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Extensions looming for Harden and Irving means scary hours in Brooklyn is here to stay

General manager Sean Marks is normally cold and calculated in his personnel moves and equally guarded when making these machinations public. So, when Marks met with reporters this week and not so subtly hinted that James Harden and Kyrie Irving are engaged in extension talks, and to take it one step f urther, on the verge of agreeing to long-term deals should excite Nets fans.
With the trio of stars in the fold for the foreseeable future, Brooklyn maintains its status as an Eastern Conference powerhouse. Harden and Irving are fully recovered from injuries suffered during the Milwaukee playoff and have revenge on their minds with the regular season two months away.

Report: Kevin Durant to sign four-year, $198 million extension, Irving, Harden extensions up next?

Sean Marks looks to have an important extension for a key player in the offing as Kevin Durant's agent, Rich Kleiman, expects his client to sign a four-year, $198 million contract, when he is eligible Saturday.




There have been very few reports that the Nets' big three were actively involved in extension talks. Now with the Durant deal likely in the books, Marks and the rest of Brooklyn's front office and team owner Joe Tsai, can turn their attention to Kyrie Irving and James Harden. 

Durant, 32, Harden, 31, and Irving, 29, are in the prime of their careers and more than willing to sacrifice their personal accolades for the betterment of the team. 

The Nets long-term commitment to Durant gives him assurance of a long-standing future with the club and eliminates any type of media-driven distraction speculating about his future.

With a major centerpiece staying with the Nets through the end of his prime years, it's clear the current regime is all-in to deliver a title.


Nets' GM Sean Marks needs to keep his eyes on the prize by inking Irving, Durant and Harden to long term extensions

 The Nets are notorious for keeping contract talks and injury updates under wraps, but the fact that not even a single report has surfaced that Sean Marks is actively involved in discussions to extend Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden is mildly alarming.




All three players hold player options following the upcoming NBA season and while fans fully expect them to be back in Brooklyn on long term extensions, having that loose end hanging out there throughout the 2021-2022 campaign is less than ideal. It would be the backdrop to the team's championship pursuit and force three players who aren't exactly media darlings into answer questions time and time again about their futures.

While Durant is pursuing a Gold Medal with Team USA in Tokyo, Irving and a svelte Harden are in the lab and making use of a full off-season, Marks will need to get their ears and find a mutually beneficial deal to agree to.

Owner Joe Tsai has shown a willingness to spend into the luxury tax and that will be a reality if the Big Three remain in the borough for the foreseeable future.

The Nets have a championship window with three of the top 7 players in the NBA and need to capitalize on the situation as much as possible. Marks can't take his eye off the eight ball now as inking his top playmakers needs to be a top priority before the season starts.



Mike D'Antoni stepping away from Nets coaching staff leaves pressure squarely on Steve Nash's shoulders

 Last year it was the rash of untimely injuries coupled with a pandemic-shortened and disrupted season that contributed to a Nets' second round playoff exit.

Now with a year of coaching under his belt, but without his former coach and top assistant Mike D'Antoni, Steve Nash will have the weight of the world on his shoulders to deliver on the Brooklyn Nets title expectations.

With a hobbled James Harden and Kyrie Irving sidelined in the playoffs, the Nets offense was Kevin Durant centric, without the ball movement and pace of a typical D'Antoni system.

Brooklyn looked stagnant offensively and had it not been for the heroics of Durant to force Milwaukee to the brink of elimination, the Nets may have been ousted even earlier in the series.




Dantoni's signature switching defense was preyed on by a more physically dominating Bucks team and Nash's unwillingness to expand his bench rotation left the offense riding and dying on the broad shoulders of Durant.

D'Antoni is a highly respected coach in the league and is one of the pioneers on the modern day 3-point happy, up-tempo most teams employ.  The long time NBA coach is deserving of another chance to lead a team and garnered a considerable amount of interest from several teams.

Now Nash won't have a sounding board or mentor at his side and will need to do everything on his own, with limited coaching experience and little room for error.

The second-year coach needs to maximize the effectiveness of the league's most talented roster because falling short of a title will put his job in jeopardy.





Forget Spencer Dinwiddie, Extension for Nets' Big-Three needs to be top off-season priority

The Brooklyn Nets top three All-Stars could potentially be gone after the 2021-2022 season. That, and that alone should scare Sean Marks and Joe Tsai enough in to keeping Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden in Brooklyn for the forseeable future priority number one. The status of the Nets trio is undoubtedly the most pressing need facing the team.
Without the Big-three together, the Nets were ousted by Milwaukee in seven games in the second round of the playoffs despite Durant's heroics that fell a hair short, or in his case a shoe size too big. At full strength, Brooklyn is the odds-on favorite to take the Larry O'Brien Trophy in 2022, but the last thing Marks and company want is for potential opt-out/free agent status hanging over their dynamic weapons all season-long.

 If Durant, Irving and Harden are extended long-term, it will calm the anxiety and question marks surrounding how big the Nets champsionship window realy is. In a pandemic impacted year, the Nets fell short of championship expectations as injuries ravaged the team along with much of the NBA's upper echelon teams. 

