Net GM Kiki Vandeweghe saw what happens when you veer off the "best player available" path. "I was with the Trail Blazers when they drafted Sam Bowie and [Michael] Jordan was out there," Vandeweghe said last night after the Nets kept their expected No. 10 spot in the NBA draft lottery in Secaucus. "So I think you always want to make sure you get the best player, regardless of position." After watching what happened when a fellow named Rod Thorn, then with Chicago, drafted Jordan, Vandeweghe became convinced that is the way to go. Unless you trade the pick. Given that the Nets, who were represented by part owner/rapper Jay-Z last night, have two first-rounders - their own and No. 21 through the Jason Kidd trade - that's not far-fetched. "I think we'll probably get a lot of calls and make a lot of calls," said Vandeweghe, recently bumped to GM from his role as special assistant to Thorn, the Nets team president. "My history, and certainly Rod's history, [says] being active at draft time doesn't mean you're going to get a deal done. We have our picks, and both of us are of the philosophy not to do a deal just to do one." If there is no trade, "I think we'll see good players at our picks." History supports that. The 10 spot has yielded the likes of Andrew Bynum (2005), Caron Butler ('02), Joe Johnson ('01) and Paul Pierce (1998). Boris Diaw (2003) and Michael Finley (1995) were picked at 21. And the Nets have their second-rounder, No. 40, where Monta Ellis went in 2005 and Hall of Famer George Gervin went in 1974. The Nets' needs are many, but Vandeweghe concentrated on two: "This team needs toughness at the basket, and like a lot of teams, we need some shooting," he said. "Just the fact that we're in the lottery says we have to improve our team." So you'll hear about guys such as Kansas power forward Darrell Arthur, LSU forward Anthony Randolph and Texas A&M center DeAndre Jordan for interior help. For shooting there's Eric Gordon of Indiana. For the annual search for depth, there are athletes such as two Europeans Vandeweghe scouted - 6-foot-10 Nicolas Batum of France and Danilo Gallinari of Italy. The Nets picking 10th won't help in any pursuit of Carmelo Anthony. The Nets and Nuggets have had talks regarding Anthony, who is available. But it was generally felt that if the Nets could have moved up, like the Bulls did in getting the No. 1 pick from No. 9, it would have greatly aided any chance of getting Anthony.
The Nets want to do something, they need to do something and they will do something. The million dollar question is, What? They should start getting a better handle on matters after tonight's lottery. The Nets, who will have investor/minority owner Jay-Z in Secaucus, are slotted to pick 10th - they have an 87 percent probability of staying there - but if they move up to any of the top three spots their chances of dealing the pick greatly increase. They have been talking around the league and one of the teams they will revisit is Denver, where Carmelo Anthony is available. League sources insist the Nuggets are making Anthony available for the right price. The Nets have spoken to Denver - Nets GM Kiki Vandeweghe drafted Anthony and reshaped the Nuggets roster when he was there. Vandeweghe refused any comment on talks with the Nuggets but admitted the Nets will look to be active this summer but only in "trying to make deals that are good for your team so you are always talking to everybody around the league. But I am a firm believer in not making trades just to make trades." So where the Nets pick will add to their summer intrigue. They have their own pick (likely 10) and No. 21 from Dallas through the Jason Kidd trade. Should they get No. 1, they would keep it for Michael Beasley of Kansas State. Same with No. 2, assuming Memphis' Derrick Rose went first to another team. If they got three, they might look to deal and a higher pick could be attractive to Denver. The Nets and Nuggets discussed various parameters of a deal, which would not occur until after June 30 when the full $14.4 million on Anthony's 2008-09 contract kicks in. He is a base year compensation type, which makes trades difficult. One proposal contained "a lot of pieces" including the Nets' pick, Richard Jefferson and Marcus Williams for Anthony and Marcus Camby. One source stressed nothing is imminent and talks are still in the infancy stage.
The odds are slim - 1.1 percent to be precise - but the Nets always can hope. Hey, they cashed in with a 4.4-percent chance in 2000 and landed the No. 1 pick that translated into Kenyon Martin. But realistically, the Nets figure they will get their expected 10th spot in Tuesday's annual lottery for NBA losers. The Nets, with 11 of the 1,000 balls, are in the land of ping-pong ball chance for the 10th time in their history but first time in seven years, thanks to a dismal 34-48 record. So the Nets have been gauging the talent pool they expect to find at No. 10 - and at 21 with Dallas' pick from the Jason Kidd trade and at 40 with their own second rounder. "That's what we've been doing for the past couple weeks, assessing players," said team president Rod Thorn who will dispatch newly promoted general manager Kiki Vandeweghe to the Secaucus bash. The last time the Nets were in the lottery, 2001, they drafted the late Eddie Griffin No. 7 and traded him to Houston for three first-round picks: Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. Thorn said this is a good draft for power forwards and points guards with a couple quality centers. The Nets are looking for virtually everything. "Obviously, our needs are depth and more shooting," Thorn said, noting the Nets also are looking at someone "to guard the rim" after the team struggled terribly on the defensive end this past season. Back in 2000, the Nets were expected to pick seventh and instead wound up with the No. 1 pick, hitting the jackpot with their 4.4 percent chance. Their chances this time of getting the No. 2 pick are 1.3 percent, the third pick, 1.57 percent. The general consensus says the No. 1 pick will come down to two players, Memphis point guard Derrick Rose, and Kansas State power forward Michael Beasley. The 6-foot-9 Beasley no doubt would be the Nets' choice is they get No. 1. "I think we have a good chance of getting a good player, a player who can help us at No. 10," Thorn said.
Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com. 
