St. John's Dwight Hardy, Hofstra's Greg Washington Work Out For Nets

Former St. John’s shooting guard Dwight Hardy is the headline attraction among NBA Draft hopefuls working out for the New Jersey Nets Monday morning at the PNY Center in East Rutherford. Hardy averaged 18.3 points per game in 2010-2011 for the Red Storm.

Hofstra’s Greg Washington, a 6-foot-10, 215-pound forward, is also working out for New Jersey today. Washington is a shot blocker who blocked a school-record 275 shots for Hofstra, averaging 3.3 and 3.5 blocks per game the past two seasons. As a senior, Washington averaged 7.5 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.

Here is the complete list of players working out Monday:

DWIGHT HARDY, SG, St. John’s
TRAVIS LESLIE, SG, Georgia
BEN HANSBROUGH, SG, Notre Dame
MUSTAPHA FARRAKHAN, SG, Virginia
BENGALY FOFANA, PF, France
GREG WASHINGTON, PF, Hoftstra

The draft will be held on Thursday. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the first pick and are expected to use it to select Duke point guard Kyrie Irving.

2011 NBA Draft: The Nets Big Smokescreen?

With the NBA Draft less than a week away, New Jersey Nets GM Billy King says that "the picture is getting clearer" when looking at his board.

If you look at the players that have been visiting the Garden State lately, it would seem that a big man will be in that picture when it finally is developed.  After all, there were only three guards among the 12 players that worked out for the Nets between Wednesday and Thursday.

Is King trying to get a look at as many big men as possible because that's definitely where he plans on going with the pick or have these workouts been a smokescreen?  While the Nets have little depth anywhere on the roster, they have few players after Deron Williams, Jordan Farmar and Anthony Morrow that are guaranteed minutes in the backcourt next season. 

After being forced to give minutes to Sundiata Gaines, Ben Uzoh and Mario West, it would be a surprise if the Nets didn't pick up a point guard somewhere on draft night.  The question remains where exactly will New Jersey be picking?

Their own first round pick (No. 3 overall) was traded to the Utah Jazz in a package that brought back Williams but they own the Los Angeles Lakers' selection (27) in the first round and their own pick in the second round (36).  Then there is the always present "Mikhail Factor".

With some teams looking to get out of the first round altogether to avoid handing out a guaranteed contract in a down year, owner Mikhail Prokhorov will be waiting with his checkbook to purchase picks as they become available.  If there is a player available in the late teens or early twenties that King believes can help the Nets immediately, look for the team to swoop in quickly.

So while their recent workouts would point to a big man being their first pick, New Jersey will select the best available player no matter the position.  Potential need not apply with this Nets team, right now it's all about the playoffs in 2011-12 (or whenever we get another NBA season).

NBA Draft 2011, Nets: Seton Hall's Jeremy Hazell Headlines Workouts

The PNY Center in East Rutherford is a beehive of activity as the 2011 NBA Draft approaches, with the New Jersey Nets hosting a series of pre-draft workouts with potential draft prospects. Former Seton Hall star Jeremy Hazell, working out Thursday, is the headliner.

Hazell averaged 22.7 points, 20.4 points and 19.8 points per game during his final three seasons with the Pirates.

Wednesday six draft prospects worked out for the Nets. They were:

- BRAD WANNAMAKER, SG, Pittsburgh
- AUSTIN FREEMAN, SG, Georgetown
- JAJUAN JOHNSON, RF, Purdue -- Ranked 47th overall by Draft Express
- JEREMY TYLER, C, JAPAN
- KEITH BENSON, C, OAKLAND
- JORDAN WILLIAMS, PF, Maryland

Thursday, six more prospects will work out for the Nets. Hazell and Rutgers forward Jonathan Mitchell will be the headliners. The six players are:

- JONATHAN MITCHELL, F, Rutgers
- RASHAD BISHOP, F, Cincinnati
- TYLER HONEYCUTT, SF, UCLA
- JEREMY HAZELL, SG, Seton Hall
- CARLETON SCOTT, PF, Notre Dame
- CHRIS WRIGHT, PF, Dayton

NBA Draft 2011: Nets Host Another Pre-Draft Workout

The New Jersey Nets will host a dozen NBA Draft prospects on Tuesday, June 14 for the team’s third-round of pre-2011 NBA Draft workouts at the PNY Center in East Rutherford, N.J.

There will be two sessions of workouts. Here are the players participating in each session.

