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Nets Insider Podcast: Warriors vs Nets preview






Nets Insider's Rick Laughland alongside BackSportsPage's Randy Zellea are joined by Yahoo Sportsbook, NBATV and MLBTV betting analyst Ariel Epstein, to discuss the latest surrounding the Brooklyn Nets and what NBA bets will lead to the biggest payoff.




Among the topics discussed, the future of James Harden and Kyrie Irving in Brooklyn, NBA prop bets to make and Rick's History of the Nets Book, set to hit bookstores this summer, via History Press.

Nets won't listen to trade offers for Harden, but what about Irving?


NBA.com

As per Adrian Wojnarowski, the Brooklyn Nets won't listen to any trade offers to James Harden ahead of the February 10 NBA Trade Deadline. Per the report, Harden has indicated that he remains dedicated to the organization but is admittedly frustrated with injuries and COVID-19 absences impacting the roster and team continuity.

Free agency will be a whole new ball of wax has Harden did not sign an extension this summer and vowed to be invested in the Nets' long-term, but also wants the opportunity to test the market for the first time in his career. 

Before Sean Marks and company turn their attention to free agency, the Nets have a title to chase. In actuality, the team's championship hopes hinge on Irving's vaccination status or a change in local New York City vaccine mandates. 

The most likely outcome is a change in mandates, but that is not necessarily guaranteed. Does this mean Marks will actively try to move the star point guard set to also be a free agent this summer and current part-time road player? 

No, but it does mean he should at least listen. There is one caveat to this, however. Kevin Durant, who is committed to the team for the next four seasons, would need to be privy to those conversations and Marks would likely need to tread lightly if he goes this route. 

Irving is doing what's best for him and his family and the Nets need to do what's best for them. If that means Irving is in the picture as a full-time player, then even better. If that scenario seems increasingly less likely, Brooklyn's front office at least needs to put feelers out on what they can net for an Irving swap. 

The Nets are sinking fast in a crowded Eastern Conference and six days after reclaiming the top spot, they've now fallen to No. 4 just slightly ahead of Milwaukee with a brutal West Coast trip including stops in Golden State, Phoenix, Sacramento, Utah and Denver starting Saturday night. 

Brooklyn is in damage control mode, hoping to save a sinking ship without Durant. It's not necessarily panic time for Marks and company, but the Nets need contingency plans if the worst-case scenario plays out with Irving 

Nash questions validity of bombshell report about Harden

 As far as Steve Nash is concerned, both he and James Harden are on the same page. Speaking with reporters prior to Tuesday's tipoff against Los Angeles, Nash went as far as to say Harden has not verbalized any of the frustrations cited in the Bleacher Report story and even questioned the validity of the report.

It's no surprise that the head coach is not giving any credence to the notion that his star player is unhappy with the crunch time rotations and open to a change of scenery with a part-time Kyrie Irving and injuries to Kevin Durant and Joe Harris starting to derail a potential championship season.

The reality is, as Harden outlined, he's frustrated about a culmination of factors including: injuries, COVID-19 and inconsistencies plaguing the team.

Harden did not exactly include coaching in his list of gripes, but time will tell if his relationship deteriorates with Nash. Winning cures all and assuming three-fifths of the team's starting lineup is back intact by March, Harden may be singing a much different tune come playoff time.






Harden admits frustration with Nets' season from health, COVID-19 standpoint

 


James Harden acknowledged that things aren't going as planned this year in Brooklyn during a post game press conference following Tuesday night's loss to the Lakers at Barclays Center. With injuries to starters Kevin Durant, Joe Harris and floor leader Kyrie Irving eligible for only home games, Harden's been left with a makeshift supporting cast that has not only played limited court time together, but is comprised mostly of defensive oriented players.

Harden recorded his ninth triple-double of the season on Tuesday with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assist, while Patty Mills with 15 and DeAndre Bembry with 12, were the only other players to reach double figures in scoring.



Head coach Steve Nash started rookies Kessler Edwards and Day'Ron Sharpe, but they combined for only nine points on the night. 

Nash has been experimenting with different lineup combinations throughout the season, but with the Nets now 6-8 to start 2022 and sinking in the Eastern Conference rankings, there has to come a time where a consistent rotation can help build familiarity and continuity among the group.

