Brooklyn witnessed Day'Ron Sharpe become the latest to shut down his season. But what does this mean ahead of the NBA Draft?
One injury after another is hitting the Brooklyn Nets. And now the franchise has shut down their second player for the rest of the season.
The franchise made a big decision involving Day'Ron Sharpe Thursday ahead of the Nets versus Atlanta Hawks matchup.
"Brooklyn Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has been diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his left thumb. Sharpe, who will require surgery to repair the ligament, will miss the remainder of the season. Further updates will be provided following the procedure," the Nets announced via a news release.
Sharpe officially joins Egor Demin as players who have been shut down for the remainder of the season. The rookie Demin is dealing with a foot ailment and Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez believed the best course of action was to rest him for the rest of the season.
But now a big question looms amid the decision involving Sharpe: Does this boost the Nets' tank positioning ahead of the NBA Draft?
Teams have come under fire for "tanking" and violating player participation methods. Even Michael Porter Jr. called out the tanking rumblings plaguing the league. But the Nets look like their draft positioning will move up as noted by Erik Slater of ClutchPoints.
Granted, the Sacramento Kings remain as the team facing the highest probability to land the top overall pick. Sacramento continues to struggle on the court and fields the league's worst record.
However, teams that finish dead last in the overall standings aren't a shoe-in for the top pick. The NBA's draft system isn't anything like the NFL's where the worst team in the league earns the No. 1 unless that pick gets traded. The 39-43 Dallas Mavericks won last year's draft lottery and managed to reel in Cooper Flagg as their top overall pick.
Brooklyn could still catapult to the top in the event Sacramento's lottery ball is plucked out early on May 10. Or the Nets can settle on landing inside the top five once the draft order gets situated.
But again, Sharpe's ailment alters the draft scenarios moving forward. Brooklyn loses a player who was delivering his best points per game (8.7) in his career.
He joins Michael Porter Jr. and Ziaire Williams as the Thursday scratches for the Hawks game.
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