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Nets slated for first round playoff matchup with Raptors if NBA decides to forgo rest of regular season


The Brooklyn Nets currently sit in the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference and line up for a matchup with the defending Toronto Raptors. The rest of the NBA season is in serious jeopardy, but a reports surfaced today that the league could potentially see the Finals fall as far back as August and then start the 2020-2021 season on Christmas Day.

It's a strange scenario that many fans wouldn't find ideal, but is the product of the havoc that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused. The arrangement that would make the most sense for Adam Silver and company is to just start the playoffs when the league returns and get ahead of the game. If that was the case, Brooklyn would take on Toronto in what would be a daunting series for the Nets.

The issue would become how would players looking to shake rust off that haven't shot basketball in nearly two months return to playoff-caliber basketball albeit in potentially empty arenas. The other scenario is for the NBA to play five tune-out games that would count toward the standings, but shorten the length of the regular season therein allowing the teams to get their feet under them without causing the playoffs to carry too far into the summer months.

The current pandemic has thrown everyone for a whirl, but the idea of a Nets-Raptors matchup with an outside chance of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant playing will excite even the most casual of basketball fans. 

Laughland: Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving might be ready to return to play for Nets before NBA returns


As basketball fans anxiously await the return of NBA basketball, Nets fans may see two of the team's star players back healthy before the NBA resumes games. With COVID-19 sweeping the globe, fans anxiously await for the death tolls to plummet and a gradual return to normalcy.

With some within the medical and scientific community indicating that COVID-19 could be present in society for a year or more, some NBA fans and players are simply hoping that the 2020-2021 season starts on time.

While many things are in the air in that regard, Nets' stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are still nursing their way back to full health. With HSS essentially closed down due to COVID-19, it's had a deletorious impact on the standout duo's rehab from injury.

Durant would be one-year from his Achilles injury this June and Irving would be three-months out from shoulder impingement surgery that he underwent in March 3.

The likelihood that an NBA season will take place at all is shrinking by the minute as other countries have experienced multiple waves of outbreaks. The plan is to slowly start opening up the country and get the public back to some sense of normalcy, but the imminent threat of another outbreak makes it difficult for leagues to resume play with the possiblity that things could be shut back down.

If the 2019-2020 season does resume play, it's not out of the realm of possiblities that Irving and Durant could make an appearance afterall. 

Nets Sign Caris LeVert to Contract Extension


The Brooklyn Nets locked up another member of their young core by signing forward Caris LeVert to a three-year contract extension worth $52.5 million. 
LeVert, 25, will have the extension kick in beginning the 2021 season where he will make $16.2 million, $17.5 in 2022, and $18.8 million during the final year of the extension. 
The Nets look primed to be one of the best teams in the eastern conference over the next couple of years with players like Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jodan, and now LeVert looking to usher in a new era for Brooklyn. 
LeVert entered the league in 2016 when he was drafted in the first round by the Nets out of the University of Michigan. Even though he played only 42 games last season due to an ankle injury, he showed promise for the Nets in limited action. 
LeVert was averaging a tick under 13 points-per-game before he was sidelined for the rest of the 2018-2019 season. 
The contract extension shows that General Manager Sean Marks, and the rest of the Nets brass, believes LeVert can be a crucial cog for the team going forward. The team also believes LeVert will be able to recover fully from his ankle injury, and build on what was his best season in the NBA up until his injury. 
The extension LeVert received was a well-deserved one because he improved during all three years of his career. With the ballooning of salaries in the NBA, getting LeVert for an average salary of slightly over $17 million/year will seem like a bargain when it kicks in beginning the 2021 season. 
The extension also gives LeVert a sense of security and will allow him to focus on recovering fully from his injury, and trying to help lead the Nets to their first NBA Championship in franchise history. 
LeVert should also see an increased role this season for head coach Kenny Atkinson’s squad with marquee free agent Kevin Durant being unable to play for the majority of the year, if he is even able to play at all. Durant suffered a torn Achilles in the 2019 NBA Finals which put his 2019-2020 season in serious doubt. 
If LeVert is able to build off last season, and fill in admirably during the absence of Durant, he will more than outplay the salary the Nets will be paying him this season and going forward. 
During the 2019-2020 season, LeVert will make just over $2.6 million. 
The Nets rewarded LeVert for his steady improvement all throughout his NBA career, and he will be staying in Brooklyn for the foreseeable future. 

