When the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Kyrie Irving to the Boston Celtics, the point of fixation in the haul was not an injured Isaiah Thomas, nor was it Jae Crowder or even Ante Zizic, if you can believe it. It was the 2018 Brooklyn Nets’ first-round draft pick. That pick was no. 1 overall a season ago. This year, however, the Nets are a different team. They lost their best player, Brook Lopez, but got deeper with the additions of D’Angelo Russell, Timofey Mozgov, DeMarre Carroll and Allen Crabbe.
On Wednesday, the Cavs did the exact opposite of what you want to do when you have the draft pick of an inferior team: They lost. To the Nets. Without D’Angelo Russell. And Jeremy Lin. Morale wasn’t exactly high after the loss; Cavs head coach Tyronn Lue said: “We’re running around here worrying about getting the Brooklyn pick, they might want our pick.”
LeBron James isn’t convinced that the Nets pick will be all that great, he tells Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com:
“It might not even be that good of a pick.”
LeBron James (and Tyronn Lue) could have a point. Obviously, it’s early, but the Nets have the same record as the Cavs: 3-2.
Meanwhile, the Knicks and Bulls are 0-3. The Hawks are 1-3. The 76ers and Mavericks are 1-4. Brooklyn could end up not even in play for the no. 1 pick. Plus, they don’t own their own pick, so they have zero incentive to tank. That hasn’t stopped them in the past, but this year’s team looks better than past years’.
