Kyrie can do the funniest thing against Boston

 

Even mention the name Kyrie Irving in the city of Boston and you'll likely get a few disgusted glances if not worse. While Irving wore out his welcome in Brooklyn with management and ownership, there is still a contingent of the fans that doesn't blame him for how things ended up. 

Boston fans on the other hand, put the entire situation on Irving's shoulders. 

Now, Irving travels to TD Garden next Thursday night, June 6, with the Celtics standing between him and a second ring. 

It's an incredible storyline that even the NBA scriptwriters may not have come up with. 

Irving is locked in and Luka Doncic looks like a man on a mission.

Jason Kidd has an opportunity to win his first ring as a coach and join elite company as one of the few to win a ring as a player and coach. 

The emergence of rookie Dereck Lively and additions of Kyrie Irving at last year's deadline along with Daniel Gafford and Derrick Jones Jr. at this year's deadline may have been the exact moves that Nico Harrison needed to compete a championship puzzle. 

The 2024 NBA Finals will be a tightly contested series, but with the most formidable one-two punch in the game, Dallas might cause a world of hurt for fans in Brooklyn and Boston. 

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Kidd blossoming into elite NBA coach

 

Jason Kidd took his lumps as a head coach with the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. 

Even his first few seasons in Dallas were mired with disappointment. It now seems that everything is clicking for the former New Jersey Net.

While many Nets fans can't help but root against a Maverick squad with Kyrie Irving, Kidd's presence and leadership has as much to do with Dallas' championship chase as anything. 

Getting Irving focused on basketball and content is a Herculean task. Just ask all his former coaches including: Byron Scott, Mike Brown, Ty Lue, David Blatt, Brad Stevens, Steve Nash, and Jacque Vaughn. 

Irving has always had a contentious relationship with many coaches, but Kidd seems to be the magic elixir to get the most out of the talented guard. 

The kinship that both share during their separate playing careers with the Nets  inextricably links them. 

Irving and Luka Doncic are jiving like coffee and creamer right now. 

On the doorstep of an NBA finals appearance, Kidd Can officially cement himself as an all-time great coach to go alongside a legendary NBA playing career. 

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Like Kidd, Irving escapes Nets to win a ring in Dallas

 

Jason Kidd and Kyrie Irving have quite a bit in common. Kidd is and was a Nets franchise legend, while Irving wore out his welcome with ownership and the fan base before he even came close to reaching that stature.

Kidd spearheaded a run to consecutive NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003. His best chance came in 2003 facing the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets went back home to New Jersey with the series tied 1-1 and three straight games at the Meadowlands. 

The Nets were only able to win one out of three and went back to San Antonio for Game 6 with a thirteen point third quarter lead. 

That game slipped out of their grasp with San Antonio's bench, led by Speedy Claxton, pulling the Spurs to the finish line. 

Kidd tried to gut things out in the 2004 season despite requiring microfracture surgery. Kidd essentially played through the injury and push surgery off until the offseason. 

The Nets were dethroned as the two-time reigning Eastern Conference champions by the eventual champion Detroit Pistons. 

After that, ownership turns its attention to a potential move to Brooklyn and was unwilling to resign Kidd's critical running mate in Kenyon Martin. 

Former Executive of the Year Rod Thorn swung a blockbuster deal to replace the sign and traded Harden with a disgruntled superstar from Toronto and Vince Carter. 

The Nets had some success but ultimately could not break through in an Eastern Conference with the Miami Heat featuring Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal gatekeeping as well as LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

Eventually, Kidd grew disillusioned with the direction of the franchise and was ultimately traded to the Mavericks. 

Kyrie in the other hand, was supposed to be a leader for Brooklyn, but instead created limitless distractions for himself and the organization. He engaged in wars with the media at large. 

The Nets fell laughably short of their lofty goals. So, to compare Kidd's tenure with the Nets to Irving's is an insult to Kidd's legacy. 

After his trade from the Nets, Kidd won a ring with Dallas in 2010-11 behind Dirk Nowitzki's greatness against Miami's big three of Wade, James and Chris Bosh.

Now, Irving can do the same behind Doncic's greatness with the very and franchise. 

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Nightmare NBA finals matchup will rock Nets' World

 

The Brooklyn Nets don't have a dog in the fight. 

They snapped a playoff streak of four consecutive seasons this year. 

That doesn't mean that Nets fans don't have a rooting interest. 

