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Showing posts with label Featured. Show all posts

Nets likely facing 'Last Dance' scenario with Kyrie, KD


The writing is on the wall that both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving might be playing elsewhere following the upcoming NBA season. Both players have flirted with the notion of calling other NBA cities home, while causing angst within the Nets' fan base along the way. Between Irving's long-term contract standoff, Durant's direct trade request to owner Joe Tsai and all of the noise and hoopla that come along with the two superstars, the act is growing tired.

 Management is fed up with the duo's antics and the two basketball savants don't want to relinquish any previously held control over the composition of the roster and staff. Brooklyn doesn't have a single divisional banner, 50-win season, conference title or NBA title to boast in the three years since both landed in the borough in 2019. 

 More wars have been won on Twitter than on the basketball court and what was supposed to amount to a dynamic team where both players cemented their legacy, has turned into a sideshow and utter disappointment for fans. 

 Starved for a title since the team's inception in 1967, the last two years should have seen the team knocking down that door with one of the most talented rosters ever assembled. Instead, a combination of injuries, non-compliance issues, infighting and all around drama has derailed the Brooklyn Express. 

 On the dawn of a new season, the Nets are still tinkering with this failed experiment to see if it can still yield the results many anticipated when the era first started. 

 While the Nets collective brain trust tries to assemble for possibly one last hooray, this is a stark reminder that this team is not the 1997-98 Chicago Bulls led by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. 

 This Brooklyn Nets team may go down in history for all the wrong reasons and it may be time for the organization to cut its losses if another June goes by without the bright lights blaring over center court on at Barclays Center

Fate of Nets' franchise staying in Brooklyn, rests in hands of Irving, KD

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The Nets will be celebrating 10 years since moving from New Jersey to Brooklyn this upcoming season, yet if the franchise's nomadic history tells us anything, it's that a permanent stay in the borough isn't necessarily all but guaranteed. With owner Joe Tsai accruing losses topping $100 million the last two seasons, the current business model has proven unsustainable. The Nets first failed Big 3 experiment came under a hasty owner in Mikhail Prokhorov mortgaging the future to obtain aging superstars. Flash forward to 2019 and two prime superstars dropped into Tsai and Sean Marks' laps during free agency and a third star required a haul of picks to assemble another doomed super team. With the possibility that both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving could be gone at the end of the upcoming season, how can Barclays Center remain a big draw? The venue already lost heaps of money on overpriced and underachieving players who could not stay healthy or eligible to play. Since their founding in 1967, the Nets have called eight different arenas home and if this era basketball goes up in flames, who's to say another move isn't in the offing? The franchise was already struggling to build a loyal season ticket base and with non-committal players as the faces of the franchise, fans aren't exactly lining up at the ticket office to part with their hard earned money. Anything short of an NBA Finals run in this the fourth year with Irving and Durant on the roster together, (Durant missed the 2019 season rehabbing from Achilles surgery), will put Tsai even further into the red and open up the possibility of yet another franchise move. Whether that means a return to Long Island at the brand new UBS Arena, a return to New Jersey at either the Prudential Center or Izod Center, is anyone's guess. Only this much is clear, through poor marketing efforts and even more underwhelming play in Brooklyn, Irving and Durant have the weight on the franchise resting squarely on their shoulders.

In trade demand standoff, it's KD, not Nets who blinks first

 Kevin Durant raised hell this off-season by initiating a trade request to leave Brooklyn.

NBA free agency was dominated by where Durant would land and if the Nets would settle on just any old trade package to get rid of a disgruntled superstar.

In the end, the Nets remained steadfast in their resolve to only trade Durant if it was in the best interest of the team long and short term.

As teams started dropping out of the Durant sweepstakes with the Nets asking price understandably high, the market for the generational basketball talent dried up.

After meeting with owner Joe Tsai two weeks ago to reaffirm his trade request, news broke that Durant and the Nets had reconciled their differences.

Now with the season less than two months away, Durant will have plenty to prove in his quest to deliver Brooklyn its first title.



Market for Durant, Irving goes cold, duo likely to run it back with Nets

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With each passing day, it's appearing more and more likely that Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will at least start the season in a Brooklyn Nets uniform. 

 This comes after Durant sent shockwaves throughout the NBA by requesting a trade away from the Nets on June 29. 

 Over two weeks has passed since that date, NBA Summer League will wrap up this weekend with executives heading back to their respective cities. 

 While Sean Marks has had face time with Masai Ujiri, Rob Pelinka, James Jones and other general managers likely linked to a potential Durant or Irving deal, there's reportedly no momentum toward any trade. 

