In a Nets season that’s all about the rebuild, they are all but assured of their first lottery pick in a decade and a half.
And Wednesday they were beaten by fellow tanking rival Toronto in a game with all sorts of lottery implications.
The Nets and Raptors are both hoping for the coveted top pick and generational talent Cooper Flagg, but in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory, there are a host of other elite talents that could potentially become the foundation of a roster.
And games like Wednesday’s were vital in jockeying for position.
With the loss, the Nets kept pace with the 76ers — who lost to the Wizards — for fifth in the lottery odds, and the seventh-place Raptors now trailing them by three games.
As a refresher, drawings will be conducted May 12 for the top four picks.
The fifth-worst record would give the Nets a 10.5 percent chance at Flagg and 42.1 percent odds of a top four pick.
At sixth, those would fall to nine and 37.25 percent, seventh to 7.5 and 31.9. That’s presuming there are no ties, which would skew the odds.
With the lottery’s fifth seed, the Nets would have almost no chance to actually pick there, their likeliest landing spot either seventh (26.7) or sixth (19.6).
At sixth, their likeliest draft slot would still be picking seventh (29.8), but this time followed by eighth (20.55).
And if they “fall” to seventh, picking eighth would become by far their most probable outcome (34.1), followed by seventh (19.7) or even ninth (12.9), a tough pill for such a lost season.
Though picking in the 4-9 range won’t net them Flagg or Rutgers’ Dylan Harper (or likely even RU’s Ace Bailey), there is talent to be had — more than in almost any season in recent memory.
“I’ll put VJ Edgecombe and Tre Johnson in that mix. Those guys are great,” longtime 76ers scout Michael VandeGarde told The Post. “[My fifth pick] would be Tre Johnson. You could change the order between two dudes, but I’d be ecstatic about them. … Then there’s a massive drop-off after those five.”
Jonathan Givony of ESPN is regarded the gold standard of draftniks, and his updated “big board” has Edgecombe, Johnson, Illinois’ Kasparas Jakucionis, Oklahoma’s Jeremiah Fears, Duke’s Khaman Maluach, teammate Kon Knueppel and Maryland’s Derik Queen in the 4-10 slots.
Edgecombe, a 6-foot-5 freshman, went to Long Island Lutheran. He’s got an explosive vertical leap and electrifying first step. He’s a disruptive defender with questions about his offense.
Edgecombe took over late in Baylor’s NCAA tourney opening win over Mississippi State, and had 16 points and six boards vs. Duke. Johnson has improved his shooting as the season went on.
“Edgecombe is one of the freakiest athletes I’ve ever seen in my life, and he’s put together a string [down the stretch] where he’s just been playing his ass off,” VandeGarde told The Post.
Johnson, who just turned 19, might be the most gifted pure scorer in the draft. Like a taller (6-6) version of Cam Thomas, he both takes and makes tough shots.
Texas went just 19-16 and lost in the first round, but Johnson had 23 points in that loss, going 4-for-7 from deep.
He averaged 19.9 points on 39.7 percent from 3 and is even a competent passer, though a poor defender.
“Tre Johnson’s been unbelievable. Every night he comes to play and every night he puts up numbers. He can score at all three levels,” VandeGarde told The Post. “He’s not a freak athlete, but he’s got good length, good size. He’s been an absolute stud everywhere he’s been at every age. I really like that kid.”
Jakucionis is a big 6-6 point guard who still needs to cut down his turnovers (six in each of his past four games) and become a more consistent shooter (24. percent in his past 10). His worst game came matched up against Harper, but just 18 with size and playmaking chops, he has scouts intrigued.
