The [Brooklyn Nets](https://www.netsdaily.com) first post-lottery episode of _SCOUT_ has finally dropped. This one had a bit more anticipation than your average sequel.
At least from the public’s viewpoint, it’s the first sign of life from Brooklyn’s draft team since taking a shotgun blast to chest on May 12th. That’s almost three weeks since their initial episode with nine reportedly planned “though the end of June.” Seems aggressive.
Whether the team needed a few extra days to lick its ping pong ball-induced wounds or cut up more B-roll, we’ll never know.
This second episode largely concentrated on a star from the first — Assistant GM B.J. Johnson, the Nets exec who’s been in charge of the draft for the last five years. With the episode covering Johnson’s basketball journey dating back to his days as a walk-on at [Villanova](https://www.vuhoops.com) player, we got to hear from Jay Wright as well as Sean Marks. In an interesting nugget, Marks even noted Johnson was the first hire in Brooklyn, coming over from Team USA’s development staff.
After warming us up with that, the episode took viewers into one of Brooklyn’s “winter meetings” from this past January. Between Johnson and others, the idea that the Nets want a collective and collaborative approach to their scouting process was reinforced.
“When we get together, you get stronger opinions heard, to find out who the other guys that have seen different prospects more than me, who they really like or who they really dislike,” said Richard Midgley, one of the team’s international scouts. “You’re just continually building relationships — building camaraderie so we’re stronger as a group, not just individuals scouts.”
“If you leave here without speaking up, it does everybody a disservice,” Johnson added. “Just throw it out there at this point.”
Another returning concept form the first episode was the idea that Brooklyn whole-heartedly understands what’s at stake this summer regarding their current draft stock, picks in each part of the draft: lottery, post-lottery, late first round and early second round.
“This is exciting for a scout,” said Midgley. “Not only do we have so many picks but we have picks at every range. To me, this is setting the foundation for building us to where we want to be for sustainable success. There’s some pressure there, which is good, to make sure we make the right decisions to set ourselves up to be able to do that.”
After showing how a few of the scouts balance their jobs with their family lives (Johnson’s daughter can put some serious pressure on the rim), the episode highlighted what they’re looking for in prospects.
“When you see a guy that’s super tough, you know he’s been through some adversity that he’s overcome and he continues to push,” said Andre Barrett, another scout who grew up in the Bronx and played collegiately at Seton Hall. “He has that relentlessness. If a guy is super competitive he probably has siblings in his household — they’re competing every day.”
While many of their testaments were things you’d expect to hear from any scout, this kind of commentary coming straight from the guys deciding who Brooklyn will pick in 26 days felt worth noting nonetheless.
As Johnson said:
“The game of basketball, there’s so many complex things happening in a short amount of time, so your brain has to make so many decisions, under pressure, with a lot of moving pieces,” said Johnson. “And to find guys that are able to think the game, be able to make those decisions, be able to see things happening before they can happen — sometimes you see that with their passing or their ability to anticipate the passing lanes and the steals — the impact of a player overall both from a mental aspect as well as the energy that they bring are the things that jump out to me, we’re looking at a guy or a prospect right away.”
“When we talk about versatility, winning, outside IQ, those are the things that are the foundation to develop,” said scout Anthony Brown. “If they have those tools and have the ability to be coached and receive criticism, then we can build upon that, and that’s so important.”
The Nets media team then included some extra credit in the episode’s final segment. Despite this project focusing on Brooklyn’s draft process, the scouts also provided some commentary on the current team, mentioning that their duties include making evaluations there too.
“We’ve kind of taken this whole process this year, knowing it’s evaluating the college season, but also evaluating the Nets,” said Johnson.
“Knowing how the team is playing, what the team is looking for, I think is a very, very important and crucial part, having a direction and knowing what we’re looking for,” added the team’s top international scout Simone Casali.
Marks also emphasized the importance of the the connection between Nets of the present and future. In doing so, he made clear how integral Jordi Fernández has been in the draft scouting process.
“It’s really important that the collaboration between the coaching staff, front office, and our scouts is in sync,” said Marks. “So, it was great of Jordi to come in and give us a low down on, ‘Hey this is why I like these particular players, these are the skills that I look for, this is the development, this is the mindset.’”
“Watching different players that fit into what Jordi’s trying to do helps us better evaluate the players that we will want to bring into the organization,” said Johnson. “Watching the way that Jordi coaches, the interactions, the priorities that he’s set out.”