Harden scoffed at some of the details outlined in the Bleacher Report story, indicating that if the words didn't come from him then they are exactly what they've been classified as, reports.

Harden also indicated that the frustration he's experiencing about the team's overall health and issues with consistency is a feeling that is shared organizationally.

Time will tell whether this frustration continues to mount leading up to and after the All-Star break. After all, winning does cure all and if the Nets get the three starters they're missing: Durant, Harris and Irving in a full-time capacity back in time for the playoffs, Harden's discontentment with the overall direction of the season can take a seismic shift in the right direction.




Harden's prime years dwindling, Nets' championship window half-closed

 

NBA.com

James Harden is growing increasingly frustrated in Brooklyn. That much is clear as per multiple media reports citing sources close to Harden.

According to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, Harden is less than thrilled with Kyrie Irving's part-time playing status and Steve Nash's rotating carousel of lineups, particularly in the closing minutes of games and is open to a change of scenery away from Brooklyn.

On the flipside, Nets' fans are watching Harden play an uninspired brand of basketball. The Beard has never been a hustle player, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but the same passion, fervor and intensity he played with upon his trade to the Nets last season is absent from his play so far this year.

It appears to be a culmination of factors, officiating coupled rule changes are impacting his ability to get to the line with regularity, Harden nursing his injured hamstring back to full health earlier this season along with subpar conditioning on his part.

Harden is only 31, but for a player who's had the type of mileage, usage and beating his body has taken over the years from feasting at the charity stripe, he's an old 31. 

Add all these physical factors are only part of the equation with the mental toll of Irving's on again, off again eligibility along with Kevin Durant being sidelined for at least the next month challenge Harden immensely to hold down the fort in Brooklyn.

When Harden joined the Nets in January of 2021, he envisioned a Brooklyn superteam predestined for greatness and ready to be a budding dynasty. Injuries, bad luck and off the court issues have prevented Brooklyn's big three from realizing its potential halfway through year two.

The championship window is still open, but likely more than half closed. Harden is feeling the urgency to win now. Without his full complement of stars, including Durant's ongoing rehab and Irving's ongoing refusal to comply with local mandates, questions about Beard's willingness to remain a Net past this season are mounting.

Things could change drastically over the next month or so with spring around the corner and COVID-19 potentially entering a more "endemic"phase. Should this scenario play out, a loosening of local mandates would allow Irving to return full-time and assuming Durant's and Joe Harris' injury recovery don't hit any bumps in the road, Harden's full arsenal of weapons might be at his disposal ahead of April's NBA playoffs.

For now, trade rumors involving Harden are still premature and while he'll be fully invested in winning a title with Brooklyn this season, how the next few months play out will go a long way in determining whether he'll re-sign with the club long-term or look for another title contender to join in free agency.


Trading Harden for Simmons won't fix Nets, healthy KD, full-time Kyrie will

 

Photo by Doug Bearak

NBA trade rumors are going bonkers right now including a proposed trade between Brooklyn and Philly involving a James Harden for Ben Simmons swap among other moving parts.

These are fun scenarios for the NBA trade machine, Twitter and water-cooler talk, but none of it is grounded in reality.

The Nets are not looking to trade Harden, especially in exchange for a player who disappeared in last year's playoffs and has hid behind the stigma of a "mental health" problem to force his way out of Philadelphia.

Yes, Simmons is six years younger than Harden, a more willing defender,  more athletic and with tons of upside, but he also brings lots of baggage, a mental block when it comes to perimeter shooting and won't reach anything near his potential until after Kevin Durant is past his prime.

The Nets are a win-now club that needs Durant to take the next 4-6 weeks to heal from his MCL sprain and either Kyrie Irving to decide to comply with local vaccine mandates and become eligible to play full-time or those said mandates are relaxed (assuming the country enters more of an "endemic" phas) to this health crisis) and he returns in a full capacity.

Harden and Irving are both set to become free agents at the end of the year, but it's clear that both want to return and likely finish their respective careers in Brooklyn.

The last thing Sean Marks will do is make a panic move and ship out either player in the midst of a championship quest.

The Nets need health, luck and continuity on their side and need to fix issues inside the organization before giving up on core pieces for a younger, more unproven commodity.

Harden, Irving, proving Nets can weather storm without Durant

 

Photo by Doug Bearak


When Kyrie Irving and James Harden take the court together sans Kevin Durant in the lineup, the dynamic backcourt has won nearly 82 percent of the games over the last two seasons. 