It looks like Brooklyn fans will have to root for the lesser of two evils.

If things continue down this path in the Conference Finals, the nightmare matchup of Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks against the Boston Celtics will be a reality. 

You couldn't cherry pick two teams that Nets fans would want to see in the finals less. Perhaps Kevin Durant with the Phoenix Suns or James Harden with the Los Angeles Clippers would be the only exceptions. 

So the question becomes if a Boston- Dallas final is in the offing, who should Nets fans root for.

Irving recruited superstar talent to Brooklyn, only to burn down the house a few seasons later. The Celtics used the unprotected picks the Nets sent them in the Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry trade to draft Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. 

The Celtics will always be a rival of the Nets. The two teams met in the 2021 playoffs with the Nets big three of Irving, Durant and Harden disposing of the Celtics in five games. 

Boston flipped the script in the 2022 playoffs, sweeping the Nets and thereby precipitating Durant's trade request. 

While Irving is among the most unlikable players to ever put on a Nets uniform, the presence of former New Jersey Net great Jason Kidd on the coaching staff and the historic rivalry with Boston, makes the Mavericks the lesser of two evils for Nets fans. 

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Former Net legend's playoff run with Mavs impossible to support

 

Jason Kidd is synonymous with greatness. He is among the top 75 players to ever touch an NBA basketball. He is in the pantheon of great NBA players and arguably the top Nets player of all time. 

So why would it be so difficult for a Nets fan base to root for the Mavericks head coach and his pursuit of a title?

It has nothing to do with Kidd's unceremonious ending in 2008 as a player in New Jersey or as a head coach with Brooklyn in 2014. 

In fact, Kidd's contributions to the franchise will always be remembered more for the good times than the challenging ones.

The reason why it's impossible for the Nets faithful to pull for the former face of the franchise is that he hitched his wagon to Kyrie Irving. 

Irving made big promises upon signing with Brooklyn, including finishing the job that Kidd had started in New Jersey, by winning a championship. 

Brooklyn fell laughably short with Irving missing the playoffs during the bubble year with an injured shoulder that required surgery. Irving then suffered a leg injury in the 2021 playoffs, followed by being swept by his former team in the Celtics in 2022. 

Irving could not stay healthy and was far from a leader during his time in Brooklyn. He was in fact one of the main culprits for why the team's big three blew up from the inside out. 

There's no question that Irving was among the most talented players to ever wear a Nets uniform, but he will never be a beloved player in this borough after he single-handedly dismantled a super team.

So while Kidd winning his second championship with the Mavericks and first as a head coach would be a storybook tale, Irving's presence on the roster makes Nets fans cringe at the thought of him enjoying success with another franchise. Especially after he burned this one to the ground. 

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Kyrie Irving for Jalen Brunson the perfect trade for Nets in '22

The writing was on the wall for Kyrie Irving heading up to the 2022 trade deadline. The Brooklyn Nets had grown tired of his act and there was a strained relationship between Irving, the front office and ownership. 

Meanwhile, in Dallas, a potential Jalen Brunson extension fell through the cracks and it became imminent that the Maverick point guard was going to hit free agency in the summer. 

As the Nets had an untenable situation with Irving and Mark Cuban dealing with a strong likelihood of losing his starting point guard, swapping Irving for Brunson would have made the most sense for both teams at the 2022 deadline deal 

Brunson has evolved into a superstar player with the Knicks, but pairing him with Kevin Durant would have formed a terrific Duo in Brooklyn. 

Ironically, the Nets would trade Irving to Dallas and pair him with Luka Doncic in 2023 In exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and picks. 

Had Sean Marks pulled the plug on Irving earlier on a reported deal that was on the table, perhaps the Nets fortunes are much different than their current situation. 

Durant seems to be a malcontent no matter where he goes, so there's no guarantee that bringing Brunson in the fold would have prevented his ultimate trade request. 

At the end of the day, it's fun playing revisionist history, but there was a realistic scenario where the Nets could have made Brunson their point guard of the future, unloaded a disgruntled player, and kept Durant in the fold for the foreseeable future. 

Even if the Durant still requested a trade, pairing Brunson with Mikal Bridges would put Brooklyn in a much better position as well. 

As Brunson leads the Knicks on a playoff push, all Nets fans can do is play the what if game. Irving and Brunson are inching towards a conference final berth, while the Nets are pseudo-rebuild is already underway. 

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