Alibaba co-founder purchases full Nets ownership for record 2.35B







The Brooklyn Nets are going to be under new ownership once again as founder of the site Alibaba Joseph Tsai  is poised to purchase the team.

The inkling by Tsai to purchase the team is  not anything new, Tsai purchased a 49-percent share of the Nets from current owner Mikhail Prokhorov to the tune of $1 billion in 2017.
Now, with Tsai looking to purchase the remaining 51-percent of the team for $1.3 billion, the total price Tsai will have paid for the Nets will be a whopping $2.3 billion.

If this deal ends up going through the $2.3 billion will be the most ever paid for an American professional sports team.

This historic figure comes at a time where values for professional sporting teams are skyrocketing. Eight teams in the NBA are valued at over $1 billion.
Earlier this summer, Forbes valued the Nets at $2.3 billion, which makes them the sixth-most valuable team in the National Basketball Association.

According to the stipulations of the agreement when Tsai purchased 49-percent stake of the Nets in 2017, he reserved the right to purchase the remaining 51 percent before the 2021-2022 season.
For one reason or another, Tsai had decided to exercise his option two years early and add the Nets to his portfolio.

Tsai is purchasing what should be one of the most interesting teams in basketball over the next handful of years. Coming off a summer that saw the Nets sign the likes of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan, in addition to a young core from last season, the Nets look to be a threat in the league for years to come.

Prokhorov purchased the Nets for under $400 million in 2009, and his imminent departure as team owner will be met with a sense of joy from Nets fans everywhere.

Prokhorov’s ten-year ownership stint will not be remembered positively in the annals of NBA history. 

Prokhorov only presided over three winning seasons during his stewardship, and the Nets had the third-worst record in the league over the past decade at 300-504.

Also, the Nets only were only able to win one playoff series under Prokhorov, which was in 2014 when they upended the Raptors in seven.

The Prokhorov tenure was rife with dysfunction from the sidelines all the way up to the front office. With signings of aging veterans like Gerald Wallace, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett in addition to five coaches there are not many positive things to remember from Prokhorov’s time.
With the big news of the Brooklyn Nets being purchased by an individual that is excitied to do so, Nets fans hope to see the dysfunction of the last decade washed away as they ride the coattails of their dynamic duo of Durant and Irving to NBA supremacy for years to come.

