Nets draft Kansas' Tyshawn Taylor

Nets general manager Billy King didn't sit tight Thursday night, acquiring a pair of extra second-round draft picks to go along with the one he already had.

The Nets made a trade with Portland to get the 41st overall selection, using it to pick up Tyshawn Taylor, a native of Hoboken, N.J. Yahoo! Sports reported the Nets sent cash considerations to the Trail Blazers as part of the deal.

Brooklyn also acquired the No. 54 overall pick, reportedly for cash, from the Mavericks and drafted forward Tornike Shengelia of Georgia, who played for Spirou Charlerio in Belgium. With their 57th selection, the Nets picked up Ilkan Karaman, a native of Turkey who played for Galatasaray of the Turkish League.

Shengelia and Karaman are expected to remain overseas for at least one more season to develop.

King said he would've liked to get into the first round but wasn't about to pay what he felt was too hefty a price.

"Couldn't," he said. "Just different variables, either wanting futures . Usually, in the late first round, a lot of guys don't want cash. They'd rather have a pick, and I don't want to give them any future picks."

Taylor, 22, averaged 15.8 points and 5.7 assists in his four-year career at Kansas. A three-year starter who played both guard positions, he helped the Jayhawks reach the NCAA title game this past season along with two Elite Eights. He also was a part of four Big 12 regular-season titles and two Big 12 Tournament championships.

The 6-4, 185-pound Taylor posted 13 games of at least 20 points as a senior. Against the eight ranked teams Kansas faced, he averaged 19.1 points and 4.9 assists, nailing 48 percent of his shots from the field and 50 percent of his attempts from three-point range.

"I just see him as a basketball player," King said. "You just put your five best players out there and just let them play. The greatest thing is, have as many versatile players as you can so when Avery [Johnson] goes to sub and needs to put a guy in, he's not saying, 'Well, I can't put him in because he's only a point guard.' "

Shengelia, 21, has been a member of the Republic of Georgia's national team since 2008 and averaged 8.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 18.4 minutes in 20 Belgium League games with Spirou this past season.

"We like him," King said of the 6-8 forward. "We like his length. It's somebody that was ranked a lot higher than where we picked on our board, and we felt we had another chance to get another foreign player to keep over there. San Antonio and some other teams have had success in drafting guys and letting them develop.

"In Philly, I didn't have a lot of chances to do that, and it's something we will look to do more of here because I think it gives you a chance to get some guys and keep them over there. You have their rights and can watch them develop and grow. He has a chance to get better. He can score the basketball and he knows how to get to the rim."

Karaman, a 22-year-old listed at 6-10, 236 pounds, hails from Istanbul, Turkey. He averaged 10.7 points and 6.4 rebounds in 23 minutes per game in Turkish League action.

"Both guys," King said, "we'll probably leave them both overseas."