The 26th pick in the 2017 NBA Draft was Caleb Swanigan, while the 28th pick was Tony Bradley. While the Nets still would be on the outside of the playoffs, there is plenty of evidence to suggest they would have been much better. He took a non-playoff team to the second round of the playoffs. Think about the load Donovan Mitchell was forced to carry in his rookie season with the Utah Jazz. He is everything the Nets so desperately covet right now. He may have been a rookie, but playing 77 games and logging 31.2 minutes per game (six more then Russell played per game) while putting up these remarkable stats would have carried a lot of weight. Saying that Kuzma would have propelled the Nets to nearly 10 more wins is not that crazy. He averaged over 16 points and six rebounds per game, doing so on 45 percent shooting from the field and 36.6 percent shooting from 3-point range. DeMarre Carroll tried to cary the load the best he could, but being the lead scorer is not his role. Kuzma would have made this team more competitive last season. Spencer Dinwiddie can score, but he’s not a pure scorer, he is a combo guard. Russell is only going to become a great player if he becomes an elite facilitator. He is the ultimate scoring forward big, strong, and can shoot from anywhere. He’s everything the Nets are desperate for. Kuzma seemingly would have fallen into the Nets’ lap on draft night had they still owned the pick. The real question is: What if the Lakers had accepted the trade without asking for the draft pick or asked for a future pick instead? Imagine the Nets with D’Angelo Russell and Kyle Kuzma. Sean Marks and the Nets cannot be blamed for letting the pick become a throw-in in a trade no one expected Kuzma to be this good. Twenty-six other players heard their name called before Kuzma, who eventually had the last laugh after being named to the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team. Magic Johnson wisely asked for Brooklyn’s 27th overall pick as part of the package that sent Brook Lopez for Russell and Timofey Mozgov. A team with relatively no draft picks had now acquired the second overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Getting D’Angelo Russell was all the Nets cared about, and rightfully so. What is known: Kyle Kuzma looks like a future NBA All-Star. Had Brooklyn kept the pick, it may have opted to go a different route and draft someone else. That pick was originally owned by the Brooklyn Nets. Kyle Kuzma was taken with the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angles Lakers. By Ben Stinar 5 years ago As part of the D’Angelo Russell and Brook Lopez swap last season, the Brooklyn Nets sent the Los Angeles Lakers their first round pick.
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