Grand opening, grand closing.
The famous person period in Brooklyn is over.
When Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving signed with the Nets in the summertime of 2019, the group made it clear this workforce was constructed to win a championship.
And by dealing Irving to the Dallas Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, a first-round decide and a pair of seconds, the Nets are declaring the precise reverse.
That no variety of championships is well worth the headache the group knew would include Irving the second they signed him to a four-year max contract.
Make no mistake: This state of affairs is essentially of Irving’s doing. The Nets’ persistence had already worn skinny earlier than this newest act, and who might blame Brooklyn? Irving appeared in lower than half of all potential regular-season video games since signing with the Nets.
The excuses have been largely unrelated to basketball: He received suspended eight video games this season for posting a hyperlink to an antisemitic movie on his social media channels; he missed the primary 35 video games of final season and was ineligible to play at Barclays Center till late March attributable to his choice to not get vaccinated in opposition to COVID; to not point out he took two weeks off for “personal reasons” after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot on the nation’s capital.
There is a large subsection of each the group and the Nets fan base with the sentiments of “good riddance” for a participant who introduced extra drama than wins. The Nets solely gained one playoff sequence with Irving on the town. His freak damage within the 2021 playoffs got here throughout their solely respectable probability to win a title. His final recreation in a Nets jersey was a 43-point loss to the identical Celtics workforce he left.
What a nightmare for the pair of stars who joined forces in Brooklyn: each of their former groups have made Finals appearances since Durant and Irving made their respective strikes. The Warriors defeated the Celtics in final 12 months’s NBA Finals, and the Celtics are on tempo to make a second consecutive look this season.
Meanwhile in Brooklyn, the concept of titles may very well be a factor of the previous.
Championships are gained sure, with depth; sure, with elite protection; and sure, with good teaching; however supreme offensive expertise at all times strikes the needle. The Nets simply surrendered one of the supreme offensive abilities in NBA historical past for a participant in Dinwiddie they traded away in favor of extra star energy within the first place.
From a purely basketball perspective, the Nets grew to become a way more well-rounded workforce after the Irving deal, with each Dinwiddie and Finney-Smith projected to enhance the workforce’s means to defend and rebound. The identical was stated, nevertheless — that the Nets received higher after the commerce — after they dealt James Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks, one in every of which was dealt to the Utah Jazz for Royce O’Neale.
In reality, the Nets won’t ever be higher than they had been when all three of Harden, Durant and Irving shared the ground. After claims that each one three could be “signed, sealed and delivered” by way of contract extensions, it’s unclear whether or not or not Durant will stick round past the commerce deadline.
Simmons has not been not the star the Nets offered their followers. He is averaging about seven factors, seven rebounds and 6 assists per recreation, has missed every of the final 4 video games attributable to knee soreness and stays questionable for Monday’s matchup in opposition to the Los Angeles Clippers — one other workforce that was within the Irving sweepstakes that understands it’s star energy that strikes the needle when pursuing a championship.
Which is why it’s over. Unless GM Sean Marks pulls a rabbit out of his again aspect — and to his credit score, he’s persevering with to try to enhance the roster by way of commerce by Thursday’s commerce deadlines — the championship-or-bust declarations will all however definitely be the latter.
Depth can win video games, however superstars win playoff sequence. Durant is as particular a participant as has walked the NBA, however in opposition to the likes of the Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Harden’s 76ers and, oh sure, these surging Cleveland Cavaliers, the Nets now have floor to make up.
And as soon as once more, they’ll enter the second half of the season after the All-Star break with phrases no fan desires to listen to getting into the playoffs: “We’re trying to build chemistry.”
“It doesn’t happen overnight.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com