Nets rookie forward Chris McCullough will 'redshirt' in 2015-16

By foxsports
Published

Chris McCullough's sole season at Syracuse ended badly when he collapsed to the Carrier Dome floor with a torn ACL that kept him out for the rest of the season. 

McCullough was supposed to be a lottery pick, or close to it, at the time of his injury. Unfortunately for him though, he fell down the draft boards as team after team passed him. Eventually, the Nets selected him with the 29th pick, just barely keeping him in the first round. 

We knew the torn ACL would limit McCullough's time during his rookie season with the Nets. Now, we have a slightly better idea of how many games he'll miss. From Josh Newman of SNY:

"He's our lottery pick next year" is somewhat of a telling quote, considering the statement implies the Nets would be a lottery-caliber team. Hollins subconscious is really taking over there.

The Nets, of course, don't have a first-round pick next season. That selection goes to Boston unprotected as part of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce/Jason Terry trade from 2013. 

The good news for McCullough in all this: At least he gets paid to redshirt this time around.

(h/t Newman)

His rehabilitation is coming along, but the Nets won’t have him available in a full capacity until around January. That means head coach Lionel Hollins is likening this season to something many college players go through when injured.

“Basically, this is a ‘redshirt year’ and secondly, somebody said it, he’s like our Lottery pick for next year and I agree with that,” Hollins said Monday morning at Nets Media Day at PNY Center. “He’s a guy that is definitely part of the future, so hopefully, we can get him back early so he can get a lot of work in and then go through the summer and Summer League.”