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From championship slayer to coach killer, it was KD's fault afterall

 


When you think about the most uncoachable players in the NBA, there are a few names that come to mind. These players specifically have a penchant for getting coaches fired. 

Lebron James and Kyrie Irving are among the first to be considered as difficult to manage and easy to place the blame on others. 

But there is in fact one player that actually takes the cake when it comes to uncoachability.

Surprising or not, that man is Kevin Durant. 

Since arriving in Brooklyn in 2019, Durant briefly played for Kenny Atkinson before he was ousted out of Brooklyn and the Nets hired Steve Nash. Durant quickly grew tired of Nash and issued the Nets an ultimatum during his first trade request: 'fire Nash and Sean Marks or trade me'. 

Durant rescinded his first trade request, and Nash was only back for the first handful of games to start the 2022 season before Brooklyn pulled the plug and anointed Jacque Vaughn as the new full-time head coach with an extension. 

Then Durant revisited his trade request right before the trade deadline and was dealt to Phoenix. 

The Suns reached the second round of the playoffs last year before losing in five games to the eventual NBA champion Nuggets with Monty Williams as Durant's head coach. 

To no one's surprise, Phoenix then made another coaching change and hired a title winning coach in Frank Vogel to lead the sidelines. 

The Suns underachieved this year and were swept out of the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

This week it was announced that Vogel was fired and former head coach with the Bucks an NBA champion Mike Budenholzer is expected to take over.

So this will be Kevin Durant's sixth different head coach since he joined the Nets in the summer of 2019. 

He cycled through three coaches in Brooklyn and now is on his third coach in Phoenix. 

Durant hurt his NBA legacy by super team jumping after leaving Oklahoma City and now his reputation is taking another hit for being a coach killer late in his career. 


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. 

Nets make NBA history with latest head coaching hiring




 When the Brooklyn Nets hired former Kings assistant Jordi Fernandez to take over their head coaching duties, I'm not sure even they knew history was being made. 

As a respected coach across the league, Fernandez was voted the best assistant coach in a league GM survey. He's also the fifth ever European-born coach and the fifth youngest NBA coach ever to be hired. 

But all those facts pale in comparison to the fact that Fernandez is the first Spanish-born coach in NBA History.

There are only three Spanish-born players currently in the NBA and eleven total from Spanish speaking countries. 

Fernandez is adored and praised by his peers in the NBA and from Team Canada. The Nets are hoping that his worldly experience will help develop a roster that vastly underachieved in 2023-24.

Only time will tell, but Brooklyn can hold claim to setting league history by appointing Fernandez as the main man in charge.

Nets listed as favorites to land reigning MVP if he requests a trade

 


In the history of the Brooklyn Nets, New Jersey Nets, New York Nets and one year as the New Jersey Americans, the franchise has never had an NBA MVP award winner.

Even with all the marquee names to don a Nets uniform in Buck Williams, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, not one has earned that honor while playing with the club. 

There is one player that is a reigning MVP winner still in his prime listed as a potential Brooklyn Net if things continue to go South in his current city. 

The 2023 NBA MVP, Joel Embiid, is favored to land with the Nets as +300, according to Betonline.com, if he wants out of Philly.


Embiid just turned 30 and with a history of injuries along with a big lumbering 7-foot frame, the Sixers center is starting to get antsy in his chase for a championship. 

It's curious that the Nets are even on this list, nevertheless, at the top of it, because Brooklyn is several pieces away from even being considered a championship contender.

Philadelphia general manager Daryl Morey is supposed to go big game hunting this summer to pair both Embiid and Maxey with another star. 

If the Sixers failed to bring in a big star like Jimmy Butler or another piece capable of getting them past the second round, the noise surrounding Embiid leaving the City of Brotherly Love will only grow louder. 



Overpaying this free agent would be fatal mistake for Nets' GM

 


There's one player on the Nets roster who Is a pending free agent and the most polarizing figure on the roster within the team's fan base. 

He's averaging a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds along with two blocks on 62.9% from the field. At 25 years of age, the fan base is hoping the best is yet to come from him. 

Unfortunately, for Nets general manager Sean Marks, resigning this player at the wrong price could be a death wish. 

Center Nic Claxton, who is reportedly might command a contract extension in the neighborhood of a $25 million of average annual value (AAV), would be a major mistake for Brooklyn.

Claxton has been a solid player for the Nets, but in the same mold as a Clint Capela, paying him as a top center would not make much sense for the future of the franchise.

Many within the Nets fan base and Twitter base have grossly overestimated Claxton's value and what he deserves on the open market. 

Claxton's free agent market isn't exactly as robust as many expect. Don't anticipate teams lining up to pay a player who is incapable of making a mid-range jump shot top dollar on the open market. 

While the Nets bringing Claxton back at the right price range of $15-$18 million is understandable, anything over the $20 million Mark would just be pure lunacy and a fireable offence for Marks. 


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. 

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