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Will Nets regret not hiring championship winning coach?



The Brooklyn Nets had an opportunity this off-season to bring in a head coach with C
championship winning experience. In fact, a coach that perhaps took a ring away from the 2020-21 Nets squad. That man, Mike Budenholzer, was ultimately not hired and remains a head coaching free agent. 

According to Shams Charania, Budenholzer, Phoenix assistant Kevin Young, and Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez were among the finalists for Brooklyn's head coaching gig. 

It's unclear why this Nets regime opted for a neophyte head coach in Fernandez as opposed to a well-respected veteran in Budenholzer.

It's likely that Budenholzer commanded a longer term and more lucrative contract that Joe Tsai and Sean Marks were willing to dole out. 

The Nets were actually paying three head coaches this year in Jacque Vaughn, Steve Nash and then ultimately hiring a new candidate to replace the interim Kevin Ollie.

Budenholzer is clearly the ready made option for a roster that has immediate pressure to win and maximize the prime windows of Mikal Bridges and his running mate Cam Johnson. 

The majority of the Nets fan base is in a wait and see mode with Fernandez. It's very likely that the entire coaching philosophy will be vastly different from the past few years. Ultimately, Fernandez's tenure is only going to be measured by wins and losses.

Anytime an organization makes a bold move and passes up on a championship winning coach, they better have shrewd plans in mind to find the next diamond in the rough along the sidelines. 

The NBA is ultimately a players league, and superstars win come playoff time. But the Nets were often at a talent deficit and coaching deficit the past few years after trading. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. 

With out their own picks in the next few drafts, Marks is going to have to do the same creative maneuvering he did when he took over the Nets in 2016 in a similar position.

As for Hernandez, he's going to need to find a way to unlock Bridges and Cam Thomas to get this Brooklyn team back into the playoffs. 





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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. 

One move the Nets have to make this offseason



 The Brooklyn Nets are in NBA purgatory. They're not in a full rebuild, but they're not that far outside the playoff chase, either.

A few roster tweaks and additions, and there's no reason to think the Nets can't be in competition for a play –in spot next season. 

With former Kings highly regarded assistant coach joining in Jordi Fernandez, he's still a neophyte head coach, leaving plenty more questions than answers surrounding this franchise. 

So when evaluating all the coaching staff changes already made including the departure of assistants Kevin Ollie, Will Weaver and Ronnie Burrell along with the additions of Juwan Howard and Steve Hetzel, there will be an entirely new organizational philosophy. 

The Nets may be a player in free agency and dip their toe in the trade market, especially monitoring the statuses of Donovan Mitchell, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and others. 

But after it all, the 1,000 pound gorilla in the room is the albatross that is Ben Simmons' contract. 

As an expiring 40.34 million asset, the often injured Simmons will likely never regain his All-Star form. But he could provide value to teams looking to clear salary off the books. 

If Sean Marks has his wits about him, he is floating Simmons out to teams as an expiring and looking to possibly net another co-star for Mikal Bridges.

Simmons' time with Brooklyn has been marred by injury and his future in the NBA is in serious jeopardy. 

It's time for the Brooklyn Nets to make Simmons another team's problem and maximize his expiring contract to bring back pieces that can help this team win now. 

Trading for a Knick killer could swing pendulum back in Nets' favor



The New York Knicks are playing like superheroes in the 2024 playoffs. After knocking off the 76ers in the opening round, New York will rest upb and prepare to take on Indiana at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of the semi-finals.

While one New York basketball team prepares for a deep playoff run, the other will pick up the broken pieces from its lost season.

The Brooklyn Nets are stuck between a rock and a hard place. They don't own a draft pick in 2024 and general manager Sean Marks has reportedly passed on several opportunities to hit the hard reset button by refusing multiple first round draft picks for Mikal Bridges as well as for Dorian Finney-Smith. 

So with Brooklyn in a retooling phase, adding a marque player via trade may be the most logical route back to contention.

A player often connected to wanting out of his current situation is a noted coach killer and Knicks killer.

That player, none other than Trae Young, may be just what the doctor ordered for Brooklyn.

While Dennis Schröder was a pleasant surprise after adding him at the trade deadline in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn is in dire need of a franchise point guard.

Young fits that bill. Having ousted the Knicks out of the playoffs in 2022, the Atlanta point guard in public enemy number one for New York. 

Young has also developed a reputation as a difficult player to coach, having run Lloyd Pierce and Nate McMillan out of Atlanta.