What to Make of Nets 2019-2020 Schedule

The 2019-20 schedule was just released for the Brooklyn Nets, and along with its release comes a sense of optimism, excitement, and uncertainty for head coach Kenny Atkinson’s squad.
The Nets had a successful offseason by all accounts as they were able to sign three marquee free agents: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan.
Durant was poached from the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, Irving comes to Brooklyn from the Boston Celtics, and Jordan spurned the cross-town rival Knicks to come to Brooklyn.
The Nets enter the 2019-2020 with higher expectations than they have had in years and are looking to build off last season that saw them notch the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 42-40.
The Nets play 20 games on national television during the 2019-2020 season and begin their season against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Barclays Center on Oct. 23, 2019.
Irving’s return to his former team, the Boston Celtics, will come on Nov. 27, 2019. Just two days later on Nov. 29, 2019 the Celtics will come to Brooklyn and Irving will have a home-and-home with the team he left just a few months ago.
Other marquee names for the Nets include:
Nov.1: vs. Houston
Jan. 15: @Philadelphia
Jan. 18: vs. Milwaukee
Jan. 23: vs. Lakers
Feb.5:  vs. Warriors
March 12: @Golden State
March 25: vs. Clippers
The biggest single day of the NBA year, Christmas Day, will not see the Nets in action. This is probably due to the unsure return of Durant, a former MVP and Finals MVP. The Nets instead play the Knicks at home on Dec. 26. 2019. With just a one day difference the game loses quite a bit of luster even though it is a battle for New York basketball supremacy. 
The question in the mind of Nets fans everywhere is when the Nets should expect to see Kevin Durant back on the floor and paired with Irving, Jordan, Caris LeVert, and the rest of the young core the Nets have.
Durant suffered a torn Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Durant had surgery on June 12, 2019. The timetable for this sort of injury is 9-12 months, which means the best case scenario for Durant is mid-March, which means he will have approximately 15 games left to go in the regular season before the Nets would presumably begin the NBA Playoffs.
 An interesting nugget that coincides with a nine-month recovery is the Nets face off with the Warriors on March 12, 2019 on the road. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Durant has circled this game on his calendar as when he would like to make his return to the court.
The Nets training staff cannot let Durant step on the court until he is 100 percent physically able to do so. Nobody quite knows if Durant will ever return to his pre-injury form, but Nets fans are hoping he could show the league he is just as good as he ever was. 
The precedent for NBA players returning from Achilles injuries is not a positive one with players like Kobe Bryant, Brandon Jennings and Isaiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) all either retiring or not able to regain their form post-injury.
Durant, and the Nets training staff, must be very smart in how they deal with Durant. Durant, who will be 31 this September, is still in his athletic prime and should not sacrifice the remaining years of his career for a 20 game cameo at the end of this season.
Durant tried to return early, and help his team win a third consecutive NBA Finals, and now he finds himself watching on the sidelines with a debilitating injury. 
A more plausible return for Durant is April 1, 2019, at home against Detroit. This will give him almost the entirety of the season to recover, and eight games to get his feet under him before the NBA Playoffs begin.
If Durant has any sort of setbacks, or uncertainty, the Brooklyn Nets will have to wait until October of 2020 before they will see Durant suit up for the Nets.




Kyrie's revenge game and Kevin Durant's possible return date highlight Nets schedule release




The 2019-20 schedule was just released for the Brooklyn Nets, and along with its release comes a sense of optimism, excitement, and uncertainty for head coach Kenny Atkinson’s squad.
The Nets had a successful offseason by all accounts as they were able to sign three marquee free agents: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and DeAndre Jordan.
Durant was poached from the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors, Irving comes to Brooklyn from the Boston Celtics, and Jordan spurned the cross-town rival Knicks to come to Brooklyn.
The Nets enter the 2019-2020 with higher expectations than they have had in years and are looking to build off last season that saw them notch the 6th spot in the Eastern Conference with a record of 42-40.
The Nets play 20 games on national television during the 2019-2020 season and begin their season against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Barclays Center on Oct. 23, 2019.
Irving’s return to his former team, the Boston Celtics, will come on Nov. 27, 2019. Just two days later on Nov. 29, 2019 the Celtics will come to Brooklyn and Irving will have a home-and-home with the team he left just a few months ago.
Other marquee names for the Nets include:
Nov.1: vs. Houston
Jan. 15: @Philadelphia
Jan. 18: vs. Milwaukee
Jan. 23: vs. Lakers
Feb.5:  vs. Warriors
March 12: @Golden State
March 25: vs. Clippers
The biggest single day of the NBA year, Christmas Day, will not see the Nets in action. This is probably due to the unsure return of Durant, a former MVP and Finals MVP. The Nets instead play the Knicks at home on Dec. 26. 2019. With just a one day difference the game loses quite a bit of luster even though it is a battle for New York basketball supremacy. 
The question in the mind of Nets fans everywhere is when the Nets should expect to see Kevin Durant back on the floor and paired with Irving, Jordan, Caris LeVert, and the rest of the young core the Nets have.
Durant suffered a torn Achilles in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Durant had surgery on June 12, 2019. The timetable for this sort of injury is 9-12 months, which means the best case scenario for Durant is mid-March, which means he will have approximately 15 games left to go in the regular season before the Nets would presumably begin the NBA Playoffs.
 An interesting nugget that coincides with a nine-month recovery is the Nets face off with the Warriors on March 12, 2019 on the road. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Durant has circled this game on his calendar as when he would like to make his return to the court.
The Nets training staff cannot let Durant step on the court until he is 100 percent physically able to do so. Nobody quite knows if Durant will ever return to his pre-injury form, but Nets fans are hoping he could show the league he is just as good as he ever was. 
The precedent for NBA players returning from Achilles injuries is not a positive one with players like Kobe Bryant, Brandon Jennings and Isaiah Thomas (Detroit Pistons) all either retiring or not able to regain their form post-injury.
Durant, and the Nets training staff, must be very smart in how they deal with Durant. Durant, who will be 31 this September, is still in his athletic prime and should not sacrifice the remaining years of his career for a 20 game cameo at the end of this season.
Durant tried to return early, and help his team win a third consecutive NBA Finals, and now he finds himself watching on the sidelines with a debilitating injury. 
A more plausible return for Durant is April 1, 2019, at home against Detroit. This will give him almost the entirety of the season to recover, and eight games to get his feet under him before the NBA Playoffs begin.
If Durant has any sort of setbacks, or uncertainty, the Brooklyn Nets will have to wait until October of 2020 before they will see Durant suit up for the Nets.

