Nets selected two of 2023 NBA Draft's youngest players, but Sean Marks doesn't foresee long rebuild

The Nets selected two of the youngest players in the NBA Draft on Thursday. Sometimes that’s an indication that a team is starting a long, methodical rebuild. Not in this case.

"Our timeline (is) we’re going to compete,” Brooklyn GM Sean Marks said after Thursday night’s NBA Draft. “That’s what we’re here for. I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re a contender overnight. But I think we’ve shown the ability, as an organization, to pivot and compete, potentially quicker than we probably ... thought.

“At the end of the day, with a new CBA, a new group, some really good returners, let’s let these guys develop. A new coaching staff, let’s let them put their finger prints all over this group and see where it goes in the next couple months, then couple years and go from there.”

Marks and the Nets took another step forward from the Kevin Durant/Kyrie Irving era on Thursday. They selected Noah Clowney and Dariq Whitehead with the 21^st and 22^nd picks, respectively, in the first round of the draft. With Durant and Irving on the roster, Marks would have been more motivated to use those picks in trades to acquire veteran help.

While the Nets fielded calls from teams looking to trade on Thursday, they ended up keeping the picks and taking two 18-year-olds.

In Whitehead, they get a 6-foot-7 forward who shot well at Duke last season but was limited by a foot injury that required two surgeries. He will not play Summer League with the Nets as he recovers from the second surgery.

“I would say that we felt very comfortable with Dariq, the person he is, and sort of like, we're comfortable with his injury,” Marks said. “We're comfortable with bringing him back. If you could sort of rewind a year, I mean, there's a chance he was probably a lottery pick. So in order to get a guy like that fall to us, I mean fantastic, we'll take it.”

Clowney is 6-foot-11 with a 7-3 wingspan. The Alabama product is seen as a versatile defender with strong athleticism.

“I love the intangibles. I love how hard he competes. I love the length that he has, you know, when you have a 7-foot-3-inch wingspan, I can't teach that. Our coaches can teach a lot of things, but they can't teach that,” Marks said. “I love the fact that he doesn't shy away from shooting from the outside. He's very versatile, can play a couple of different positions out there.”

Now, the Nets turn to free agency and potential trades. All eyes are on Damian Lillard in Portland. The Blazers chose Scoot Henderson with the No. 3 pick instead of using it to acquire veteran help. Will that lead to Lillard asking for a trade? If so, the Nets are well positioned to make an offer.

If not, the Nets will have a significant decision to make with pending restricted free agent Cam Johnson. People tracking his free agency expect the Nets to offer Johnson a four-year deal worth north of $84 million in total.

Another team with cap space could force the Nets to match a higher offer, of course. Marc Stein noted that Detroit will have interest in Johnson and several reports have stated Houston will also have interest.

Whether it’s Detroit or Houston, those tracking Johnson’s free agency believe at least one team will make a hard push to sign Johnson to an offer sheet and force the Nets to match an expensive offer.

“We’ll be prepared for that,” Marks said about the possibility of Johnson signing an offer sheet. “Cam knows how we feel about him. We hope he’s a Net and so we’ll just have to sort of play it all out. I think we’ve got a nice young group, and he can see how this group has a chance to do something special here and do something special in Brooklyn.”