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Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBA. Show all posts

Ben Simmons' airball video goes viral

photo by Doug Bearak 



 The Nets had a successful Practice-in-the-Park session on Monday with a record of over 8,000 fans looking to catch a glimpse or a free t-shirt from their favorite player.


While the festivities appeared to be enjoyed by all, one fan video went viral as it caught Ben Simmons jacking up a haphazard jump shot that failed to catch iron.



 This drew more than a few snickers from Nets detractors and Simmons haters as Brooklyn's point guard looks to refine his less than stellar shooting stroke.

Head coach Steve Nash already told reporters this preseason that he won't need Simmons to shoot jumpers as his primary roles will be defending, rebounding and facilitating to Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the team's prolific scorers.

While Simmons' shooting deficiencies will draw laughs from the masses, the real concern after two preseason games is his lack of explosiveness after off-season back surgery and his mounting turnovers as he tries to get acclimated with his new teammates.


Another downright ugly preseason loss causes unrest in Nets World

Photo by Doug Bearak


Nets fans aren't panicking just yet, but maybe they should be. 

After committing 26 turnovers and looking disjointed for a second straight outing in the preseason, Brooklyn looks to have more than a few kinks to work out ahead of the start of the regular season. 

 The Nets were outplayed in every facet by a Miami club that brought defensive physicality and sharp execution to the tune of a 109-80  drubbing.

Kevin Durant finished with 22 points and 4 rebounds, Ben Simmons 4 points, 4 assists, 10 rebounds and 6 careless turnovers. 

 Kyrie Irving sat out Thursday's contest, so Brooklyn was basically noncompetitive from the opening tip. Steve Nash has shifted away from isolation basketball to a more team centric approach predicated on ball movement and man movement. 

 Theoretically, this is the best adjustment the Nets can make, but through two preseason games a lot more has gone wrong than has gone right with the regular season opener less than two weeks away.

With NBA's planned expansion to Seattle, Las Vegas, will New Jersey get a team back?

 

Photo by Andrew Bernstein

Photo by Andrew Bernstein

Some interesting news has been trickling out of the NBA commoner's office this week as the league may consider expanding into additional cities in the near future.

The Supersonics, who were stationed in Seattle from 1967-2008, could see a revival along with adding a club in the hottest growing market in the country in Las Vegas. 


With both cities being located in the Western market, a realignment of divisions would be in order to create even teams in both conferences.

LeBron James has thrown his hat in the ring and called for dibs on a potential Vegas club, while Adam Silver insists that the expansion still is years away.

The question many fans are wondering that followed the Nets in the Garden State is: what about New Jersey?

The Nets, who were founded in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans and played at the Teaneck Armory, spent one season there before moving to Long Island as the rebranded Nets starting in 1968.



The Nets then returned to Jersey in 1977, where they remained for the next 35 years until the move to Brooklyn in 2012.

The Nets had trouble drawing fans when stationed at the Meadowlands due to a lack of public transportation and area attractions in the swamp. The now -defunct Xanadu project lost funding during the Nets stay at the then-IZOD Center as it sat for years half-developed as an eyesore.

Now, the American Dream mall has been built with countless activities, along with a transit line to send fans to and from Secaucus Junction. All the infrastructure and amenities the Nets were hoping for during their stay in East Rutherford are now up and running.

The IZOD Center is still standing, even though it's not used for concerts or sporting events, just merely, filming for television and movies.

The reality is all the pieces are in place for New Jersey to make a bid for another team in the future. 

The question will remain if the politicians in office, lobbyists and pubic at large will make enough waves and show enough support to get the NBA and Silver's attention. A return of NBA basketball to the Garden State is viable, and a renaissance in the swamp is what many basketball diehards are rooting for and hoping for in the near future.



Nets best ability needs to be availability this season

 


Without making any excuses for Steve Nash, who is entering his third year as Nets head coach, injuries, vaccine compliance and players in and out of the lineup have all been commonplace in Brooklyn since his arrival.

