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Kyrie Irving has simple but powerful message for social media followers

 



Critics come out the woodwork to attack Kyrie Irving for his life choices, outlook on the world and the way he carries himself day to day.

Irving marches to the beat of his own drum and reinforced that message to his followers with a short but sweet post via Twitter.




 The Nets floor general has been the subject of vitriol from fans for his unceremonious exit from Boston and his mysterious absence from the Nets midway through this past season.

The mercurial superstar is perhaps a misunderstood figure, but he's not going to spend anymore time worrying about conforming to society's standards.

Brooklyn is the odds on favorite to take the championship and if Irving can push aside the detractors in the media and within NBA fan circles, it will only serve him even better this upcoming season.


Former Nets castoff could be starting option at center for Lakers

DeAndre Jordan and the Brooklyn Nets had an amicable break-up this month. Jordan, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden still maintain a brotherhood off the court despite no longer being able to call each other teammates.

 Merely days after joining Los Angeles, a situation in which Jordan was blocked from significant minutes by the presence of Marc Gasol and Dwight Howard, the former has been shipped to Memphis. Howard is the frontrunner to grab the starting spot with the Lakers, a team he's now in his third stint with, but with Gasol gone, Jordan has a chance to complete for that starting spot, but at the very least it has opened up some possible minutes for him to play an integral role in a championship push. 

 The Nets castoff was a poor fit in Steve Nash's switch heavy schemes, and brings athleticism to a Lakers squad evidently looked to move on from the powerful, but lumbering Gasol. 

 The Nets are the bettor's favorites to win the title and the Lakers are right behind them in that conversation. 

If the East's Giant meets the Western juggernaut in June, adding an ex-Net to the opposing side will only add more intrigue to a potentially compelling NBA Finals matchup.

Paul Millsap officially signs with the Brooklyn Nets

 Free agent forward Paul Millsap has finalized a deal to join the Brooklyn Nets, although as per team policy, details of the deal were not disclosed. 

A 15-year veteran with stops in Utah, Atlanta and Denver, Millsap has been on the Nets' radar for some time. For his career, the seasoned big man has averaged 13.7 points and 7.2 rebounds on 49 percent shooting from the floor and 34.3 percent from 3-point range. 

Millsap ranks second among all active NBA players in games played trailing only LeBron James' 1,072. Millsap is the only player to have over 1,000 blocks and 1,000 steals during that span. Brooklyn is hoping to bolster a front court that was razor thin a season ago by adding the grizzled vet. 

It's unclear how minutes will shake out for Millsap given the signing of LaMaracus Aldridge, James Johnson's presence on the roster, Sekou Doumbouya, DeAndre Bembry and Nicolas Claxton also battling for minutes. 

Depth is not a bad problem to have and Steve Nash has an embarrassment of riches in the talent department with James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to go along with an experienced bench full off former All-Stars. 

At 36, Millsap is past the prime of his career, but he could relish the opportunity to be a spark plug of the bench and most importantly serve as a critical factor in the Nets' playoff push. 

US Open finalist Leylah Annie Fernandez draws inspiration from fellow Canadian Steve Nash sitting in her box

Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash has inspired players of all ages to work hard and not just on the basketball court.

Leylah Annie Fernandez, who clinched a spot in the US Open final against Emma Raducanu of Britain, notes that her father wanted her to model her work ethic after Nash.

The finals matchup is the first time since 1968 that both players are unseeded and qualified for the US Open final.

Fernandez and Raducanu are both teenagers, so there's a strong possibility both will be regular contenders in major tournaments in the years to follow.

As for Nash, he's an avid tennis player and fan when he's not managing the big talent in Brooklyn and Fernandez gleefully joked they'll need to set up a 1-on-1 match to test his level of play.

The Nets head man has been a regular celebrity spectator at Arthur Ashe, sitting in Coco Gauff's box and Vasek Pospisil's earlier in the tournament.

Action is heating up on both the women's and men's side in Flushing, but it must be extra meaningful to have such a bright young star representing Canada in spectacular fashion at tennis' showcase event.

Kevin Durant fires back at fan questioning Antonio Brown's character with hilarious LeBron GIF

 Kevin Durant doesn't pull any punches when it comes to social media.


Careful what you tweet because he may come for you.

When a fan questioned all the character issues Antonio Brown has had over the course of his career, the Nets star was having none of it.


It's opening night in the NFL and clearly everyone is paying attention, including some of the NBA's biggest star. 

 Nets training camp opens September 28 and Brooklyn will travel to Milwaukee October 19 to open the 2021-2022 NBA season.

Kyrie Irving admits to past mistakes, points critics to personal growth

Kyrie Irving is a polarizing athlete. Whether it's his thoughts on the shape of the earth, unpopular opinions in the political or social realm, or most importantly to Nets fans, the disappearing act he pulled in Brooklyn this past season. 

 Give the man credit for admitting he may have been misguided in his decisions and world views, but he's a man that marches to the beat of his own drum.

 In a team sport and under the media microscope in the New York market, along with being in the national spotlight, this can lead to a lot of scrutiny and criticism. When healthy and on the court, Irving has proven to be an All-NBA caliber talent. Unfortunately for the Nets and their fans, the starting point guard was in and out of the lineup for a multitude of reasons. 

 Irving went social media silent for thee majority of the past coupleb of years, but in recent weeks has responded to news-mostly negative-about him. 

 If Brooklyn is hoping to achieve greatness and raise a banner in Brooklyn, they're going to need a physically, mentally and spiritually healthy Irving.
 
If his growth and maturation off the court can translate to  better focus and more consistent time on the court, that's a good thing for the Nets and bad news for the rest of the league.

