Once the NBA season is officially over, the NBA Draft will be upon us and there is already some news coming out that may shake up the field.
Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting that the Brooklyn Nets have decided to defer taking the Philadelphia 76ers’ first-round pick in the 2022 draft until next season. The Nets had the option to do so as part of the James Harden-Ben Simmons trade.
The Sixers keep No. 23 for this June’s draft and Nets get the 2023 pick for use in future trades or to make for themselves. Nets can hope that 2023 pick moves up the draft board based on success of Philadelphia’s coming season.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 1, 2022
The Nets are hoping that they can move up in next year’s draft if the 76ers have a successful season.
The Harden/Simmons trade didn’t accomplish the ultimate goals of either team. Simmons was hurt the entire season and couldn’t make an impact in the playoffs while Harden couldn’t lead his new team to the Eastern Conference Finals, a huge disappointment for the Sixers.
The Nets are now placing their hopes on the 76ers having a good season next year and that Simmons gets over his injuries to contribute.
The team is also depending on Simmons, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving to be healthy and ready to play next year. Durant and Irving only played in seven games together this season. That, along with Simmons’s injuries, are the main reason the Nets didn’t have a really successful season and were bounced early in the playoffs.
The Brooklyn Nets now do not have a single draft selection in the 2022 NBA Draft presently.
They had five picks last year.
— Alec Sturm (@Alec_Sturm) June 1, 2022
[Woj]
