The Brooklyn Nets might not be the most tuned-in team when it comes to the NBA Draft over the next few seasons, as they surrendered control of their draft for the better part of the next decade to the Houston Rockets in order to acquire James Harden.
Despite that deal, the Nets are equipped with plenty of draft capital this year. In addition to controlling their own first-round pick at No. 27 overall, the Nets also have three second-round picks they can use to help build a winner.
Brooklyn could go in one of several different directions with some of their later picks. Should they add a center in order to solve their rebounding issues? Perhaps a backup point guard behind Harden and Kyrie Irving? What about a quality scorer that could make themselves a part of the rotation?
These 3 players should be able to come right in and make themselves at home in Brooklyn, as they have the athleticism and skill to outperform their selection spot. They could fill very limited roles with the Nets in their rookie season.
3. Jericho Sims, PF, Texas
How did Shaka Smart lose in the tournament so frequently with Texas? In addition to two projected first-round big men in lottery pick Kai Jones and former top recruit Greg Brown, the Longhorns will also send Sims, who was a contributor for the last four seasons in Austin, to the NBA.
Sims was regarded as one of the big winners of the NBA Draft Combine due to his skyscraping leaping ability, and he recently went viral on social media for almost injuring himself by hitting his head on the rim after clearing it on a dunk attempt. That is some serious verticality, in addition to the rebounding and shot-blocking skills he has.
JERICHO SIMS WHAAAAT 🤯 (h/t @MGRADS) pic.twitter.com/mUHO4J47mh
— Overtime (@overtime) July 14, 2021
Jericho Sims is a springy forward who fits the Brooklyn Nets draft plans.
Sims was a four-year player, meaning he might be slightly more developed than some more raw players in this range. Like Brown and Jones, Sims failed to average 10 points per game. Jones and Brown can claim that they were raw freshmen, but Sims was a senior. That should alarm the Nets a bit.
Luckily, Brooklyn won’t force Sims to eat up tons of starting minutes right away. At the very least, he is a springy forward that they can stick in the G League and work on developing his offense. The best case scenario is that Sims becomes enough of an interior presence to earn minutes as a rookie.