Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert had been packaged collectively within the deal that introduced James Harden to Brooklyn, ushering in a brilliant crew Nets period that got here to an finish on the Feb. 9 NBA Trade Deadline when the entrance workplace traded Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.
Allen and LeVert had been additionally a package deal deal within the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 115-109 victory over the Nets on Tuesday, combining for 30 factors and 16 rebounds handy Brooklyn its fourth straight loss — with an encore matchup at Barclays Center on Thursday.
LeVert and Allen each expressed gratitude to a Nets group that laid the muse for every to blossom into star gamers in Brooklyn earlier than the 2021 deal that despatched Allen to Cleveland and LeVert to the Indiana Pacers.
The pair of ex-Nets additionally every felt empathy for a Sean Marks-led entrance workplace that went all-in on star energy, solely to return out on the opposite aspect with extra drama than playoff collection victories.
“It was something. I didn’t expect it to end how it did,” Allen advised the Daily News. “I think everything has a deadline like how Caris and I had a deadline, but it’s always tough to see. I’m good people with the front office, so just tough to see them go through that. It’s not an easy situation making that difficult decision.”
“It’s just weird. I just kinda feel for people in the front office because they tried to build it a different way, and it kind of went a different way,” LeVert added. “It didn’t work out the way that everyone wanted it to, but that’s sports. That’s professional sports. You try to put a team together. It may not work. It may work. You never know.”
The trio of Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden solely performed 16 video games collectively in what amounted to lower than one full season of the Brooklyn Big Three. The Nets went 13-3 in these video games and made an look within the second spherical of the 2021 Eastern Conference playoffs towards Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Harden suffered a hamstring harm one minute into Game 1, Irving landed on Antetokounmpo’s ankle in Game 4 and didn’t play for the remainder of the collection, and Durant hit one of the crucial unbelievable buzzer-beating photographs in playoff historical past in Game 7 — just for it to be dominated a toe-on-the-line two that despatched the Nets to extra time, not the convention finals.
The Bucks received in extra time, went on to beat the Atlanta Hawks within the Eastern Conference Finals, then defeated the Phoenix Suns to turn into 2021 NBA Champions.
Allen stated the celebrity period in Brooklyn introduced a special vitality to the borough.
“What they did: They brought hope to the city,” he advised the News. “The Big 3 didn’t get to play a lot of games together, but it still new brought a new vibe to the city.”
The Nets traded Harden finally season’s commerce deadline for Ben Simmons, who didn’t play in any respect final season because the Nets had been swept out of the primary spherical by the Boston Celtics, who additionally went on to make an NBA Finals look. After failing to succeed in a contract extension settlement with Irving over the summer time, the star guard shocked to group with a commerce request simply days earlier than the Feb. 9 deadline.
The Nets obliged and despatched him to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and a pair of first-round picks. They then despatched Durant to his most popular commerce vacation spot — the Phoenix Suns — in a deal that landed Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and 4 first-round picks.
All 4 gamers the Nets acquired within the deal begin underneath head coach Jacque Vaughn, who additionally acquired a contract extension projected to maintain him in Brooklyn via the 2026-27 season. LeVert advised the News he felt just like the Nets entrance workplace most popular a calmer vibe.
“I feel like they have a good team now,” he stated, “and they’re building the right way.”
Allen and LeVert reunite in Cleveland alongside star guard Donovan Mitchell, who had the second of the night time with a one-handed tomahawk over Nets reserve ahead Yuta Watanabe. The Cavaliers are forward of the Nets within the Eastern Conference standings and stories out of Cleveland counsel they like the Nets as a first-round playoff opponent over the fifth-seeded Knicks or the seventh-seeded Miami Heat.
Even in the event that they don’t get the Nets within the playoffs, Allen and LeVert are pleased to be teammates as soon as once more.
“It’s been fun,” Allen stated of LeVert. “It was good to see the break in our careers together, how we grew as separate people, and now that we’re together, we’re still growing and our games are growing in our NBA career, but we’re doing it together again. I think it’s fun to see.”
LeVert stated his time in Brooklyn had its ups and downs, “like any situation.” His ascent with the Nets was solely marred by accidents, most notably a dislocated proper ankle in Minnesota in 2018.
“I feel like nothing in life is perfect and I feel like when I got here it was kind of a fairy tale with how young we were and how together we were as a team. It kind of felt like a college atmosphere,” he stated. “And then obviously we got some bigger names and the culture kind of changed, but I think overall it was a positive experience. I met a lot of cool people and built a lot of relationships.”
Allen stated the Nets made him the participant he’s immediately — a beginning heart on a Cavaliers crew with championship aspirations.
“One thing I’ll always say is they built a foundation for me. I came in as a raw player, not knowing my place in the league. They helped me build this foundation,” he stated. “We always compared it to a house: You’ve gotta have a good foundation to build an excellent house, and they helped me do that. My hook shot, knowing how to actually play the game, knowing where to be and everything, I learned that here, and that propelled me to be where I am now.”
The acquainted faces return to Barclays Center on Thursday in a sport that would go a good distance in figuring out whether or not or not the Nets make the playoffs.
The urgency degree is completely different for Allen and LeVert: three extra wins for the Cavaliers will clinch a top-six spot within the East. The Nets are holding onto to the sixth seed by a thread, and face the No. 7 Miami Heat on the street two days after seeing their outdated mates.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com