Buechler a SuperSonic--Then a Net

Jud Buechler watched his destiny unfold on a big-screen television at his family’s home in Del Mar Wednesday night.

Amid picturesque walls that tell the story of how he led Poway High School to three consecutive San Diego Section championships and later starred at Arizona, Buechler was welcomed into the NBA fraternity by the Seattle SuperSonics.

And then he was traded to New Jersey.

Buechler found out the same way as the rest of the nation that he had been selected by Seattle with the 38th pick in the two-round draft. But less than 25 minutes later, Buechler was changing his new favorite colors from green and gold to red, white and blue.

Seattle traded the rights to Buechler to New Jersey as part of a three-way deal put together by the Orlando Magic. The Magic, drafting fourth, offered the SuperSonics second-round picks in 1993 and ’95 if they would pass on Georgia Tech guard Dennis Scott with the No. 2 pick overall; New Jersey, drafting first, would get Seattle’s second-round pick in this draft for ignoring Scott. The Nets took Syracuse’s Derrick Coleman, Seattle selected Oregon State’s Gary Payton, and Denver took Louisiana State’s Chris Jackson. That left Scott for the Magic.

In addition to drafting Coleman (6-foot-10 forward) and acquiring the rights to Buechler (6-7 forward), New Jersey drafted Connecticut’s Tate George (6-5 guard).

The Nets can go nowhere but up. They had the NBA’s worst record and need help in every area. By obtaining Buechler, they got a versatile, hard-working player who is fundamentally sound and won’t be any trouble off the court.

Buechler, who could not be reached after his selection, said beforehand that the best scenario would involve being drafted late in the first round by a West Coast team.

He was instead taken in the middle of the second round but at least was still in the Pacific Time Zone. For 25 minutes anyway.

Buechler’s coach at Poway, Neville Saner, has followed Buechler’s career closely. Over the weekend, Saner attended an adult camp run by his former coach, UCLA’s John Wooden.

“I asked John Wooden specifically about Buechler, and he said that he can definitely make the NBA and that Jud has fine skills,” Saner said. “He can do a great many things; he’s very versatile. Whether Jud makes it or not remains to be seen, but Wooden thinks he can make it.”

Buechler was the captain and only senior starter for 14th-ranked Arizona. His senior season, he led Arizona in scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounding (8.3), missed the lead in steals by only one (40) and shot .538 from the floor.