Brooklyn will need to find a happy medium  where it can manage its stars minutes, but build enough cohesion as an overall unit to form a powerful team.

Durant was overtaxed last season without Kyrie Irving for large chunks of the year and then James Harden after he jetted out of town.

The 34 year old Durant will need enough run with new teammates, but enough rest to stay fresh for a playoff push.

 Irving has also shown to be an injury prone player and was a shell of his former self in the playoffs when conditioning and fatigue impacted his performance beyond the play-in game and Game 1 against the Celtics.

The delicate balance will be a challenge for Nash as he'll also have a trio of veterans rehabbing their respective injuries in Joe Harris, Seth Curry and T.J. Warren.

Brooklyn may need to play deep into their bench in the early season until the big guns are fully healthy.

So while Nets fans want to see the fully healthy and committed version of this club playing day in and day out, Nash and Marks will certainly keep an eye on the biggest picture, that being keeping his stars healthy, but conditioned enough to compete for a championship come playoff time.



Nets preseason clunker raises more questions than answers

Photo by Doug Bearak


 Not much can be gleaned from NBA preseason action, unless of course certain things are completely egregious.

Tuesday night's 127-108 loss against the majority of Philadelphia's backups falls into the latter category.

With James Harden and Joel Embiid watching in street clothes, Tyrese Maxey, Tobias Harris and a cast of reserves severely outplayed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Ben Simmons, Joe Harris and Nic Claxton in the first quarter.



After going down 42-26 at the end of the first frame, Brooklyn showed some life in the second quarter, but a disjointed offense and lack of close-outs on defense put the Nets in a massive early hole they couldn't overcome.

The only flashes on brilliance came during the times the Nets were able to get defensive stops to produce easy transition points. 

But as far as half court offense and defensive rotations are concerned, Steve Nash's fingerprints were absent from the on-court product.

There have already been rumblings about Nash's job security this season and if the team continues this trend in the preseason and into the regular season, changes could be coming sooner than later in Brooklyn.

Durant's trade request this past June was made in part based on Nash's decision-making last season, Sean Marks' roster maneuvering and the overall trajectory of the franchise. Things cannot continue to go down this course because if they do, either Nash will be on the chopping block or Durant may ask out yet again.


Ben Simmons' Nets' debut totals revealed

Ben Simmons looked like a guy who hadn't played in an NBA game since June 20, 2021, when he took the floor on Monday night opposing his old squad, Philadelphia. With no Harden or Embid on the floor, the Sixers outscored the Nets 42-26 in opening quarter. Simmons was active on the boards and a willing passer, but misfired on both his free throw attempts and missed all his shot attempts outside the paint. The results were pretty much as expected for a player who has struggled to hit shots consistently from the field, but makes plays for others. 

 All told, the Nets were outplayed by Sixers reserves, but Simmons was able to shake off the rust as Brooklyn narrowed the gap to three points by halftime. 

 Head coach Steve Nash indicated that he won't need Simmons to shoot from the perimeter or do anything outside his comfort zone as the Nets have several prolific scorers on the roster to power their offense.

KD fires back at critics questioning his legendary status

 Be careful what you tweet about Kevin Durant because he might just reply and roast you in front of a massive audience.

The Nets superstar took aim at a few random Twitter accounts nitpicking his place among NBA greats.


The chatter didn't stop there as Durant made a point of putting mere mortals in their rightful place yet again.


Durant is notorious for mixing it up with trolling fans on Twitter and while the Nets' leader is a surefire Hall of Famer, he's not all that thin-skinned when it comes to criticism.

As a public figure in the most esteemed basketball league in the planet, criticism is part of the job description. 


Durant can push back on all the casuals as much as he wants, but his play and the Nets' performance this year is the only thing that will ultimately impact his legacy.