You heard it right. A record of 18-4 to be exact. A superb mark for a lethal combination of playmaking, scoring prowess and ankle-breaking handles. Durant is not expected back until after the All-Star break at the absolute earliest, but it's far from panic time in Brooklyn. 

Irving and Harden combined for 26 points in a fourth quarter barrage in San Antonio 117-102 win on Friday, marking the first time the Nets beat the Spurs back-to-back times on the road and the fifth consecutive win overall in a head-to-head matchup historically dominated by the Spurs.

 

 Harden's 37 point, 11 assist and 10 rebound triple-double is his eighth 30-point plus triple double during his Nets' tenure. To put that in perspective, since the team's inception in 1967, all Nets' players have combined to produce 12 such triple-doubles. Harden is two-thirds of the way to shattering a franchise mark in less than two seasons with the team. 

Truly remarkable. 

Irving was not exactly a slouch either pouring in 24, with the same silky smooth attacks to the rim and elusive handles he's showcased throughout his NBA career. Even with Irving available on a part-time basis, for now, the Nets are in good hands with him playing alongside Harden. 

In fact, Brooklyn now holds claim to the East's top record with Chicago and Miami dealing with a bevy of injuries of late.

 

Brooklyn will travel to Minnesota Sunday as the dynamic duo of Harden and Irving will lead the charge, but starting Tuesday the Nets host consecutive games with the Lakers and Nuggets where The Beard will need to play at an MVP level to elevate his supporting cast and keep the good times rolling in Brooklyn. 

Nets top Knicks in merchandise sales for 2021-2022 NBA season



Photo by Doug Bearak


 The Brooklyn Nets are more popular than the New York Knicks, at least that's what merchandise sales data via NBA Store and NBA.com indicates this season.

Nets GM Sean Marks joined the club in 2016 and the team motto became, "If you build it, they will come."

They, being Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. The trio is among the leading vote getters ahead of the 2022 NBA All-Star Game and undoubtedly the most talented combination playing for one team.



As for the Knicks, a team that came into to the season like a lion and went out like a lamb in last year's playoffs. Julius Randle, the NBA's Most Improved Player a season ago, scored just four points on Thursday in an embarrassing loss to New Orleans.

RJ Barrett has shown flashes, but has also struggled for stretches of the year. New York doesn't touch the star power or staying power assembled in Brooklyn.

For two franchises competing in the same market, the big brother Knicks are taking a backseat to the title contending Nets.

Not helping the Knicks' cause is MSG Network's dispute with Comcast which prevents cable subscribers from watching the team play on the local network and is subject to blackout rules for nationally televised games.

The reality is sinking in that the Nets are simply better in every factet and more popular than the Knicks.

Nets can reclaim top spot in East with win over Spurs, help from Hawks, Bucks

 

Photo by Doug Bearak


It's common practice to downplay the importance of the NBA regular season nowadays. With load management prevalent across the league, teams just aren't chasing home court advantage in the same form and fashion they did even five years ago.

For the Brooklyn Nets, fans are even suggesting an absurd tanking scenario where they would secure a lower playoff seed and allow an  unvaccinated Kyrie Irving to be eligible for more games.

It's an unconventional theory, one that I'm sure Steve Nash and the rest of the locker room give absolutely no credence to. 

So, with the Nets a half game back of the Bulls, who travel to Milwaukee Friday and half game behind the Heat, who play in Atlanta, the prospect of the Nets reclaiming first in the Eastern Conference with a win is a very real possibility.

This may seem like a trivial pursuit to some, but building chemistry and confidence for the team without Kevin Durant to bail them out is going to be of the utmost importance.

Nash's mission is to remain with striking distance of Miami and Chicago and now with a chance to overtake the conference heavyweights, this is an occasion that Kyrie Irving, James Harden and the rest of the Nets' supporting cast will need to rise to in Durant's absence.

Basketball savant Kyrie Irving finally shows-up and is showing-out with Nets

Despite the whirlwind of controversy surrounding Kyrie Irving's vaccination status, his commitment to basketball being questioned and his propensity for posting cryptic social media messages, the Net point guard's talent is undeniable. 

