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Complete guessing game: Nets faced with a couple options at No. 3 in draft – Metro US

Complete guessing game: Nets faced with a couple options at No. 3 in draft

Derrick Favors loves the headlines. He simply can’t get enough.

“They come up with some good stuff,” the soon-to-be-millionaire said yesterday. “Do themselves a Favors. Favors of the week. Nothing I?haven’t seen.”

The Nets may not have seen enough of Favors, though, to select him with the third pick in tonight’s NBA?draft. The Georgia Tech power forward has been tagged in this slot since the lottery results, but things have changed in the past few days. New coach Avery Johnson is reportedly looking to Syracuse’s Wesley Johnson with the No. 3 pick. At 22, the swing forward has shown more maturity on the court and in the boardroom than the freshman from Atlanta.

“I’ve been through more than most guys at this stage,” said Johnson, who battled injuries and a transfer to take Syracuse to a No. 1 ranking last season. “I’m a guy who can come in right away, fill a hole and do work.”

The Nets, coming off a 12-win season, can use work at both the 3 and 4 spots. Favors averaged 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds last season in the ACC but dominated big men in the post. Johnson, meanwhile, possesses an NBA-ready jumper and fall-in-line mentality that attracts NBA general managers.

“Wes is maybe the best kid I’ve been around,”?said Syracuse coach Jim?Boeheim. “Any team that passes on him is going to reget it. I really believe that.”