The Brooklyn Nets have actually managed to make almost exactly the same mistake again in just around 10 years. Almost all NBA franchises always try to focus on the championship. Only a few take this path with the same longing and, above all, fatal determination as the Nets. NBA Preview No.3 for the Brooklyn Nets.
Go big. Get broke. Get up again. And from the front.
Now the Nets’ recent history is relatively similar. You’re trying with all your might to become a contender for the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Give in to the temptation of the “star” players. Actually sacrificing his entire medium-term future for this. Then watch for too long as the fireball called the squad implodes.
But he still shows an amazing ability to take things when he’s on the ground. Get back on your feet through serious and sporty, astonishingly precise scouting. Work your way back through trades. And starts again. But then with disastrous trades. And the cycle starts again.
Go big and Danny Ainge the trade god
Whether it’s the legendarily bad deal with the Boston Celtics around the old stars Garnett, Pierce, Terry or the new, not so legendarily bad version around Durant, Irving and Harden.
In both cases, the interested observer would have immediately noticed how enormous the risk was. With the first deal involving Garnett, one could still argue that this was more of a PR stunt by the new owner at the time.
You either have to seriously doubt whether you really had a real chance of winning the championship around 10 years ago or you have to retroactively fire every employee who had this opinion. Or ask the owner not to interfere in squad planning in the future.
There was quite a rough landing coming out of this phase and basically it was an Enigma-like conundrum as to how a franchise could get out of this situation. They also helped the Boston Celtics initiate one of the best rebuilds in recent history, which resulted in their last championship.
Get up again mit Kenny Atkinson
The Nets managed to get back on their feet quite quickly. Thanks in particular to coach Kenny Atkinson and a few young players like Levert, Allen, Dinwiddie, the first really good version of D’Angelo Russell (evil tongues say the first and only) and clever trades, it was possible again through down-to-earth, hard, serious work to advance to the lower to middle midfield of the NBA.
But instead of continuing on this positive path with patience. Came the 3 Horsemen of the Locker Room Apocalypse. At least at this point they were.
Durant. Irving. Harden.
Yes. Basically, “only” the Harden trade was as fatal and disastrous as the Celtics trade. But basically it had to be immediately obvious why you were there without necessity. Without pressure. Without getting a Harden who was even remotely in shape, he acted. Purely out of a desire, daring and driven by the stars Durant and Irving.
Yes. You have to admit that the theoretical version of these Nets definitely had potential. At least offensively. These are (especially at that time… except for Harden in his first Nets season) gifted talents that are unparalleled in NBA history.
Yes. You have to admit that even an injury-thinned version of these Nets was just a Durant toe away from potentially achieving more.
No. But it was foreseeable that these 3 egos would not last long.
Some injuries, dramas about vaccinations and game bans in New York State, even more injuries, trade demands (irony of fate again from Harden, again with the same uncooperative vehemence as the trade from Houston), assumed to confirmed locker room dramas, even more Injuries, and and and later, what had to come came.
Go broke, Implosion und Coaching
The Nets had managed to re-emerge with aging stars and a strong impact again. This time, however, they pulled the emergency brake quite firmly and were able to minimize the damage in trades.
Even if it is too easy and often too unfair for me to criticize coaches across the board, looking back I have to admit that it wasn’t necessarily the squad policy, but above all the change in coaching. This shift in culture caused by the departure of Coach Atkinson. It was basically impossible to recover from that.
There are some interesting aspects to be found in the “What If” of a Durant, Irving, Harden era PLUS Atkinson. But this also applies to the current squad and its options.
Get up again
You can’t necessarily expect to see “clean” basketball from the current squad. But maybe spectacular. Because this roster is not the result of careful planning, but rather of various trades put together at short notice in the implosion phase after Durant and Irving.
And only in parts, because the next step in the redevelopment was initiated at the latest with the Mikal Bridges trade. The number of draft picks surrounding the Durant trade for Mikal Bridges and then again around the Bridges trade to the New York Knicks is impressive.
Not all picks will be lottery picks per se, but it is interesting to see how much value the NBA puts on a player who is never out, plays strong defense, and has enough quality offensively to be the 2 to 4 option of a contender and has never been noticed negatively as a stinker when he doesn’t like his role in the team.
The Suns’ picks in particular could become very valuable if a Nets-style implosion occurs sooner or later. The late NY picks in 29 and 31 could also be very tempting given the Knicks’ timeline and physical play. Sooner or later this will take its toll on the “big brother” at Madison Square Garden.