 As things stand today, Durant and Irving appear likely to run it back with Ben Simmons in the fold for the first time along with off-season additions Royce O'Neal and T.J. Warren. 

Despite the turmoil, there's no reason to think Brooklyn can't compete for a top spot on the conference with an improved supporting cast and full-time Irving. 

 Now, the parties will need to reconcile their differences and unify to chase an NBA championship that has eluded the Nets for their entire existence in the league.

With Kyrie contract drama in the books, now Sean Marks' real works begins

Kyrie Irving has elected to opt-in to his $37 million player option for the 2022-23 season after negotiations dragged Nets' fans to some dark places and played out publicly through the media. Sean Marks and Joe Tsai held firm and Irving at the end of the day bet on himself and remained steadfast in his four-year commitment to Kevin Durant and the Nets. The aggravating part about the whole scenario is that the week long drama sidetracked the front office from addressing other important components of the team's roster. Brooklyn still holds Bird Rights to Bruce Brown and Nicholas Claxton, thereby matching any team's offer, if Tsai is willing to go above the luxury tax threshold. There are a few free agent targets that make sense for the Nets, as they try to get more athletic wings and bigs that can play both sides of the floor. PJ Tucker, Otto Porter Jr and Gary Payton II are top of mind as unrestricted free agents. Andre Drummond is an unrestricted free agent and the Nets will need to determine whether he fits into the team's plans for this season. One star player who's been linked to the Nets is John Collins. Atlanta will likely command either Joe Harris or Nicholas Claxton with a combination of draft picks to make things work. It's never been more apparent than now that the Nets championship window is here and now. With Irving committed, or so we think, to the team for this upcoming season, Marks will earn his paycheck and make up for a subpar 2021-22 off-season with additional roster manuevering to position t.he team for a legitimate title run .

Could Nets do unthinkable and trade Kyrie for Harden?

 




Before you head for the comments and call foul on this idea, I promise there is a shred of logic. There's been a lot of noise regarding the Nets ongoing negotiations with Kyrie Irving on a long-term deal. While many leaks, mainly from Kyrie's camp, are intimating that Irving has a wishlist of teams he'd consider destinations via the sign-and-trade route. 

If Marks let's Irving walk to a team with cap space or Irving takes considerably less money to join a contender, Kevin Durant could be soon out the door behind him by way of a trade request.

Perhaps somewhat surprising is that the Philadelphia 76ers are among the squads Irving would consider if he leaves Brooklyn. Not many teams have the cap space to sign Irving outright, so they'd need to have the Nets' help facilitate a sign and trade scenario to make things work.

In the most ironic twist if fate you could ever envision, what if James Harden, became part of a package back to Brooklyn and Irving to the City of Brotherly love?


We all know how much Daryl Morey loves Harden, but even he sees the player is not what he once was in his prime. However, with Durant as the top scoring options, surrounded by 3-point shooting and Simmons potentially being a playmaker, Harden might be a better fit than most think.

It's clear that the two wouldn't coexist as teammates anymore, but if the financials line up and Kevin Durant has his old running mate back alongside Ben Simmons, who's to say it couldn't work?

Durant was clearly bitter about Harden's abrupt exit from the Nets as he didn't buy I'm to Steve Nash's offensively philosophy that was coordinator by former assistant coach, now with the Lakers, Jordan Ott. 

The Nets hired Igor Kokosov, Jason Kidd's offensive guru in Dallas to head up play calling on the offensive side, an offense that was too isolation heavy and Durant reliant last year.

The most likely scenario is that Brooklyn runs it back with Durant, Irving and a potentially healthy Simmons. It's a dark horse scenario that is getting little attention, but stranger things have happened around these Brooklyn Nets.



If Nets let Kyrie walk, KD's days in Brooklyn will be numbered

 


Don't forget, without Kyrie Irving, there is no Kevin Durant. Case closed. As much as an enigma as Irving is and the headaches he's caused the fan base, management and the coaching staff, he was the main recruiter bringing Durant to Brooklyn.


Growing up a Nets fan in West Orange, New Jersey, Irving claimed the New Jersey Nets as his hometown team. Irving marveled at the Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Kenyon Martin squad that clinched back to back NBA Finals berths in 2002 and 2003.

After starring alongside LeBron James to bring a title to his hometown of Akron, Ohio, Irving had a special motivation to bring a first Larry O'Brien trophy to Nets fans in the New York metropolitan area and Brooklyn.

After a honeymoon period during the 2019 summer, Irving has played in 103 of 226 regular season games, while the super team in Brooklyn has delivered just one playoff series win together.