 

These three things should scare Nets fans to death

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Optimism is swirling in Brooklyn with Kevin Durant's trade request in the rearview, Kyrie Irving reaffirming his commitment to the franchise and Steve Nash patching his rocky relationship with the star duo. Perhaps you've followed the team since the move to Brooklyn in 2012? Maybe you go back to the early 1980's at Brendan Byrne Arena? Dare I say its inaugural year in 1967 at the Teaneck Armory? Whatever the case may be, Nets fans young and old, near and far, share these three fears this upcoming season. 

Durant will bolt when things get tough

 If the Nets start slow the griping and disenchantment with the franchise from its superstar player will rear its ugly head once again. Brooklyn faces a bevy of top playoff caliber opponents over its first 20 games and if things get off to a clunky started, the supposedly repaired rift between Steve Nash and Durant will see the light of day again. Durant will once again give Joe Tsai an ultimatum: "fire the coach or trade me."

  Kyrie will march to the beat of his own drum


 There always seems to be some kind of excuse for why Irving isn't on the court: nagging injuries, vaccine compliance issues, personal reasons or simply going AWOL without informing the team. It's a tired act for those around him and who root for him, and despite the Nets'point guard insisting he's aiming to play MVP caliber ball, most will only believe it when they see him play game in and game out. 

  Steve Nash's nonsensical coaching decisions 

 Whether it's refusing to play LaMarcus Alridge and largely benching Blake Griffin in the Nets'sweep at the hands of Boston, Nash doesn't have his players' or the fans' trust. Nash will be entering the third year at the helm in Brooklyn and while he's been dealt a chaotic hand with a rotating carousel of players due to trade requests, injuries and ineligibility, he has done little to instill any confidence in his handling of the roster.

 As the Nets embark on a quest for a title, these three ongoing fears and possible scenarios could very well derail a potential championship parade for the Nets and their fans.

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.

Nets History book author interview: Rick Laughland on WFAN New York

 Author Rick Laughland joined host Danielle McCartan on WFAN New York's overnight program to discuss the launch of his new book: A History of the Nets-From Teaneck to Brooklyn.

Nets History book author Rick Laughland on WFAN

Laughland talked about his inspiration for writing the book, the nomadic wanderings of the franchise and the improbable journey that brought the franchise to Brooklyn.


Laughland lists his top players on the Nets Mount Rushmore and whether there's a chance the Nets could find another home outside of Brooklyn at some point in the future.

It's put up or shut-up time for Irving, KD in Brooklyn




 Kyrie Irving will need to show up and show out with the Brooklyn Nets this year if he's hoping to net the long-term contract he feels he deserves. 

Sean Marks and Joe Tsai were reluctant to dole out a mega deal for the talented superstar without assurances that he would be available and willing to play in the vast majority of games this year.

The contract standoff dominated the off-season chatter with Irving unexpectedly opting-in to his deal to stay with the Nets for at least the 2022-23 season.

All signs indicate that Irving is raring and ready to prove he naysayers wrong and let his play do the talking. Unfortunately for the superbly talented shooting guard, injuries, vaccine compliance issues and missing games for personal reasons have tarnished his reputation as one of the league's greats.

At age 30, Irving is approaching the prime years of his career and a crossroads where he'll either need to ball out or bail out with the Nets still setting their sights on an NBA title.

A disgruntled Kevin Durant has officially rescinded his trade request, but things can quickly go South for him and Irving if they don't start the season on a winning track. Durant's incessant tweeting and debating with fans makes for some entertaining drama, but if the Nets are a dysfunctional mess like they were a season ago, even the most staunch Durant and Irving supporters will start to turn on the dynamic duo.

Look for Irving to play inspired ball , but it still remains to be seen whether the commitment he's made to the team this off-season will stand the test of time and be sustained throughout the upcoming season. Durant is content enough now, but holding together a locker room with supersized, yet fragile egos will be a daunting task for Steve Nash and company.


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.



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.
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