Get up again – Part 2
But it’s not just the situation surrounding the Nets’ pick pool that is promising, but also the number of veteran vets and young talents.
Yes.. and then there is Cam Thomas.
The Neo from the serious Basketball Matrix.
Well… probably more like Agent Smith.
We all know GTA and have probably played it before. At some point in the storyline you start to move away from it (usually frustrated by an unplayable mission). To switch completely to rampage mode.
And in the end, jumping over a ramp with a tank stolen from the military base, chased by the police of half of the virtual state and cursing inwardly about the wasted life, at least having a lot of fun in the short term.
The. That’s exactly Cam Thomas’ game. The X-factor chemical on two legs, which a researcher put into a jar full of others with the thought “what will it do if I add it?.. well let’s just try it, because I have no idea what will happen!” Substances tip.
You have to and can’t help but look skeptically at hyper-offensive guards who attack the basket completely unscrupulously and from all positions. Especially when they are virtually non-existent defensively. But with Cam Thomas, the fireworks are so bright that you can’t help but be excited to see what absurd action comes next.
This won’t necessarily attract contenders or rebuilding teams who see him as a desirable trade item, but will definitely sell you spots in the arena.
The cam show and the league’s showcase
In addition to the Cam Thomas Absurdity Show, there is also a wealth of interesting role players, vets and young talents. Claxton, Sharpe and Clowney as big man hopes. Bogdanovich, Dorian Finney Smith, Cam Johnson and Dennis Schröder.
In addition to these value players, you also have 3 X-factors in Hayes, Ziaire Williams and yes.. also Ben Simmons. Even if, above all, their previous medical records and the at least non-existent to exponentially negative sporting development, this brings with it a whole series of questions for trade partners.
Many of these players have one thing in common. They are playing for their stay in the league one way or another. Or at least to play your way out of the league’s current no-man’s land.
Ben Simmons is playing for survival in the league, Schröder is playing for a contract that is finally appropriate for his quality, Bogdanovich is playing against his age and Dodo would rather go back to Dallas the day before yesterday than today.
Ziaire Williams has to slowly show his abilities so that he can compete against the other talents in the league and thus get another contract. Sharpe also needs to look at what direction his extension could go.
Nightingale I hear you tramping
This collection of potential trade chips, especially from DFS, Schröder, Bogdanovich and the barely reasonably priced contract for Cam Johnson, as well as quite cheap young talents, also gives rise to a very bad premonition.
What do you need for big trades for “star” names in the current NBA?
– Picks. Check.
We remember the Suns picks. The post 2027 NY picks. Plural each!
– Young talent. Check.
Claxton, Johnson already have reasonable to cheap extensions. Whether you really want Cam Thomas depends on your ideas about it. The same goes for Sharpe.
– Vets or expiring contracts in order to be able to design deals sensibly and to give both contenders and rebuilding teams interesting options. Schröder, Bogdanovich, Cam Thomas, DoDo, Sharpe.
Check!
So there are now 2 options.
Either you try to act seriously. Either way, this roster is designed solely to be a showcase for various assets.
So you could now look at switching everything except the young talents Claxton, Sharpe and maybe also Thomas for picks and other young talents and expiring contracts.
And then just wait and see when and how the constructs in New York and Phoenix fall apart. Continue to seriously develop young talent that you get in the draft. OKC style.
Or you can look out over the Hudson River. If you keep the often-overlooked rivalry with the Knicks in mind, the longing for success could also return. You have everything together to initiate the same cycle a third time in almost 15 years.
It is very easy to imagine a world in which the Nets sell off the house and farm for potentially dissatisfied and physically “reliable” players like Embiid, Lillard and Paul George.
The mood in Philadelphia has been tense for a long time and in Milwaukee the fatal Lillard contract will soon be questioned if Giannis pushes for another championship in the face of superiority in the Boston Garden. Especially because Middleton’s half-life creates further pressure.
All good things come in threes.
So who in Durant, Irving, Harden.
forecast
Good End:
There was brisk and sensible trading for talent, tradeable vets and expiring contracts. Get something for Ben Simmons’ expiring contract. Then gradually build around Claxton or completely new players from the Suns picks. Go full speed into the lottery with your own pick.
Use the shop window to signal the clearing-out sales offensive at the start of the season to have a chance at Cooper Flagg.
Bad End:
They do it again in 1-2 years. Everyone is hyped about the duo of Lillard and Embiid.
.. Go back. Don’t overdo it. Don’t take 1000…