With Young wearing out his welcome down South, a Nets-Hawks swap might just propel Brooklyn back to relevancy and close the talent gap in the New York City basketball rivalry. 

Why Nets fans should root for the Knicks

 

On May 3rd, starting at 6:00 p.m., the author of: A History of the Nets- from Teaneck to Brooklyn, Rick Laughland, will be signing copies of his book at the Paramus, NJ Barnes and Noble. 

Sometimes you have to root for the lesser of two evils. In this case, Brooklyn Nets fans have to choose between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. 

That's a product of the landscape in the East shifting away from Brooklyn as a powerhouse In light of trading away, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden.

So when Nets fans look at the clear-cut favor to come out of the East, the Boston Celtics, that is also the least desirable outcome. 

Brooklyn will be inextricably linked to Boston following the 2013 trade that sent out unprotected picks for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. 

One of those pics, Jayson Tatum, is evolving into a superstar and face of the league. The last few seasons, the Celtics have been knocking on the door of a championship. 

The pick the Celtics used to select Tatum, was acquired from Brooklyn. So at the end of the day, mission number one becomes knocking out the Celtics. 

When looking across the East, there's no clear-cut option other than possibly the Sixers or Knicks. 

While rooting for either team is like selling your soul to the devil, having Boston hoist them. Larry O'Brien trophy would be a nightmarish scenario. 

With that being said, Nets fan should root for the Knicks to not only beat the Philadelphia team that broke up Brooklyn's big three, but root for the Knicks to knock off the team that owned their draft picks for many years following the first big three trade, in the Boston Celtics. 

Brooklyn races by Sixers squad without Embiid, Maxey




 The Nets bounced back in a big way from a miserable loss to the Grizzlies on Monday night with an impressive win over a shorthanded Sixers squad.

Without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Brooklyn still found itself down by double digits. The Nets did not quit and kept fighting back when they could have easily folded and saw their play-in chances sink further into oblivion. 

Five nets reached double figures including Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schroeder with 20 apiece. 

The Nets, which they seldomly do, out rebounded their opponent- in this case the sixers- 44 to 38. 

Ollie went deep into his bench due to the team playing its second game in two nights. Ten players saw the floor with each of them getting in the scoring column and making their presence felt. 

Brooklyn will have an off night after the back-to-back and we'll take on a reeling Detroit Pistons squad on Thursday night. 


Nets get mauled by undermanned Grizzlies

 


The Brooklyn Nets may have just suffered their worst loss than the season.

 Against a Memphis Grizzlies squad that was missing five of its best players, the Nets found a way to squander a chance for a third consecutive victory. 

Only Nick Claxton topped the 20 point plateau with 21 points, while Luke kennard notched to season high 25 points. Brooklyn missed 13 free throws and was out rebounded 50 to 33.

Kevin Ollie and company have no one blame but themselves But for a borderline embarrassing loss to a G-league Memphis squad. 

Nets beat Hawks again to inch closer to final play-in spot

 


Behind Mikal Bridges' 38 points and a scorching hot 15 or 32 from downtown, the Nets won their second consecutive game. 

Brooklyn is now two games behind Atlanta for the number 10 seed and the final play-in spot. 

Cam Johnson went for 23 while Nick Claxton scored 12 points and ripped down 13 rebounds. 

Without Cam Thomas and Ben Simmons in the lineup due to injuries, Brooklyn put on a show in front of the home crowd.

The Nets season has been in turmoil, but with a softer schedule coming up and two wins under the belts against the Hawks, life has been breathed backed into this often. Listless nets squad. 

Brooklyn hosts Memphis on Monday looking for its third straight win. 

Short-handed Nets romp Hawks by 27



 Brooklyn sent a message to the team its chasing for the final play-in spot on Thursday night by handing Atlanta a 27-point defeat. 

The Nets played arguably the most complete game of the season. Cam Johnson went for a game high 29, while Dennis Schroeder chipped in 23. 

Brooklyn shot a sizzling 22 /46 from three point range while committing just nine turnovers. 

It's been a rollercoaster ride under interim head coach Kevin Ollie. Brooklyn suffered blowout losses to Toronto and Minnesota to open his tenure followed by a blowout win of the Grizzlies. This week the Nets were dismantled in Orlando, only to return home and destroy the Hawks. 

Brooklyn will have a familiar opponent in town on Saturday as they welcome in Atlanta.

Another win over the half and the Nets will be a mere two games back of the play-in race. 

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