None of us are getting any younger. The same can be said for superstar Kevin Durant who will turn 34 at the start of next season. Kyrie Irving, who is still unable to play, but can spectate at Barclays Center, is only available for road games not in Toronto or at MSG.
Ben Simmons, who it was revealed this week has a herniated disc in his injured back, will need everything to go right in order to make a return in time for the playoffs.
Irving, 29, and Simmons, 25, are still approaching the prime of their respective careers. Durant, 33, is at the apex of his prime, arguably the league's best player and in dire need of his runningmates to be available and healthy for a championship pursuit.
While Durant signed with the club for five years, his commitment to Brooklyn is unwavering, but how long can he maintain his status as the NBA's premier player as he gets up into his mid-to-late 30's?
It's a question not enough people are asking and frankly, one Nets fans may wish to avoid addressing.
It's the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room, but any way you slice it, if the 2021-2022 campaign falls short of a title, it will be an utter disappointment and a lost season for the Nets and Durant.
Injuries have ravaged the Nets' current trio of stars and even impacted former Net James Harden throughout the regular season and last year's playoffs.
Harden's unofficial trade demand was a combination of factors including philosophical differences with Steve Nash, Irving's refusal to get vaccinated, and Durant being option 1 in the offense.
Harden is ultimately in the place he wanted to be, Philadelphia, reunited with former GM Daryl Morey and teamed up with MVP candidate Joel Embid.
He left Durant and the Nets for greener pastures, but Brooklyn ultimately won the trade in perhaps the short term and long-term with a knockdown 3-point specialist in Seth Curry, a rebounding giant in Drummond and a budding star who became disenfranchised with his teammates and fans in Philadelphia in Simmons.
If the Nets ever put all the pieces together, the rest of the league will be put on notice, but with a part-time Irving and Simmons yet to practice, this could ultimately wind up being a lost season with prime Durant for the franchise.
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