EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. –– The Nets are strongly leaning toward taking Derrick Favors with the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft, multiple team sources said.
“He’s the most natural power forward,” one source said.
The Nets, who already have a center in Brook Lopez, will work out the 6-10 Favors and 6-11 DeMarcus Cousins June 21. On Thursday, they will look at 6-7 Syracuse forward Wesley Johnson, another player they are considering.
“Favors is 18 years old, won’t be 19 until September. So he’s like a work in progress,” Nets president Rod Thorn said at the press conference introducing Avery Johnson as the team’s new coach.
With Cousins, a center, and Johnson, a small forward, the Nets are seeking to get other questions answered.
“Cousins, can he play forward?” Thorn said. “Is there any chance he can play power forward or is he strictly a five?
“With Johnson, we want to see how can he put the ball on the floor.”
Thorn also pointed out that Johnson, who turns 23 next month, is older than the others because he transferred from Iowa State and sat out a year. Favors and Cousins were both one-and-dones.
Favors averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 boards in his single season at Tech. Over his final 10 games, he averaged 15.8 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 64 percent from the field and 78 percent from the stripe in ACC games.
“You’re looking for a guy who can play,” Thorn said.
BROOK LOPEZ SUFFERED FROM MONO
Lopez revealed to the media for the first time that he had suffered from mononucleosis for about a month and that he has been over it for “a month, a month and a half about now.”
“Isn’t that embarrassing?” Lopez asked. “I feel fine now.”
Lopez said he dropped from 240 pounds to 220.
“That’s why [my clothes] are a bit baggy,” he said.
Lopez and his twin brother, Robin, have been out in Phoenix training at the Athletes Performance Facility.
He said he wanted to go to a Suns-Lakers game in Los Angeles, but his mother wouldn’t let him.
“I begged my mom to let me go to one of the Suns games in L.A.,” he said, “but she shot me down, shot me down.”
48 PLAYERS WITHDRAW FROM NBA DRAFT
48 players who had declared as early entry candidates for the 2010 NBA Draft have withdrawn. There are 50 collegiate and five international prospects that remain early entry candidates.
The 2010 NBA Draft will be held June 24 at the The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Here is the list of players from U.S. colleges and institutions who have withdrawn their names from consideration for the 2010 NBA Draft:
Player School
Lavoy Allen Temple
Kevin Anderson Richmond
Talor Battle Penn State
Keith Benson Oakland
Anatoly Bose Nicholls State
Dee Bost Mississippi State
Carlon Brown Utah
Mike Davis Illinois
Paul Davis Winston-Salem State
Malcolm Delaney Virginia Tech
Kenneth Faried Morehead State
Jimmer Fredette BYU
Anthony Gurley Massachusetts
Jeremy Hazell Seton Hall
Adnan Hodzic Lipscomb
JaJuan Johnson Purdue
Ravern Johnson Mississippi State
Cameron Jones Northern Arizona
Kenny Lawson Creighton
Demetri McCamey Illinois
E’Twaun Moore Purdue
Arnett Moultrie UTEP
Rico Pickett Manhattan
Eniel Polynice Mississippi
Herb Pope Seton Hall
Jeff Robinson Seton Hall
Tracy Smith North Carolina State
Alex Tyus Florida
Quinton Watkins San Diego State
Chris Wright Dayton
Here is the list of international players who have withdrawn their names from consideration for the 2010 NBA Draft:
Player Team/Country*
Pablo Aguilar Granada (Spain)
Andrew Albicy Paris-Levallois (France)
Robin Benzing Ratiopharm Ulm (Germany)
Stefan Bircevic Metalac (Serbia)
Bojan Bogdanovic Cibona (Croatia)
Sarra Camara Le Havre (France)
Antoine Diot Le Mans (France)
Bangaly Fofana Asvel (France)
Miralem Halilovic Sloboda Dita (Bosnia)
Edwin Jackson Rouen (France)
Mindaugas Kuzminskas Siauliai (Lithuania)
Luc Louves Maurienne (France)
Uros Lukovic Radnicki Basket (Serbia)
Donatas Motiejunas Benetton Treviso (Italy)
Tomasz Nowakowski Luka Koper (Slovenia)
Xavier Rabaseda FC Barcelona (Spain)
Fernando Raposo Pau Orthez (France)
Semen Shashkov Ural Ekaterinburg (Russia)
*Country indicates where team plays, not country of nationality.
Following is the list of players from U.S colleges and institutions who remain early entry candidates for the 2010 NBA Draft:
Player School
Solomon Alabi Florida State
Cole Aldrich Kansas
Al-Farouq Aminu Wake Forest
James Anderson Oklahoma State
Luke Babbitt Nevada
Armon Bassett Ohio
Eric Bledsoe Kentucky
Craig Brackins Iowa State
Avery Bradley Texas
Derrick Caracter UTEP
DeMarcus Cousins Kentucky
Jordan Crawford Xavier
Ed Davis North Carolina
Devin Ebanks West Virginia
Derrick Favors Georgia Tech
Courtney Fortson Arkansas
Keith “Tiny” Gallon Oklahoma
Charles Garcia Seattle
Paul George Fresno State
Manny Harris Michigan
Gordon Hayward Butler
Xavier Henry Kansas
Darington Hobson New Mexico
Armon Johnson Nevada
Wesley Johnson Syracuse
Dominique Jones South Florida
Mac Koshwal DePaul
Sylven Landesberg Virginia
Gani Lawal Georgia Tech
Tommy Mason-Griffin Oklahoma
Elijah Millsap Alabama-Birmingham
Greg Monroe Georgetown
A.J. Ogilvy Vanderbilt
Daniel Orton Kentucky
Patrick Patterson Kentucky
Samardo Samuels Louisville
Larry Sanders Virginia Commonwealth
John Sloan Huntingdon (AL)
Lance Stephenson Cincinnati
Lazar Trifunovic Radford
Evan Turner Ohio State
Ekpe Udoh Baylor
John Wall Kentucky
Willie Warren Oklahoma
C.J. Webster San Jose State
Terrico White Mississippi
Hassan Whiteside Marshall
Elliot Williams Memphis
Stevy Worah-Ozimo Slippery Rock
Jahmar Young New Mexico State
The following is the list of international players who remain early entry candidates for the 2010 NBA Draft:
Player Team/Country*
Thomas Heurtel Strasbourg (France)
Dusan Korac Centar (Montenegro)
Tibor Pleiss Brose Baskets (Germany)
Ryan Richards Gran Canaria (Spain)
Kevin Séraphin Cholet (France)
(Photo courtesy NBA.com)
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
