NETS INSIDER

  If Nets fans haven't turned the page from Kevin Durant's unceremonious exit from Brooklyn, they will be forced to now.  Shake Milton came over to the Nets from the Knicks in the Mikal Bridges mega blockbuster this offseason. The shooting guard will take Durant's number 7.   This is the first time since Durant's departure that a Nets player will wear that number.  Clearly Milton won't fill the void left behind from Durant, but seeing another player wear that number might help the healing process in Brooklyn. 

 Things didn't exactly go as planned for Steve Nash in Brooklyn. He'd be the first one to admit that. With a plethora of injuries, side stories, distractions, COVID interruptions, infighting and constant power struggles, the locker room wasn't exactly a picture perfect place.  Speaking at former NBA star Goran Dragic's retirement event in Slovenia, Nash revealed to  Eurohoops  that many obstacles he faced during his first opportunity as an NBA coach in Brooklyn were not basketball related.  “I was surprised when I coached, you’re not in the team that much, Nash told Eurohoops. You have five minutes with players before the game, at halftime, and after the game. Those are the only times when you address the team. I wanted to connect with every player individually. It’s important to build a culture and an environment where people believe and see them be their best. You need to feel that you want them to become the best version of themselves”, Steve Nash continued. ...

Bojan Bogdanovic, Dario Saric and Ivan Suban will be among the Croatian-born NBA players to play a game honoring the late-great Dražen Petrovic's 60th birthday.  The former Net passed away tragically in a car crash on the rain soaked Autobahn on June 3, 1993 , in the middle of his brilliant NBA career. The game with feature the trio of NBA players born in Croatia, along with members of the Croatian National team taking on a selection of European players on September 5 at Zagreb Arena in Zagreb, Croatia.  Former Croatian NBA players are expected to be in attendance and it will be a touching tribute honoring one of the game's great European-born stars that was gone too soon. 

  According to FanDuel Sportsbook , the Brooklyn Nets are tied with the worst odds to win the 2024 Larry O' Brien trophy. The Nets are among eight teams with +100,000 to take the title. Three years ago the Nets were listed as title favorites by many odds makers. How far the mighty have fallen.  This shouldn't come as a shock to Nets fans as they are fully retooling the roster and almost setting themselves up for an NBA draft lottery that is rich with generational talent.  So while another season may pass without the Nets winning a championship, player development and NBA draft lottery positioning may set up exceptionally well for the future. 

 Kevin Durant and Dennis Schröder have been trading barbs on X/Twitter since Team USA captured the Gold Medal in France.  Durant hinted that U.S. born NBA players exude both skill and entertainment on the court to take a shot at Schröder intimating that NBA basketball is just entertainment and European basketball is more team oriented.  Now, the Brooklyn Nets social team is promoting its current point guard but is it taking a subtle shot at its former franchise cornerstone?  A man and his beanie pic.twitter.com/MCH9GfxWNG — Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) August 22, 2024  Now at first glance the tweet may seem innocent enough, but if you read between the lines, the troll job perhaps becomes a bit more obvious. Durant's signature style featured a beanie hat that he wore on the streets, during pre and post game interviews, practices and I'm sure if the NBA allowed he'd wear it in games, too! So with Schröder and Durant embroiled in a public feud, it seems curious ...

 There's no love lost between Brooklyn Nets fans and Kevin Durant. Now that the organization's current point guard, Dennis Schröder is taking aim at the former Nets superstar, it's must watch drama.   Schröder stated that European teams play higher IQ basketball while the NBA is entertainment. After Team USA won the gold following a scare versus Serbia in the semifinals as well as France in the finals, Durant took to Twitter to fire back at Schröder. ENTERTAINMENT & IQ pic.twitter.com/2e9dopdrJi — Kevin Durant (@KDTrey5) August 11, 2024 In response, Schröder alluded to Durant's thin skin and taking things the wrong way.    Dennis Schroeder says Kevin Durant is ‘weak as a person’ 😳 "They won, and Kevin Durant tweets, 'High IQ and entertainment.' For me, that's just being weak. You're that type of a star, and you have to say something to a person like me who not even meant it to be negative. It was… pic.twitter.com/HTJrMKdLng — NBACentral (@...

Jalen Brunson is currently the New York Knicks savior.   But according to  ESPN basketball expert and Mavericks reporter Tim MacMahon, Brunson was close to playing across the East River.  During the summer of 2022 when Brunson became a free agent, his intentions were clear to sign with his father's former club in the Knicks.   Before he became a free agent, the Mavericks failed to lock down Brunson on a four-year, $55 million extension during his final season there. Speaking on the Knicks Film School Podcast, MacMahon indicates that there was a 'strong likelihood' that Brunson is part of a Kyrie Irving trade with Brooklyn if an extension is signed in Dallas. "If (Jalen) Brunson signs that extension w/ Dallas, I think there is a high likelihood that he would be with the Brooklyn Nets right now" @espn_macmahon & @JCMacriNBA explore the alternate universe where the Knicks captain extends in Dallas & ends up in Brooklyn for Kyrie👀 🎥:… pic.twitter.c...

 Stephon Marbury was a human highlight machine during his NBA playing career. On Saturday, Marbury sat courtside next to Carmelo Anthony and captured Stephen Curry's ridiculous 3-pointer to seal the Team USA victory over France.  The Gold over France would not have been possible without Curry's late game sharp shooting.  💤 🛌 😴 https://t.co/CJYbfThHMR — I AM PEACE STAR (@StarburyMarbury) August 11, 2024 Marbury may have a future as a commentator in the NBA as his play-by-play was nothing short of spectacular.