NEWS ARCHIVE MAY 6-15

What's good, Nets fans? Took a look at the mock drafts on nbadraft.net, Draft Express and Chad Ford's ESPN page (Insider) and realized that the 2011 Draft might well be an international affair. With so many college underclassmen (Jared Sullinger, Harrison Barnes, Terrence Jones, et al) opting to return to school, the Draft – already thought to be relatively shallow – is short on high-ceiling college players.

Teams have clearly been keeping an eye overseas, evidenced in six international players appearing in the first round of all three mocks, and two others in the first round of two (three if you count Bojan Bogdanovic projecting as the first pick of round two).

The names to know:

With so many toss-up decisions to be made after the first few picks, this could be a prime year for the ol' "Draft-and-Stash." By comparison, in the last three drafts combined, there have been only nine international players selected in the first round.

By year:

With the Draft group workouts behind us (though you can check out our Saturday and Sunday recaps), the underclassmen made decisions on whether they'd remain in the draft or just use this year to test the waters. With a dime drop from Team Assistant Matt Riccardi, here's the list of who did what:

The group Draft workouts opened with today's 22-player session at the PNY Center, and if you want to check out our roundup of interview highlights, you can do that by visiting our NJNets.com Recap.

But Billy King also discussed Brook Lopez's recovery from minor arm surgery (to remove a pesky calcium deposit the center played with for most of the season) and his recent visit – with Deron Williams – to the Barclays Center construction site in Brooklyn. Check that out below:

What's good, Nets fans? Been a minute, but with group workouts planned for tomorrow and Sunday here at the PNY Center, we officially find ourselves in Draft season. The Nets enter the 2011 NBA Draft holding the No. 27 pick, which they acquired from the Lakers as part of the Terrence Williams trade, and the No. 35 or 36 pick, depending on how the Kings and Jazz (who hold the Nets' first-rounder, though I'm sure most of y'all are good with the Deron trade) fare in the May 17 Draft Lottery.

We'll be covering everything here at NJNets.com's 2011 Draft Central, presented by Party City, starting with this weekend's workouts. The FLIP cam (R.I.P.) is charged and ready to film away through two sets of 22-player sessions, and you can find the full (updated!) list by clicking here.

Took a browse through, and the first name to jump out was Kentucky guard DeAndre Liggins, whose soul-crushing three ruined my hopes and dreams as a Carolina alum. Jerk. Ha.

Beyond that, no player appears on both mock drafts at pre-eminent sites Draft Express and nbadraft.net, including – inexplicably – Boston College point guard Reggie Jackson, who's projected at No. 23 in the First Round by Draft Express. Weird. Also, Ashton Gibbs is from Scotch Plains, N.J. to rep the homegrown talent.

Finally, there are a few names that might catch your eye as a history buff: Mychel Thompson (Pepperdine), Ralph Sampson III (Minnesota) and Isaiah Thomas (Washington). Thompson is the son of 1978 No. 1 overall pick Mychal Thompson; Sampson, the progeny of 1983 No. 1 Ralph Sampson; and Thomas, well ... his dad lost a bet. (No, really. That's in his bio.)

Will have more after speaking to Billy and some of the players tomorrow. Feel free to drop a line @viewfromcouch if you've got any info or questions. Cheers.

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