In a televised interview after Danny Wolf was drafted No. 27 by the Brooklyn Nets, his mom, Tina, said going to New York was what her son wanted.
“It’s a dream come true to be here,” Danny Wolf told reporters at a press conference shortly after. “Brooklyn is an unbelievable place. It’s one of the best cities in the world. Great front office, great coaching staff. I really like the direction of where _we’re_ going, I can say now.”
Wolf became Michigan’s 12th first-round over the last 13 drafts. He spent last season there after two at Yale, helping the Wolverines go 27-10, win the Big Ten Tournament, and reach the Sweet 16 in Dusty May’s first season as head coach. Wolf averaged 13.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game.
The 7-footer started all 37 games, nominally at power forward but often used like a guard who initiated the offense. His ball handling and passing at his size made him an intriguing prospect.
As a result, he was among the 24 players invited to the draft at New York’s Barclays Center, the Nets’ arena, where he sat in the “green room” area in front of the stage. It made for a very long day and night. Wolf was picked around 11:15 p.m. ET, about three hours after the first pick, Cooper Flagg, was taken. Only Liam McNeeley, taken 29th, had to wait in the green room longer.
“I didn’t exactly know how long I would have been sitting there for,” Wolf said. “If you asked me before, I wouldn’t have said this long. But it’s what happened, and it’s out of my control. I ended up in an unbelievable place, and it’s an unbelievable opportunity. Just going to use that as a chip on my shoulder, as a motivating factor.”
The Nets, which had five first-round picks on Wednesday, finished 26-56 last season under first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez. Juwan Howard, who preceded May as Michigan’s head coach, is an assistant coach.
“I had a great visit here,” Wolf said. “The front office is great. They really know what they want. Then Coach Jordi is awesome as well. I kind of got a glimpse of that. And I think there’s no better place to live, to play basketball, to work than New York and Brooklyn.”
Fernandez, as an assistant coach with Denver and Sacramento, coached frontcourt superstars Nikola Jokic and Domantas Sabonis.
Wolf said that, at his draft table, he was discussing what team might take him with his agents and May. “Brooklyn popped up and they all raved about (Fernandez), as they did in the (pre-draft) process,” Wolf said. “I watched a good amount of Brooklyn games this year, and he’s an exciting coach. He’s super smart. He’s coached two of the best bigs in the world right now.”
“I know that I’m just going to try to learn as much as I can from him and try and develop in his system.”
It was an emotional draft night overall, and the Wolf family was no exception. Danny’s mom and one of his older brothers, Jake, were in full tears after NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced the pick.
Some draft experts thought Wolf might be drafted 10 spots higher, though others pegged him as a late first-round pick. This wasn’t a stunning slide by any means, but a nerve-wracking wait regardless.
“I don’t think where you’re drafted defines you,” Wolf said. “It’s just the start of getting into the league. It’s kind of been my basketball journey thus far, is just kind of having to go step by step.”
He wasn’t ranked by the recruiting services out of high school and didn’t play much as a freshman at Yale.
“I went to Michigan and I still don’t think people believed in me,” he said. “Now I’m here and just have so much to prove and (am) super excited to get to work.”