Kevin Durant says 'hell no' to blaming Warriors for Achilles injury


It was Kevin Durant's decision and his alone to come back for Game 5 of the NBA finals after injuring his calf just a few weeks earlier in the semifinal round against the Houston Rockets. Durant told Yahoo! Sports that the Warriors medical staff shouldn't be blamed in the least for him returning prematurely to try and rescue Golden State from a 3-1 series deficit to the Toronto Raptors.

“Hell, no. How can you blame [the Warriors]? Hell, no,” Durant told Yahoo Sports. “I heard the Warriors pressured me into getting back. Nobody never said a word to me during rehab as I was coming back. It was only me and [director of sports medicine and performance] Rick [Celebrini] working out every day. Right when the series started, I targeted Game 5. Hell, nah. It just happened. It’s basketball. S--- happens. Nobody was responsible for it. It was just the game. We just need to move on from that s--- because I’m going to be back playing.”

 If you take Durant at his word, it vindicates his former team from some of the blame, but the question still remains how was he medically cleared to play when many believe the Achilles ruptured he suffered was likely connected to his injured calf that hadn't fully healed? 

 Regardless of how he felt, Durant admitted that the plan all along was for him to play in Game 5. 
“No matter what the series was, I was aiming for Game 5,” he said. “That’s why I played when it was 3-1. No matter what, I just wanted to play in the Finals. I just wanted to hoop, especially if I could be out there. I was feeling good leading up to it. I was working out every day. I was gradually getting back to myself doing the two-a-days. I was really locked in on my game and trying to get back. I really wanted to play in that series.”
Before concluding the interview, Durant couldn't help but take a parting shot at the Raptors, whose fans initially cheered his injury when he went down. 
“It will probably be the last time they will be in the Finals,” Durant noted. 
This will make for a very intriguing Atlantic Division rivalry when Durant return to the court. 


Kevin Durant: 'If I was leaving the Warriors, it was always going to be for the Nets'



The Nets newly acquired superstar spoke to Yahoo! Sports about setting the recod straight on where he ultimately wanted to land this offseason.

“If I was leaving the Warriors, it was always going to be for the Nets,” Durant said. “They got the pieces and a creative front office. I just like what they were building.”

Clearly the superstar had his sights set on Brooklyn due to the culture that was built by Sean Marks and Kenny Atkinson and of course the fact the Nets signed Kyrie Irving to play alongside him. As far as when he ultimately decided to choose the Nets over the Warriors, Durant hinted that he kept his focus on chasing another title with Golden State, but once free agency was underway, the choice was clear.