Having practiced on just a handful of occasion with his fellow teammates so far this season, Irving hit the ground running in his season debut against Indiana on January 5 with 22 points, four assists and three steals on 52.9 percent shooting. Ineligible for Brooklyn's first 35 games of the regular season due to remaining unvaccinated, Irving picked up right where he left off in the 2021 NBA playoffs. 

The guy is a complete freak of nature, a basketball savant and as gifted a player as the league can showcase. The wildest thing of all is that basketball is only part of Irving's story, who is passionate about social justice, honoring his Native American heritage and giving back to underprivileged communities both domestic and foreign. 

In fact, sometimes basketball has taken a backseat to Irving's other off-the-court pursuits and endeavors. Even with a lot on his mind, Irving went for 27 points on January 17 in a loss to Cleveland and 30 in a narrow win over Washington Wednesday night. 

Few players are more scrutinized, more polarizing and perhaps misunderstood than Irving. His come and go nature with the Brooklyn Nets is something Steve Nash and company have simply grown accustomed to. 

In his first season with the Nets, Irving played in 20 games before undergoing surgery to his shoulder. Last season, Irving played in 54 regular season games and missed time due to injury and personal reasons being away from the team. So far in five games this year, Irving is averaging 22.8 points, 5.8 assists and 5.0 rebounds. 

For a guy who practiced with the team briefly during training camp in California and rejoined the club for the first-time in the last two weeks after a four-month absence, it should be astonishing for his production and impact to be what it is. 

But not for Irving. 

Despite his icy relationship with the media, the Nets' point guard is arguably the most popular player in Brooklyn's locker room and receives plenty of praise and admiration from teammates. When he was inactive, there was a sense of joy and passion missing from the Jason Harden and Kevin Durant-led Nets. Not that either of those star players are lacking those qualities, but Irving emanates such pure joy and love for the game when he plays that it becomes infectious. 

Vaccine mandates notwithstanding, teammates and fans simply missed Irving's presence and awe-inspiring play. Now that he's back, albeit in a part-time capacity, everyone is reminded of his otherworldly talent and exactly why the Brooklyn Nets are favored to win the title with him in the fold. 

Kyrie's basketball legacy not as important as his personal beliefs


 Team sports are all about sacrifice. I'm the last one to tell anyone what to put in their body, period. When you're Novak Djokovic, of course you're letting down your fans and those expecting you to rewrite major tennis history at this year's Australian Open.

But for Kyrie Irving, his decision to remain unvaccinated has far reaching consequences beyond an individual sport such as tennis.

Djokovic's choice impacts his own legacy, while Irving's impacts not only that but his team's championship pursuit.

Team sports are predicated on sacrifice including: minutes, money, recognition, family time and off the court pursuits.

Players aiming to win a title often throw themselves  full bore into that cause for the betterment of the team and to inspire teammates.

Irving is considered a team leader, a source of inspiration for the locker room and without saying, one of the team's most dynamic players. So when Kyrie indicates he's no closer to complying with local vaccine mandates than he was back when training camp opened in July, while it's not unexpected for a player dug in firmly on his stance, it makes you wonder whether he's putting himself and his own beliefs ahead of the team?

Irving cannot be the only individual or NBA player with reservations about the vaccine and each person should be judged on a case by case basis, but the Nets' guard still hasn't made it clear why he's unwilling to join the rest of his teammates in a full-time capacity.

At the end of the day, the choice is Irving's and his alone, but with every choice there are consequences. Assuming things stay status quo, despite the Omicron variant spiking and now on the downturn, the Nets can't rely on Irving to help carry them to the promise land.

The New Jersey native convinced Durant to join his childhood team and bring a first ever championship to the club. Without Irving, there is no Durant, but when faced with a conundrum of sacrificing personal belief for the betterment of the team, Irving has landed on the side of doing what's best for him.

Where that leaves the Nets this season remains to be seen. Will they bow out of the second round of the playoffs again with Kyrie at home on his couch during a decisive Game 7 at Barclays Center?

Will they hoist the Larry O'Brien in Brooklyn without Irving there to enjoy the fruits of the team's labor. This is a bizarre situation that has no end in sight, so while it's fine to defend to the death an individual's right to choose, there comes with that real consequences and in a team sport, the team should come ahead of the individual. For Irving, that hasn't been the case over the course of his career and certainly isn't the case now.


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