The off-season normally starts to heat up inside 48 hours of the NBA draft, and this 12 months is not any exception. The perception around the league is that there shall be loads of trade, and that might include the Nets.
It’s uncertain in the event that they have a particular goal in mind, or if their scouts are convinced that talent levels will drop dramatically after the first 15 or more prospects. However it’s clear the Nets are determined to advance from not less than one of their two picks in the bottom of round one.
The Nets are currently twenty first, twenty second and 51st. But after reports that they wanted a promotion, ESPN said on Tuesday that the Nets were “extremely lively” in trade talks. And after The Post reported that Royce O’Neale and Dorian Finney-Smith had sparked interest, The Ringer confirmed it this week.
A minimum of 4 teams in picks 10 and 16 – Dallas, Oklahoma City, Atlanta and Utah – are open to trading. How open they’d be to anything the Nets have to supply is one other story.
While promotion is an option, one or each of the first-round picks will also be filled with O’Neale or Finney-Smith to sign a veteran.
A source told The Post that the Nets turned down a suggestion of two first-round picks for Finney-Smith last season, while O’Neale reportedly could have gotten the first. What’s their value now?
![](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/Nets-FinneySmith.jpg?w=1024)
The Nets drafted anticipated first-rounders Brandin Underground, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Maxwell Lewis, Colby Jones, and Andre Jackson, in addition to potential first-rounders like Terquavion Smith, Jalen Wilson, and Jordan Walsh.
CEO Sean Marks personally flew Ryan Rupert to scout Australia and Recent Zealand, and the Nets were linked with Leonard Miller, Noah Clowney and Keyonte George.
The Post spoke to ESPN pundits Fran Fraschilla and Jay Bilas about several perspectives the Nets have developed.
Brandin Underground, SG, Santa Clara
Bilas: “He’s only 6-4, but he can really bounce back. And he’s got really good range as a shooter, he’s pretty good at that, he can dribble and play for himself and for other people.… He’s one of the higher marksmen in the draft. … It worked thoroughly in the mix.”
Maxwell Lewis, S.F., Pepperdine
Bilas: “It’s length, about 7 feet wingspan. I believe he is usually a really good shooter, long, athletic. He is not yet effective, but he’s a three-tier shooter. Good passer and good rebounder…but his efficiency needs to enhance. It reverses it an excessive amount of. You are using more potential.”
Colby Jones, S.F., Xavier
Fraschilla: “He’s a really durable, strong winger. Multi-tasking, he can handle the ball and play slightly bit forward. I physically have an NBA frame. Shooting has improved, but I do not consider him a knockdown shooter. … I consider Colby to be an authority in all trades, a master in some.”
![](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/06/NCstate-Smith.jpg?w=1024)
Terquavion Smith, SG, North Carolina
Fraschilla: “He’s a brilliant athlete. Jogs my memory of Bones Hyland from VCU; super athletic kid who could possibly be slightly stronger physically. He’s an elite athlete, even at the NBA level. He must change into more of a knockout shooter. … not fully polished in terms of all-around abilities.
Rayan Rupert, Recent Zealand Breakers
Bilas: “He’s a high-level defender. But he just needs to maintain developing his offense because he can handle it; and is nice in the transition period, but has not yet proven itself. … He’s only 19, he needs to enhance on half-field situations and be a more consistent goalscorer.
Leonard Miller, F, G-League Ignite
Fraschilla: “He is not as athletic as Nic Claxton, but he’s an ideal striker who plays more four-man, but he has some passing and handling skills that have kept him in the G-League for 2 years. … Like Nic, they’re taking a look at the kid they’ll get two years later.”
Bilal Coulibaly, SG/SF, Metropolitans 92
Bilas: “It has a wingspan of 7-1, 7-2. The length really matters. He has hit and sense of the game. He’s one of the higher cuts in draft, he moves without it. He’s just not a shooter yet. He’s only 18, so he hasn’t reached his full potential. He is not a shot maker yet.