Session 1

ANDREW GOUDELOCK, SG, Charleston (6-foot-2, 200)
DIANTE GARRETT, PG, Iowa State 6-4, 190
DAVID LIGHTY, SG, Ohio State, 6-5, 220
MARCUS SIMMONS, SG, USC, 6-6, 200
GREG SMITH, C, Fresno State, 6-10, 250
TREY THOMPKINS, PF, Georgia, 6-10, 240

Session 1

COREY STOKES, SG, Villanova, 6-4, 195
JON DIEBLER, SG, Ohio State, 6-6, 200
DELROY JAMES, SF, Rhode Island, 6-8, 220
BOJAN BOGDANOVICH, SG, Cibona Zagreb, 6-7, 216
MIKE TISDALE, PF, Illinois, 6-11, 220
BRIAN WILLIAMS, PF, Tennessee, 6-10, 250

Lighty, the Ohio State shooting guard, is the highest-ranked prospect among the players working out Tuesday for the Nets. Draft Express ranks him 35th overall.

Diebler (45), Thompkins (51), Goudelock (58), Smith (63) and Garrett (74) are also among the Draft Express Top 100 draft prospects.

The Nets have the 27th overall selection in the first round.

Nets Hosting More Pre-Draft Workouts

The New Jersey Nets are hosting private workouts for a half-dozen 2011 NBA Draft prospects Monday and Tuesday at PNY Center in East Rutherford, N.J. Here is a look at the participants each day.

Monday, June 6

Chaison Allen, SG, Northeastern
Jereme Richmond, SG, Illinois
Travis Leslie, SG, Georgia
Lacedarius Dunn, SG, Baylor
LaVoy Allen, PF, Temple
Jamel McLean, PF, Xavier

Tuesday, June 7

Xavier Silas, PG, Northern Illinois
Iman Shumpert, SG, Georgia Tech
DeAndre Liggins, SG, Kentucky
Corey Fisher, SG, Villanova
Antonio Pena, PF, Villanova
Alex Tyus, PF, Florida

The Nets have the 27th pick in the first round of the draft. If these workout names are any indication the Nets are looking seriously at trying to find some outside shooting to complement point guard Deron Williams and center Brook Lopez. Seven of these 12 players are shooting guard. That would make sense as a knock-down shooter is something the Nets really do not have.

2011 NBA Draft: Nets Hosting Private Workout Thursday

The New Jersey Nets will bring a half-dozen NBA prospects to the PNY Center in East Rutherford, N.J. for private workouts on Thursday morning. Here is a look at the players the Nets will be bringing in.

• Malcom Lee, SG, UCLA -- Ranked at the 30th overall prospect in the nation by Draft Express. Lee averaged 13.1 points per game for UCLA in 2010-2011.
• Mychel Thompson, SG, Pepperdine -- Averaged 14.6 points per game for Pepperdine in 2010-2011.
  
• Jamie Skeen, PF, VCU -- Draft Express ranks Skeen 68th among draft prospects. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Skeen averaged 15.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for VCU in 2010-2011. Draft Express says: "Skeen has solid size for a post player at 6'9, to go along with a strong frame and excellent length. His athleticism is underwhelming, however, evident in his average explosiveness and the awkward way in which he runs the floor."
• Jon Leuer, PF, Wisconsin -- The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Leuer is ranked 40th among draft prospects by Draft Express. He averaged 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 2010-2011. Draft Express says: "It would be easy to write him off as a prospect due to his below average athleticism, slender frame, and a lack of a true position to defend. That being said, he possesses an excellent basketball IQ to go along with some offensive skills that are in high demand, skills that he should be able to translate to the NBA reasonably well.
• Willie Reed, PF, St. Louis -- Ranked 40th among draft prospects by Draft Express. At 6-foot-9, 220 pounds he averaged 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 2010-2011.
• Vernon Macklin, PF, Florida -- The 6-foot-9, 245-pound Macklin is ranked 75th among draft prospects by Draft Express. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 2010-2011.
  

2011 NBA Draft: Nets Simply Searching For Best Available Players

There is still plenty of basketball to be played in the NBA Playoffs, but for teams like the New Jersey Nets who are on the outside looking in, it's all about the 2011 NBA Draft.

Much like the current NFL labor situation, any form of work stoppage could limit player movement, putting even more emphasis on the draft.  Specifically for the Nets, the newest member of the team Deron Williams has said that in order to keep him in New Jersey very simply "we have to get some players".

If the lottery holds true, the Nets pick will be the sixth overall.  However, that pick was shipped to Utah as part of the trade that brought Williams to the Garden State. GM Billy King does, however, own the Los Angeles Lakers first-round selection this year as well as his own second rounder. 

While finding an impact player at the end of the the first and early part of the second isn't easy in a normal year, it will be even more difficult considering the weak crop of prospects. Williams and the rest of the Nets won't want to hear about a lack of depth in the draft, they just want players who can help New Jersey get back to the playoffs.

You hear a lot about taking the best player available -- of BPA -- in every sport, but some teams would rather chase potential than immediate impact. The Nets will take the BPA no matter what position that happens to be. Before you scoff, remember that Sundiata Gaines, Ben Uzoh and Mario West all played big minutes at one point or another down the stretch. 

Between now and draft night, we will be keeping track of players that King and the Nets should be targeting.

Make sure you check out the latest Mock Draft from SB Nation.