Mason Plumlee picked a good time to make his first trip to Brooklyn.
Plumlee was in the stands inside Barclays Center when NBA Commissioner David Stern announced the Nets took him with the 22nd pick of last night’s NBA Draft, meaning he was sitting in what has become his new home.
“I’m very excited about the Nets,” Plumlee, a 7-foot center, said afterward. “I didn’t work out for them during the pre-draft process, but who wouldn’t want to play here? The buzz they have going here, the veterans. … I thought they had a good season this season.
“[Now] Jason Kidd coming on as the coach. … It’s a dream come true to be in a situation like this.”
Plumlee, whose brother, Miles, was a first-round selection by the Pacers a year ago, averaged 17.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks for Duke as a senior last season. He ranked as the 16th-best prospect in the class entering the draft, according to DraftExpress, and the 23rd-best prospect, according to ESPN.
He met with the Nets at the draft combine in Chicago in May, but didn’t work out for them, because he expected to be picked somewhere higher than their selection.
“Based on my workouts, I figured I would go somewhere between 10 and 20,” Plumlee said. “Those are the teams that I worked out for. But I’m just as happy to be here as I would have been in any of those places.
“I’m ready to play some basketball.”
Plumlee, 23, is viewed as an athletic big man who can run the floor and who is potentially ready to step in and contribute right now for the Nets. He should be able to fill in behind or play alongside either Brook Lopez or Kevin Garnett after the Nets agreed in principle to a blockbuster trade to acquire Garnett and Paul Pierce from the Celtics last night.
“My strengths right now are being athletic, getting up and down the floor, getting on the boards and finishing at the rim,” he said. “Things I have to work on is I have to be able to knock down shots consistently. That’s not something I did in college.
“I think that’s something that can add a whole new dimension to my game.”
Nets general manager Billy King, a fellow Duke alum who got to see plenty of Plumlee over the last four years while keeping an eye on how his alma mater was faring, said whether or not Plumlee will be a contributor right away will be up to him.
“There’s no timetable on him,” King said. “He gets to play in summer league. He gets to go to Orlando, participate in Jason Kidd’s first head-coaching experience.
“But the great thing about being a four-year [college] player is I think he’s been through a lot. He’s mature and understands that he still has work to do.”