The Bucks and Suns were simply, the last teams left standing after a shortened off-season and shortage of practice time and training impacted the health and longevity of many players. Heading into the 2021-2022 season, the Nets will have zero excuses. It's championship or bust. Milwaukee took advanatage of a beaten down Nets team to squeak by and capture its first title in 50 years. 

Now, the Nets have a decades-long championship drought they're aiming to snap, so this offseason is the critical time in which Marks, Tsai, and the rest of the team's braintrust need to secure its top talent by extending the Big-three.

Spencer Dinwiddie predicts Nets would have swept Lakers in 2021 NBA Finals if both teams stayed healthy

The consensus pick to represent the Eastern Conference was the Brooklyn Nets. Overloaded with talent, and not short on personality, the Nets merely needed to stay on the court to reach their first NBA Finals since the 2002-2003 season.
Alas, injuries struck down two of the team's three megastars during the playoffs with Kyrie Irving suffering and ankle sprain in Game 4 before missing the remainder of the series and James Harden suffering a grade two right hamstring strain in the opening minutes of Game 1 only to return as a shell of his former self in Games 5-7. When posted the question of what most experts projected to be a Lakers and Nets finals matchup, it wasn't a member of the big three, but instead Spencer Dinwiddie, who was lost in the third game of the regular season with a turn MCL, who picked Brooklyn in a landslide. We'll never know exactly how far the Nets would have made it if healthy and whether the Lakers would have been their opponent had injuries not derailed their title defense hopes. Dinwiddie had been linked to the Lakers in several sign and trade scenarios involving the two clubs, so it will be fascinating to see what coast the talented guard winds up on.

Nets' owner Joe Tsai takes aim at Stephen A. Smith for insensitive remarks about Angels' Shohei Ohtani

Stephen A. Smith put his foot in his mouth yet again this week and received blowback from a number of notable celebrities including Nets owner, Joe Tsai.
Smith, who questioned how Shohei Ohtani could be the face of baseball with a language barrier, deserves whatever is coming his way. The insinuation is insulting to immigrants of all countries, but particular Asian-Americans, a group from which Tsai belongs to. Brooklyn's owner had a witty and direct shot at Smith's ignorant comment.

Nets must re-sign Spencer Dinwiddie, if nothing else than as an insurance policy for Kyrie Irving

Kyrie Irving has missed 70 games the last two seasons between injuries, personal reasons, and rest. The lifelong Nets fan turned franchise savior is an electrifying force when he's healthy and on the court.
Irving has often been plagued by various mental and physical problems and is far from the most durable player in the league, which is why the Nets need to make re-signing Spencer Dinwiddie the team's top priority. Yes, $145 million dollars over five-years sounds like ludicrous money to dole out to a backup point guard, but given Irving's history of missing games, Dinwiddie will likely get significant minutes and represent an important insurance policy for the team's starter.


  Dinwiddie could start on about 20 teams throughout the NBA, but the Nets happen to have a top 3 player at the point guard position, so an embarrassment of riches isn't something Brooklyn should apologize for. Dinwiddie has been far from an iron man during his NBA days and college playing days, but having a sixth man that can go for 25 and 10 on any given night, might be exactly what a championship hopeful team needs with a collection of otherworldly superstars who have a penchant for missing games.

Nets Owner Joe Tsai expected to go deep into luxury tax with Alibaba stock surging

Unlike the majority of the world economy, Alibaba has been one of the select few companies to persevere and actually prosper during a global pandemic.
One of the company's cofounders, Joseph Tsai, happens to own the Brooklyn Nets, a franchise that has an extension for its big three superstars pending this summer. Along with securing the long term futures of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, Spencer Dinwiddie is looking for upwards of a five-year $145 million deal to remain in Brooklyn. Injuries detailed the Nets title hopes, but filling out the roster around the big three will be imperative if they hope to realize their true potential. Paying Dinwiddie will push the franchise deep into the luxury tax, but for a billionaire owner whose personal wealth continues to grow, now is not the time for the Nets to shy away from the luxury tax burden if it's the difference between another early playoff exit or the franchise's first Larry O'Brien trophy.

Spencer Dinwiddie open to returning to Nets, but his asking price is out of sight

Sp
Spencer Dinwiddie is a borderline star with the potential to cash in on a life changing payday. Dinwiddie may get a near-max deal, it just won't come in Brooklyn.


  The Nets backup guard has had both knees surgically repaired since his college days at Colorado, and at the beginning of last year with the Nets, so while he's entering the prime of his career, a history of injuries, along with steep contract demands makes it almost a forgone conclusion his time with the Nets is likely over.

Dinwiddie and Joe Harris are the only two holdovers from Kenny Atkinson's era with the team and during this off-season, Brooklyn will be searching for a new backup point guard. Dinwiddie was a beloved member of Brooklyn during his five seasons with the Nets, but every general manager and owner has tough decisions to make and seeking a sign and trade with Dinwiddie is the best route for the team and player at this point.
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