Draft workouts underway for Brooklyn Nets hopefuls
Photo by Mark Brake/Getty Images
The Nets are close-mouthed about their draft workouts, plans to acquire a pick, etc, but sometimes, in odd ways, word gets out. in the far distant past, the Nets not only publicized who was working out at the Brooklyn Nets training center in East Rutherford, N.J., but provided their director of player personnel Gregg Polinsky to beat writers afterwards for a summary of the prospects’ possibilities.
Not any more of course. Under Sean Marks, the names of the prospects are a state secret. The Nets don’t even provided schedules. In a normal year, the Nets will work out 70 or so prospects, their names culled from lists provided by the Nets scouting staff which is one of the largest if not the largest in the NBA. In addition to working out, the prospects many of them teenagers are interviewed, their pluses and minuses added to the scouting database.
This of course is not a normal year. The Nets don’t have a pick, either round, in 2024 and the draft is considered mediocre at best. But Sean Marks has hinted to the members of the BK Block and beat writers that Brooklyn might acquire a pick but didn’t go much further.
“I think we look at the Draft the same way every year. It’s take the best available,” said Marks in response to a NetsDaily question following the Jordi Fernandez introduction. “If there’s somebody in there that, wow, they’re slipping, can we get in there at that particular pick? That would be important. For us just to go and say, ‘Hey, we, we got the 20th pick, we got the 44th pick,’ that doesn’t do us any good. For us this year, it’s gonna be more strategic.”
Now, we are getting word that indeed the Nets have worked out prospects. At the moment, we know of two and the number has to be much higher. One is local product Daniss Jenkins of St. Johns, a 6’4” guard whose presence at HSS we only know about because his coach, Rick Pitino tweeted out congratulations back on May 8.
Congrats to @Djenkinss5 on killing his first workout with the Nets. No surprise, the young man is the best worker and leader that I have seen in a very long time.— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) May 8, 2024
He was our draft sleeper of the week two weeks ago. It is however unlikely, as we explained, that Jenkins will be drafted, (The Nets also work out players for two-way, Summer League and G League gigs.)
Now comes word, again in a roundabout way, that a second and admittedly more interesting prospect worked out recently at HSS. Trentyn Flowers, a 19-year-old 6’8” point forward. Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweeted that Flowers will work out for the 76ers on June 20, five days before the Draft, and noted he’s a rising star in workouts. He also listed other teams who have taken a look at him, including Brooklyn...
Trentyn Flowers, who had been one of the NBA draft’s best-kept secrets, is scheduled to work out for the Sixers on June 20, according to sources. The 6-foot-7 swingman has already worked out for the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards, Milwaukee Bucks, Sacramento Kings, the… pic.twitter.com/fp61wFvRV0— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) May 30, 2024
Flowers is indeed an interesting prospect because of his athleticism — a 42” vertical measured at the Draft Combine, a deep shooting ability and can be considered a position-less player.
A five star recruit from Baltimore, Flowers was considered a top-10 small forward in the high school class of 2024...
In March of last year, he committed to join Louisville and would reclassify to the class of 2023 to be eligible for the 2023–24 season. Then, though, he changed his mind and headed down under to Australia’s NBL where is is part of the league’s Next Stars program and assigned to the Adelaide 36ers. Although he wanted to play point guard in hopes of being an NBA PG modeling his game another big guard, LaMelo Ball. Although that plan didn’t work out — in part because of some minor if nagging injuries, he got professional experience and declared for the Draft. Not considered much of a prospect at that point, Flowers surprised at the NBA combine earlier this month in Chicago and is now making the rounds.
Among the 59 other prospects on hand was one of his high school teammates, Bronny James.
How the Nets feel about Flowers is unknown. So, of course, is whether the Nets will actually take the plunge, but they have a number of assets they could use to acquire a big from players to the 10 first rounders and 11 second rounders they have available, cash as well. The Draft is expected to be very active on the trade front.
When will we likely learn what the Nets will do? Likely in the days before the Draft, considering Marks history. He has made trades, often big ones, within 48 hours of the Draft in six of the last eight drafts.
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