“June 30," Durant told Yahoo! Sports. "That morning. I never wanted to disrespect the game by putting my focus on the future. It was always about that day, focusing on that day and what was most important that day. And throughout the season, basketball is the No. 1 thing.”

Many critics have questioned Durant's decision to forgo New York's most popular basketball team, the Knicks, and sign with the up and coming Nets. Durant, speaking frankly, didn't waste anytime in suggesting the move was something he felt compelled to do.

“Because I wanted to,” Durant said. “The basketball was appealing.”

It's not even worth arguing what franchise has been better over the past decade-plus between the Knicks and the Nets. While Madison Square Garden is alluring and has history on its side over  the Barclays Center, the Nets are clearly the better run organization. Durant can't be faulted for his decision to close the book on the Warriors and try to write a new legacy in Brooklyn.




EXCLUSIVE: Renowned surgeon ‘wouldn’t change Durant’s injury timetable based on Nets fan's anecdotal theory’





Earlier this week a Nets fan concocted a thought-provoking theory that has no scientific backing to prove it, just anecdotal evidence to support it. The fan suggests that Kevin Durant could return to the court sooner than most expect since the Achilles injury he suffered impacted his non-dominant leg. In this "theory," the fan surmises that the right-handed Durant will face an easier road to recovery since he relies more on is left foot than his right foot for jumping as well as his explosive first step off the dribble.



Despite the rather lengthly list of right-handed players with injured left Achilles who failed to return to pre-injury form, the fan is far from an expert in the medical field. Dr. Weinfeld, Chief of Foot and Ankle surgery at The Mount Sinai Health System, has the medical background and credentials to effectively test this theory, and let's just say the renowned surgeon isn't as convinced of Durant's expedited injury timetable as the overly optimistic Nets fan is.

"I think it’s an interesting finding," admitted Weinfeld of the Nets fan's theory. "It sounds anecdotal meaning people have gone back and looked at who’s who and what has happened to them, but no one has really studied it in an objective way. That would be great if that‘s the case, but I just don’t know if there’s any science to support what they’re saying. You think about a right-handed player, their first step would be pushing off the opposite side, but the doctors that are taking care of these players want to make sure that the strength of the operated limb is there before they go back and play. They still have to rehab whether it be the left or right side. They still have to strengthen that area enough to support the demands of a professional athlete. That’s really what the doctors are thinking before they clear the player to go back. I don’t think they’re considering right versus left, I think they’re considering the strength of the limb that’s been injured."


Part of the theorgy cites how the right and left hemisphere of the brain control the opposite sides of the body as a basis for why Durant's rehab will go smoother than many critics anticipate. According to Dr. Weinfeld, there are still missing pieces to that puzzle.

"I think it’s something that’s interesting to study," admitted Dr. Weinfeld. "The right brain controls the left side of the body and vice versa. There are dominant parts of the brain, but I don’t know if that would affect somebody’s rehabilitation."

Essentially there doesn't appear a causal link between dominant areas of the brain and increase rehabilitation and recovery. As with everything in the medical field, more research needs to be conducted to prove or disprove this assertion.


"Looking at statistics, there may be some truth to it, but I don’t see the scientific evidence to back it up," noted Mount Sinai's surgeron. "It would probably require some study before you could say that was accurate."

As far as moving up Durant's expected recovery, Dr. Weinfeld isn't putting the cart in front of the horse just yet, and believes more research needs to be done on the topic.

"I would not," noted Dr. Weinfeld of adjusting Durant's injury timetable. "I would say based on when his right leg is strong enough to do what he needs to do as a professional NBA player. I would not change my timetable based on some anecdotal Information."

T.J. Kidd: 'Kyrie doesn’t have to come in and be the next Jason Kidd for the Nets'



Comparisons between Jason Kidd's arrival with the Nets franchise and Kyrie Irving landing with Brooklyn are aplenty, but don't tell T.J. Kidd, son of the former Nets great that. Speaking with Nets Insider, T.J. Kidd weighed in on what intangibles Irving will bring both on and off the court at Barclays Center and how his circumstances are much different than his father's when the Nets made a blockbuster trade to acquire him back in 2001.

