inside the nets How the Nets are prepared to ace the NBA draft lottery — even more so than the last time they won it By Brian Lewis Published April 28, 2026, 9:00 a.m. ET Nets president Rod Thorn (l.) poses with Kenyon Martin alongside coach Byron Scott at his media introduction in June 2000. Brigitte Stelzer for the NY Post The last time the Nets won the draft lottery, it was the first step in a meteoric two-year rise to the NBA Finals.
The lottery lucky charm who was in the room that day — former team president Finn Wentworth — could see the situation play out again on May 10 in Chicago.
“I totally agree,” Wentworth told Sports+. “[But] I think they don’t need to get the first pick in this draft, it’s so deep.
“The league has changed a lot in the last 25 years, where it’s much more of a guard, 3-point-shooting dynamic. And with their draft last year — which I think is still too early to judge — they have some players there. If they can get one of the top three picks in this draft, they can coalesce around the guy that’s going to go ahead and become a cornerstone.”