Although Durant signed a four-year contract extension in the summer of 2021, if the Nets elect to allow Irving to test free agency, they run the risk of infuriating No. 7.

Contract negotiations are ongoing between Irving's camp and the Nets, but the two sides have yet to come to an agreement. Irving has a player option he can exercise before June 29 to play on a one-year option. Irving can also elect to become a free agent if contract talks fall apart in Brooklyn. While that's a possible but unlikely scenario, the Nets want to avoid it at all costs as Durant will most assuredly be unhappy with his partner in crime playing elsewhere.

While Irving is looking for a four or five-year deal, Brooklyn is likely countering in the 2-3-year range with invectives for games played and playoff benchmarks, likely even triggering a one-year team option tacked on at the end.

The public nature of these contract talks will cause unrest in Nets' World, but as much frustration as Irving has caused, the price Brooklyn will pay to let him walk will be catastrophic with the possiblity of Durant demanding a trade.






KD calls sour grapes on Barkley for questioning legitimacy of his titles

 Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley don't pull any punches when exchanging blows through the media.

This time, Durant counted Sir Charles' haymaker when the NBA Hall of Famer insinuated that the old era of NBA players will only respect him even he's the main guy on a championship team.


 


Strangely, Durant brings up the financial spoils that the modern day NBA player enjoys compared to those who played in the 1990's.


 Barkley is merely talking about titles in his tirade and not necessarily the bloated contracts awarded to the game's superstars.

Durant is not solely to blame for the player empowerment era where super teams are the norm. 

Having been in Golden State with Steph Curry for three finals appearances and two rings, Durant now has added pressure to win a title as the man, on the heels of Curry winning without him.

Kyrie's camp flexing negotiating muscle in stalled contract talks with Nets

 



Kyrie Irving is holding the Nets franchise hostage again. This time, it's not for a refusal to comply with local vaccine mandates, but to tease the idea of testing free agency if long-term contract talks fall apart with Brooklyn.

Shams Charania is reporting the two sides have reached an impasse and Irving's camp has listed the Lakers and Knicks as potential landing spots for the superstar point guard if he does test free agency.


Irving is chasing a supermax deal, one that could land him a starting salary of $45.2 million for 2022-23.

In three seasons in Brooklyn, Irving has only played in 103 out of 226 possible regular season contests for a multitude of reasons from personal to vaccine intelligibility, unexcused absences and injury.


It's hard to even argue with Sean Marks and company being reticent in forking over a haul and hitch their wagon to a player who has been out of the lineup more than he's been in it.

Irving, even when he's been away from the team, has been a major distraction, leaving his teammates to answer for why he's been missing in action for large chunks of the year.

Ultimately, once the posturing from each side and battle for leverage plays out, it's more likely than not Irving remains in Brooklyn, but perhaps the Nets need to call Irving's free agent bluff by still holding firm at the negotiating table.

 

Richard Jefferson: KD's next title 'most important one', thinks 'he will get it done' with Nets



Richard Jefferson knows a thing or two about playing in NBA Finals. He played in two with the New Jersey Nets and two with the Cleveland Cavaliers, winning the 2016 Larry O'Brien Trophy. 

  The all-time Net great compared LeBron James winning the title in his hometown in 2016, Steph Curry winning his fourth ring and first finals MVP this June, with how Kevin Durant will feel when he climbs that NBA mountaintop in Brooklyn. Brooklyn took a major step back last year with a part-time, unvaccinated Kyrie Irving causing a major distraction, while a disgruntled James Harden demanded a trade out of town.

Durant missed large chunks of the year with a sprained left MCL, while Ben Simmons, the centerpiece of the Harden trade never took the court with the Nets and underwent off-season back surgery.

It's looking like Brooklyn's championship window is shrinking, but in Jefferson's estimation, Durant will still get the job done that he and Irving wanted to accomplish when they teamed up in Brooklyn in the summer of 2019. 

A championship with the Nets would all but cement Durant as not only an all-time great player, but put him rightfully on the Mount Rushmore of NBA legends.

Nets' former coach Atkinson turns down Hornets' job, remains with GSW

 In a stunning move, Golden State assistant coach Kenny Atkinson has reversed course after being named the next head coach this past week of the Charlotte Hornets and decided to stay in the Bay Area.

The former Nets head man was a hot name on the head coaching market after an abrupt ending to his tenure as head coach that ran for three seasons in Brooklyn.

 Atkinson had an opportunity to take over a talented, but young roster on Charlotte with LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges headlining a talented roster.

