#17. Brooklyn Nets – Goga Bitadze
To be perfectly honest, the Atlanta Hawks should seriously consider taking Goga Bitadze from Georgia (the country, not the university) with their own second lottery pick if they have him high on their board.
In this scenario, the Hawks opt for a different option, meaning that Bitadze slides down the board to 17th overall where the Nets will gladly stroll to the podium to select a high-upside international big man.
The Nets have not been shy about taking international players, as both of their selections last year, Dzanan Musa and Rodions Kurucs, were not from the U.S., and both of them showed flashes. Kurucs, in particular, was an integral part of the team’s rotation, and he even started multiple playoff games before the Nets had to adjust.
With this pick, the Nets again take an interesting big man prospect, but Bitadze fills a more ready-made role in today’s NBA as a rim-protector and floor-spacer. Bitadze has the requisite size (6-foot-11, 7-foot-2 wingspan) to alter shots at the rim, and his three-point shooting form is beautiful to behold.
Neither of the Nets big man options (Jarrett Allen and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson) have much of a perimeter shot, so Bitadze would provide another element to the team’s attack as a sweet-shooting big man. For a highly regarded prospect to fall this low would be a coup for the Nets.