Nets bench is rebuilt, but is it truly better than last season?

Youth for experience. Athleticism for efficiency. Those are the tradeoffs Sean Marks made with he took last year's bench and put it in the burn pile and reshuffled the deck to bring in veteran help in the form of Mills, LaMarcus Aldridge, Paul Millsap and James Johnson

Yes, many think rookie Cam Thomas will burst onto the scene as evidenced by his NBA Summer league MVP showing as well as being regarded by scouts as this draft's top scorer.

Jevon Carter, acquired in a draft day trade with Phoenix and Nicholas Claxton are also part of the under 25 club coming off the bench, but their pathway to the court will likely be blocked by savvy veterans on a win-now team.

Rookie Day'Ron Sharpe and a non guaranteed contract for DeAndre Bembry round out the end of the team's reserve spots.

A Nets'bench that was predominantly under age 28 outside of backup point guard Mike James, is now littered with 34 and older regular rotation players.

The experience factor is enormous when it comes up NBA playoff basketball, so by trading in unseasoned players for polished pros, Marks is hoping it provides enough of a boost to put Brooklyn over the top.

The Nets depth is better suited for short term success as Steve Nash and Marks have their sights set on delivering a title to Barclays Center.

NBA2K22 Gameplay leak: Nets demolish Bucks in opening night matchup

 

NBA 2K22 is set to launch Friday September 10, 2021. Nets Insider has an exclusive look at the newest release for Xbox Series X.
The battle of the Eastern heavyweights wasn't even a contest. As evidenced by the 86-50 romping by Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, James Harden and the rest of the Brooklyn Nets over the Milwaukee Bucks, it appears the shot meter issues are a thing of the past. Smoother shooting mechanics and more fluid gameplay make this year's version a less clunky version of those in year's past. The Bucks and Nets are set to do battle in Milwaukee on opening night October 19, so if this simulation is any indication of how that game will go, Brooklyn Nets fans will be restarts with the results.

Nets can't make this mistake again if they hope to fulfill title expectations

 In the playoffs head coach Steve Nash forgot what got his team through a regular season that saw the Big Three play only a handful of games together.

With Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving grabbing headlines, endorsement deals and leading in jersey sales, it was the contributions from the Nets' bench and unheralded players that catapulted the team to 48 regular season wins, good enough for the number two seed in the East. 



Many of the projected bench players were thrust into starting roles including Bruce Brown and Jeff Green, while Landry Shamet, Mike James, Tyler Johnson and Nicholas Claxton played meaningful minutes.

Outside of Brown, not a single one of those players is returning to Brooklyn this upcoming season. The group that brought the energy and enthusiasm off the bench was used sparingly in the second round ousting by Milwaukee with Harden hurt and Irving out.

Nash showed a lack of trust in those players to rise to the occasion in the big moments and that was a major reason why Brooklyn came up a shoe size short.

The reality is, Nash and evidently general manager Sean Marks, wanted to shuffle the deck on the bench and moved in the direction of over the hill veterans with just enough in the tank to move the needle.


Enter Paul Millsap and LaMarcus Aldridge at 36 years old will be viable options for Brooklyn's head man if relegated to bench duties.

There are now zero excuses for why the coaching staff will not utilize its depth with decorated veterans waiting at the scorers table.

If Nash and company aim to get to the top of the NBA mountain, the second year coach will need to learn from his mistakes and entrust his bench to get the job done in big moments.


As Nets' fans anxiously wait for crucial extensions for Irving, Harden, is it trouble in paradise for Brooklyn?

 Twenty days.

Twenty days.

That's exactly how long the Brooklyn Nets, specifically general manager Sean Marks has to lock up Kyrie Irving and James Harden on long term extensions.

The Nets are normally tight lipped, but disclosing contract terms as per team policy and are mum on injury updates and roster moves.




So while it's been two months since the Nets playoff elimination at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks, Kevin Durant's extension is in the books, but not his  second and third co stars.

There's been nothing but cohesion between Brooklyn's big three and Marks and Steve Nash have maintained a great rapport with the players, so any kind of front office rift can be immediately ruled out.

Marks had to do some maneuvering this off-season, principally finding a trading partner for the seldom used DeAndre Jordan to free up cap space and lesson the tax ramifications related to his bloated contract.

Harden and Irving have been busy recuperating from an injured filled season while giving back to the community with time and charity events meaningful to them.

It's not panic time just yet to iron out extensions, but some unease will quickly turn for the worse if Marks and company don't put the finishing touches on a great off-season.




Like Jarrett Allen before him, Nicolas Claxton's development will be stymied behind Nets' grizzled vets

 Just ask Jarrett Allen what it's like to be on a championship team and stand behind a former All Star waiting for a true opportunity to shine.

That's the exact same conundrum facing Nicolas Claxton, who is entering his third year with the Nets and behind not one, but three former All-Stars.

The young 7-footer has shown serious flashes of being a viable option to hold down the starting center position in the near future, but the presence of Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge and even Paul Millsap have created even more roadblocks in his quest for more minutes and game experience.




Brooklyn is in win-now mode, with championship or bust expectations. The reality is, Claxton will be a casualty of the Nets urgent situation to pursue a title.

It's not to say that Claxton won't garner runtime on the court, but the lion's share of the minutes will belong to the afforementioned trio of vets. In a league where prototypical centers try desperately to stay on the court with three and d schemes stretching the floor, it will be an uphill battle for Claxton.

 The third year pro is not a perimeter shooting threat, but an effective rim runner, inside scorer and rim protector. 

While Aldridge, Griffin, Millsap and even Bruce Brown stand between Claxton and the court, the Nets planned load management for Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving along with aging players across the roster could prove just enough to get Claxton his due time.



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