While an opportunity to chase back to back titles with a Warriors squad looking to write a second chapter to their dynasty, Atkinson's decision comes as a shock for a man who is well deserving of a second opportunity as a head coach in the league.

Nets among oddsmakers favorites to win 2023 NBA title

According to Draft Kings Sportsbook, the Nets, Warriors, Celtics and Clippers have identical odds to hoist the Larry O'Brien next season. It's pretty shocking that the oddsmakers are so bullish on a Nets squad with so many question marks. Kyrie Irving is likely but not guaranteed to remain in Brooklyn as he can exercise a player option. But the two sides have yet to agree to a long-term extension ahead of the June 30 deadline.
Steve Nash has been a punching bag for the fan base and if the Nets get off to a slow start to the season, calls for his firing will grow even louder. 

Not to mention Ben Simmons hasn't played in an NBA game since June of 2021. Throw into the mix that the supporting cast around Irving and Kevin Durant could look vastly different as virtually all of Sean Marks' off-season additions didn't finish the year in a Nets' uniform. Seth Curry and Joe Harris will be returning from ankle surgery, while Mills has a player option he can exercise this month and Andre Drummond is a free agent. 

 Sounds like a heck of a lot of moving parts and more questions than answers for a supposed title favorite.

Nets' owner has hilarious reaction to 'Fake Klay Thompson' Banned by GSW

 


If you haven't heard about the antics of "Fake Klay Thompson" by now, you're missing out.

Prior to Game 5 at Chase Center between the Warriors and Celtics, YouTuber Dawson Gurley, otherwise known as Big Daws, waltzed right through security dressed in a full uniform as a Klay Thompson doppelganger.


Passing through five levels of security, including a metal detector, Big Daws made his way through the bowels of the arena and onto the court to get in some pregame shooting practice.

Finally, after doing everything but actually entering the locker room and playing in the game, Dawson was questioned by security about his credentials and only then was politely escorted out of the building.

To Dawson's dismay, he later received a letter from Warriors security banning him for life from games. While the man everyone knows as "Big Daws" noted that he actually paid $10,000 for game tickets and was never asked to show an ID when he impersonated Thompson.

It was no joking matter for the YouTube prankster, but Nets' owner Joe Tsai added a comedic twist to the whole ordeal.

Tsai's witty reply will draw a few laughs, but until the Nets get their own house and roster in order, they will continue to be the butt of NBA pundits' jokes.

Durant pushes back on critics questioning his leadership ability

 


Kevin Durant is the kind of player that lets his play do the talking, He's not the "ra-ra" type to give fiery pregame speeches nor is he known to get in his teammates' faces for making a mistake.

So, of course on the heels of a heroic playoff performance from his former teammate, Steph Curry, the Durant haters were out challenging his leadership capabilities.


The Brooklyn Nets superstar isn't afraid to mix it up with detractors on Twitter by setting the record straight.

One of the more interesting tidbits from Durant came when he mentioned that the team's coaches and assistant coaches were the primary source of leadership in his estimation.

That shouldn't necessarily be a slight to Steve Nash, but questions are mounting about his ability to reel in an non-committal Kyrie Irving and run an offense that maximizes his roster's talent and a defense that masks the team's deficiencies.

Only time will tell if Durant or Nash will spearhead a Brooklyn title push, but the more success  Golden State and Curry have, the more critics will attack Durant and the Nets.


How Steph's historic night at age 34 might inspire Durant

When the 2022-23 NBA regular season gets underway, Kevin Durant will have just turned 34 years of age. Still in his prime, but with a likelihood that some slippage in durability and explosiveness will start to rear its head in the coming seasons.
Look no further than Steph Curry's monumental performance to even the series with the Celtics by dropping 43 points in a do-or-die scenario. Even more impressive is the fact that Curry joined some elite company alongside Michael Jordan and LeBron James as the only three players to score 40-plus points in the NBA Finals at 34 or older. That performance by Curry should light a fire under Durant and in some way inspire the superstar to maintain confidence he can stay on top of his game as he approaches his mid-30's. The reality is, the Brooklyn Nets title window is here and now. 

Unless unforseen transactions bring top level talent to help Durant, Kyrie Irving and newly acquired point guard Ben Simmons, the Nets need to clinch an NBA Finals berth in the next two years for this era of Nets'basketball not to be considered a failure.

 All told, Curry and Durant have a mutual respect, but just like the Michael Jordan and Larry Bird McDonald's commercials that ran in the early 90's, they also believe "anything you can do, I can do better."

