract, and as mentioned earlier the wing room is crowded, and would project to see more time in Long Island than Brooklyn but if he continues to shoot like we saw this summer he will definitely make that decision much tougher.
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