Nets draft Chris McCullough with 29th pick, aiming for November return
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The Brooklyn Nets selected Syracuse power forward Chris McCullough with the No. 29 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.
McCullough must be one heck of a salesman. With just 16 games on his college resume and no opportunity to work out for teams thanks to a torn ACL suffered in January, McCullough measured and interviewed his way into the first round.
Had McCullough stayed in Syracuse, the Bronx-born center would have possibly surged into the lottery with a healthy campaign.
McCullough to the Nets was done a month ago. He drops because of his injured ACL. Had he stayed at Syracuse, may have been lottery in 16
— Chad Ford (@chadfordinsider) June 26, 2015
"I should be ready to play by November, but I’m not gonna rush it, though," McCullough said Thursday. "Right now, I’m exactly four-and-a-half months out, I just started running and jumping three weeks ago."
This move makes sense late in the first round, even if it may lack an immediate return. Of the players left on the board, McCullough has the highest upside - he profiled as the rare rim-protector/floor-spacer combination before the injury. With a 7-foot-3.25 wingspan, a 9-foot-1 standing reach, and impressive defensive numbers in limited action, the appeal is obvious, and the Nets clearly believe in the person behind it.
Drafting McCullough is represents a flier for Brooklyn, but his role could be increased depending on the fate of Brook Lopez and Mason Plumlee. The Nets would like to re-sign Lopez in free agency, while Plumlee's name has been dangled in trade talks.