"Kyrie Irving is a top tier point guard in the league as my dad was when he came from the Suns," said the son of the first ballot Hall of Famer. "Both had all-star seasons before joining the Nets. When my dad came it was via trade. Kyrie joined via free agency after playing for the Celtics last season. So I wouldn’t compare their arrivals. Two incredibly talented basketball players for their times. Kyrie doesn’t have to come in and be the next Jason Kidd for the Nets. He’s won a championship already with the Cavs. He’s a championship caliber player. He just has to come in and be the same Kyrie Irving he’s always been. I think he’s going to be great for the Nets. When my dad came the year before they won 26 games. Kyrie is coming to a team fresh off a playoff appearance. I wish Kyrie the same and even more success my dad has and I look forward to seeing him in a Nets uniform."

Prior to Kidd joining the Nets, the team was mired in medicority and destined yet again to be another lottery-bound squad. The man they called "The Captain" transformed the culture of the team, while bringing a winning attitude and much-needed change in leadership to the Meadowlands. As T.J. Kidd noted, the Nets won just 26 games prior to trading for Kidd, and in his first season with the team he doubled its win total and at the time completed the best single-season turnaround in NBA history.

On the contrary, the 2019 Brooklyn Nets won 42 games--good enough for the sixth seed in the East--and bowed out in five games to Philadelphia 76ers. Not only are the comparisons between Kidd and Irving off, this version of Nets basketball is far different from the one fans experienced in the early-2000s, according to T.J. Kidd.

"I was very young when the Nets acquired my dad," admitted T.J. Kidd. "I wouldn’t really compare the two off-seasons because I don’t like to compare two different eras of basketball. Also we haven’t seen this new Nets team play yet. Back then the pace of the game was more physical than it is today. The Nets of that time was a different team. That team was extremely lethal on the fast break. They played with a different type of physicality on the defensive side of the ball. My dad was a walking triple double. I wouldn’t necessarily say that they can dominate the east just yet. At full strength this new Nets team on paper I believe will be very tough to beat. I’m not sure if they’ll dominate the east like that team did. That’s for them to prove. I think we all are going to have to wait and see on what they can do. I think that this with this Nets team at full strength the sky is the limit."

T.J. Kidd is a lot more hopeful than some skeptics who believe that Irving is not cut-out for a leadership role in Brooklyn, while Kevin Durant's Achilles injury will likely sideline him for the entire 2019-2020 season and criticscontend that he won't be the same player he was before the injury when he returns to the court. From a leadership standpoint, Irving and Kidd aren't even in the same stratosphere, but the former Cav and Celtic has championship pedigree and can forged a heck of a dynamic duo alongside Durant when he returns healthy. Beyond just Durant and Irving, T.J. Kidd took special notice to the rest of the roster that helped carry the team to a playoff berth last year.


"I believe the Nets had a fantastic offseason," offered T.J. Kidd. "They went out and got two max superstar free agents in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. I love them signing Deandre Jordan as well. I think that having a big man that plays his style of game and he does it well. I think he’s going to be huge on how they develop Jared Allen going forward, who I believe is going to be a great big man in the league down the line, learning from a big man like Deandre Jordan will only benefit him. I like how deep they are as well. Joe Harris can shoot the lights out. I think Caris LeVert is going to have a great year and I’m excited to see what he’s going to do. I like their bench a lot. Solid role players that complement the guys I’ve already mentioned. The Nets are cooking up something special. I believe that their front office did a tremendous job at building a strong basketball culture and that’s why I believe they’ll have a lot of success going forward and that they had such great success this past offseason. At full strength I believe they’ll be a very tough team to beat. I’m excited to watch them next season and going forward. Nets fans have a lot to be excited about."

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