Nets keep shopping Mason Plumlee for a lottery pick, according to report

The Brooklyn Nets are aggressively trying to move up into the lottery range and are willing to part with Mason Plumlee to make that happen, reports ESPN's Jeff Goodman.

The Nets currently own the 29th pick in the draft due to a pick swap with the Hawks that was part of the Joe Johnson trade. With next year's selection going to the Celtics as part of the trade that brought Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn, this is the last time in a while the Nets will have a chance to add a talented young player through the draft. It's understandable that they want to try to move up to get a more promising prospect.

The question is whether anyone wants Plumlee. The former Duke Blue Devil averaged nine points and six rebounds in 21 minutes a game last season and was in the starting lineup 45 times, but also fell out of the rotation at different moments. In his second year in the league, he showed potential as a pick-and-roll finisher and rim protector thanks to his athleticism, but that faded this year. At 25 years of age, he doesn't have a lot of upside left. If Brook Lopez re-signs with the Nets, Plumlee is more a luxury than a necessity.

It's unclear if Plumlee on his own will be able to fetch a lottery pick, but there are teams like the Suns and Thunder who could use frontcourt depth.