The Brooklyn Nets may now be in the best position of any team entering the NBA Draft on Wednesday night.
The franchise, thanks to a three-team deal with the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday afternoon, now holds five picks in the opening round of the draft. The Nets will have six total, too, including their second-round pick. No other team in the league has more than two in the first round.
The Nets acquired Terance Mann and the No. 22 overall pick in the draft from the Atlanta Hawks, which was part of a three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks. The Nets gave up nothing in the deal, and only have to take on Mann’s three-year, $47 million deal.
That was, remarkably, the fifth first-round pick that the Nets will have. As of Tuesday night, the Nets hold:
No. 8
No. 19 (from MIL via NYK)
No. 22 (from ATL)
No. 26 (from NYK)
No. 27 (from HOU)
No. 36 (second round)
It’s unlikely that the Nets will actually end up using all five of those first-round picks, though it would break an NBA record if they did. The Minnesota Timberwolves made four first-round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. Still, the Nets are undoubtedly in a great position to get just about whatever they want out of the draft. Outside of holding the rights to the No. 1 overall pick — the Dallas Mavericks are expected to take former Duke star Cooper Flagg in that spot on Wednesday night — the Nets are in the driver’s seat.
With how the franchise has been the last few years, that’s a good thing, too. The Nets went just 26-56 last season and missed the playoffs for a second straight year. Jordi Fernández just wrapped up his first season as the team’s head coach, too, though he’s the fourth head coach the team has had over the last three seasons.
It’s still unclear what the Nets will decide to do with all of their draft capital. But, as they have plenty of it, it’s sure to be a busy few days in Brooklyn. Whether it can help actually spark a rebuild and bring the franchise back from the bottom of the league, however, remains to be seen.
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