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Big NBA draft questions: What are the big traded picks to watch?

The Brooklyn Nets dealt a lottery-protected first-rounder to the Atlanta Hawks as part of the Taurean Prince trade. An unexpectedly rough start for the Nets makes you wonder about the chances the Hawks might have to wait a year to reap the fruits of that deal. BPI still only gives Brooklyn a 36.5% chance of ending up in the lottery, but an extra pick in the teens is a great outcome for an Atlanta team already loaded with cap space and assets.

2020 NBA Draft: Checking on the Brooklyn Nets after 20 games

Almost one-quarter of the season is in the books. Let’s re-examine

the Hawks will be closely monitoring Brooklyn for draft purposes and, with 20 games in the books for the Nets (before they arrive in Atlanta on Wednesday), there is more information to use when projecting to the future.

As a refresher, the Hawks will acquire Brooklyn’s 2020 first round selection if the Nets make the playoffs this season. If Brooklyn falls short of the postseason, that pick will defer to 2021, where the same parameters of lottery protection will apply. Because of the looming reality that Kevin Durant will return for the Nets in 2020-21, it is a common assumption that the 2020 NBA Draft is the best place for Atlanta to take advantage of this draft obligation.

With that in mind, here are some updated projections for the Nets, both from the standpoint of statistical models and human evaluation.

• ESPN Power Rankings (from 12/2) — 14th overall, 7th in East
  
• The Athletic Power Rankings (from 12/2) — 13th overall, 7th in East
  
• NBA.com Power Rankings (from 12/2) — 14th overall, 7th in East
  
• FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR projection — 41 projected wins, 7th in East
  
• FiveThirtyEight’s ELO forecast — 38 projected wins, 8th in East
  
• TeamRankings projection — 38 projected wins, 7th in East
  
• NumberFire projection — 41 projected wins, 7th in East
  
• ESPN’s Basketball Power Index — 39 projected wins, 7th in East

...the consensus projection places Brooklyn in the playoffs and, given their 10-10 record (and the reality of the East), that makes sense. The Nets haven’t been at full strength for much of the season, with Kyrie Irving playing only 11 games to this point and Caris LeVert appearing only nine times. The Nets are actually 4-7 with Irving and 6-3 without him this season, though it has to be noted that Brooklyn has faced one of the 10 easiest schedules in the NBA. If the Nets can simply hold serve at approximately the same level they’ve established through one-quarter of the campaign, an ideal scenario will emerge for the Hawks.

In April, there will be a lot of attention paid to the exact positioning but, in the meantime, observers in Atlanta should be rooting for the Nets to hover around the .500 mark.

Jamaaliver wrote:Despite myriad injuries for Brooklyn, things are looking good for us to retain their pick next summer.

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Midseason NBA Playoff Seeding Predictions

East No. 8: Brooklyn Nets

Cryptic Kyrie Irving is back, and he's pleading with the Brooklyn Nets front office to go get...something. While Uncle Drew says the mystery need is "transparent" and "glaring," we're struggling to identify a specific target.

The Nets are outside the top 10 on defense and top 20 on offense, so sure, they could use a two-way boost. But really, what could take this team over the top is a healthy Kevin Durant, and the Nets don't expect him back before next season, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

After inking an injured KD last summer, Brooklyn knew it would be playing this season with house money. The Nets shouldn't feel any pressure to have a dramatic trade deadline one way or the other, though minor wheeling and dealing might make sense.

Unless they're desperate to keep their lottery-protected pick away from the Atlanta Hawks, the Nets should play this out. They have enough talent to snag a postseason spot even without KD, and they can use the next three months to help determine which other pieces can be long-term complements to their dynamic duo. There will be rough patches, but not enough to spoil their playoff push.

Jamaaliver wrote:We got rid of this pick just in time...

TBH, I'm not sure if Kyrie's absence will help or hurt BRK for the rest of the season.

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