Brooklyn Nets Without a First-Round Pick for Second Time in Three Years

Should there be concern?

Brooklyn Nets - Barclays Center / Imagn

From Brook Lopez to Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen among others, the Brooklyn Nets know how to get themselves a bargain at the NBA Draft. At the start of the 21st century in 2000, the Nets had the first pick of the annual draft and drafted Kenyon Martin. During his rookie season, Martin averaged 12 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks, and he was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team after finishing second in voting. His most memorable moments came in the franchise's altering stages when the Nets became Eastern Conference Champions in 2002 and 2003.

Eight years later, Brooklyn drafted Brook Lopez with the eighth overall pick. In 562 games for the Nets, he would go on to become a one-time All-Star for the team in 2013. The Milwaukee Bucks big man also still holds the record for the most points in the franchise after seven years with 10,444 points. Lopez averaged 18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per contest for the Nets. The biggest question mark for the Stanford product with this organization will always be his 2013-14 campaign. Lopez was the leading scorer for Brooklyn during that season before going down with a season-ending right foot injury. The Nets managed to get to the Eastern Conference Semifinals in his absence, but without Lopez in that series versus the Miami Heat, Brooklyn lost in five games.

In 2017, the Nets were right on the money in drafting Jarrett Allen with the No. 22 pick of the 2017 NBA Draft. His tenure with the Nets came to an end in 2021 when he was packaged in a blockbuster three-team trade that landed Brooklyn James Harden. The biggest question mark for the former Nets big man is if he would have made that 2020-21 Nets team better during the playoffs. Brooklyn went seven games with the Bucks in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals and lost in overtime of Game 7. With Allen already established as one of the best interior defenders in the league in 2021, he would go on to become a one-time All-Star for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2022.

With the Nets finding so much success in the first round of drafts to start the 21st century, should there be concern that they don't have a first-round pick for the second time in three years? In 2022, Brooklyn did not own a first-round pick. Now this year, they find themselves in the same spot.

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