KD scoffs at his ranking among NBA's all-time one-on-one scorers

 


Kevin Durant is no stranger to mixing it up with reporters, fans and trolls on Twitter. The Brooklyn Nets superstar has had plenty of time on his hands since his club was swept out of the first round of the playoffs by Boston.

Durant has been the recipient of plenty of bashing, but even when high praise was sent his way, the NBA legend took it as a backhanded compliment.






 Perhaps Durant is looking at this simply for what it is, praising his one-on-one ability and diminishing his role as a team leader and player. Or perhaps he thinks he's the best player scorer of all-time.

Only Durant knows the answer to these questions and the all-time great comparisons are for the fans and media to debate and players to roll their eyes at.


 

Durant has been subjected to a lot of trash talking regarding his role on the Warriors back to back NBA Finals winning clubs and whether he or Steph Cherry was the true leader and number one threat to opponents.

That debate will rage on, but it's pretty clear through three games that the Warriors could use Durant as they are in danger of going down 3-1 in the finals against Boston.

Draymond: 'When KD was here, our offense still started with Steph'

 




Draymond Green is a ride or die teammate, just ask Steph Curry. After a Twitter debate that raged on between Green and Kevin Durant regarding whether Curry or The Slim Reaper faced more double teams, the Warriors big man wanted to set the record straight in the NBA Finals Game 2 postgame presser.

Shockingly, Green sticks with his initial assertion that Curry is the draw that stirs Golden State's drink, while Durant, who is this era's most lethal scorer, did not get the type of attention that the Warriors point guard received from opposing defenses.

It's hard to argue with Green, as his Warriors evened the series against the Celtics in San Francisco, not without a few chippy moments from the fiery power forward.


Until Durant and the Brooklyn Nets take the court next season, the debate will make waves on NBA Twitter, but for a Golden State squad looking to capture a title, it's a bit odd for one of the team's leaders to be fixated on the role of a former teammate who is no longer playing in the 2022 NBA playoffs.

Kyrie vows to work on strengthening his body this summer

 


In a live stream via twitch, Kyrie Irving was his own worst critic for disappearing in the final three games of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics.


 Irving, who of practices Ramadan, fasted from sunrise to sunset. This had very little impact on him in Game 1 of the 2022 NBA playoffs and during the prior year's playoff run in Brooklyn.


 

However, Irving appeared in only 29 regular season games after the team refused to let him be a part-time unvaccinated player, before relenting and allowing him to play in road games played outside of New York and Canada.

The Nets' point guard was mesmerizing in his short sample size during the regular season, but come playoff time against a physical and swarming Celtics' defense, Irving appeared physically worn down as a lack of regular game action and conditioning took its toll on him.

Irving's Twitch stream of his Nets' highlights is the clearest indication yet that he's reaffirming his commitment not only to Brooklyn, but to the game of basketball.

Unfortunately, fans have heard this before from Irving, so his words mean very little without action behind them.

Sean Mark and the Nets have yet to engage in serious contract negotiations to extend Irving and some reports indicate they're unwilling to sign him long-term given his wavering commitment to the club.

This will be an intriguing summer for Irving to show once and for all he's all-in to make a title push.




 

Nets' Big Three's have enjoyed very little playoff success dating back to 90s




 The Nets have a history of teaming up three All-Star caliber players without much playoff success.


 

Whether the New Jersey Nets assembled Derrick Coleman, Kenny Anderson and Drazen Petrovic in the 90's, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson in the mid-2000's, the Brooklyn Nets assembled Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Deron Williams in 2013-14 or the Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden led teams in 2021-22, astonishingly none of those talented squads advanced past the second round of the playoffs.

 It's pretty mind numbing to think rosters with many future Hall of Famers could fall incredibly short of playoff success, but if Nets' history teaches us anything, it's that the sum of the team's parts are greater than the whole.

Now, Brooklyn is adding Ben Simmons to a two-headed monster of Irving and Durant, clearly not dissuaded by what the franchise's  history is trying to tell them.

The Nets most successful run in the NBA came with Kidd's Cinderella squad grinding out wins with tough defense and opportunistic fast break offense. That style, philosophy and roster construction led to back to back NBA Finals Appearances and the most successful seasons the franchise has enjoyed since joining the NBA.

Look no further than the Celtics and Warriors, the top two defenses in the current NBA, to illustrate that defensive basketball is still at the heart of championship teams.

Sean Marks and company are already so far down the road with Irving, Durant and Simmons, it's going to be hard to pivot from what is being built here, but if history teaches them anything, they'll need something beyond overwhelming star power to build a team top to bottom capable of getting back to the NBA Finals.



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