What Has Happened To The Brooklyn Nets?

Brooklyn Nets, NBA Trade Rumors
NBA Analysis Network

The Brooklyn Nets, widely considered to be a super team, have gone 1-5 over their first 6 games. Their defence is ranked 30th in the league, they are dead last in rebounding and their roster is seriously thin. Can they come back from here? It seems early to be asking these kinds of questions but with the form they have so far shown, it’s going to take something special for this team to be able to compete with the likes of the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.

It may be a long-shot but I wouldn’t bet against it, at one point this offseason, Brooklyn’s title odds were 50/1. The odds are slightly better now but they are still drawing a lot of attention from bettors, especially when there are offers like a risk free bet of up to $1,000 available in the market. With players like Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, they will always have a chance, even if it is a slim one.

Off-Court Troubles

Not that long over a year ago, the Nets acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets in a four team, blockbuster trade. This came after the turbulence surrounding Kyrie Irving’s vaccination status. The vaccine mandate placed on New York during this time meant that for Kyrie to play home games, he had to be vaccinated. Kyrie refused but offered to play in away games where it was legal. This was dismissed by the Nets who decided they would go the season without Kyrie – until they realised they couldn’t do without him, even if that was only in away games initially.

Harden was walking into a fractured locker room lacking physical conditioning, after initially sitting out part of the season at the Rockets to force a trade. Coming back visibly overweight and rusty. Despite all of this, things started off well for Harden in Brooklyn – with him looking every bit of the superstar the Nets gave up so much to acquire. Add that to an always firing Kevin Durant, a returning Kyrie Irving and it looked like the Nets had all of the makings of a super-team, ready to challenge for the Championship. Coming into the end of the season, Harden suffered persistent hamstring issues, missing all but 3 of the teams final 24 games.

It had been a disjointed season but come the playoffs, Kyrie had been cleared to play home games, Harden was ready to take to the court and Kevin Durant was Kevin Durant.

The Bucks

The Nets pushed through to the Eastern Conference Semifinals where they would face eventual winners, the Bucks. It took Harden all of 43 seconds to exit the floor with a hamstring strain, not returning until game 5. In game 4, Irving sprained his ankle after coming down badly as the Bucks leveled the series. Leaving Brooklyn depleted and the weight of the city on the back of Kevin Durant. In the end, despite all of the drama and injury, the Nets came within a toe of winning the series.

Kevin Durant hit a clutch 2 point shot, which most of the watching audience believed was a 3-pointer until video review showed the tip of Durant’s shoe touching the 3 point line. That one point decided the series and sent Brooklyn home. The Bucks went on to win the championship against the Phoenix Suns.

More Drama, More Turbulence

The Nets went into the next season still tipped to be a favorite by many but then came more drama – the newly acquired Harden started pushing for a trade. He got his way, reuniting with Daryl Morey (ex Houston GM) in Philadelphia. In return the Nets got Ben Simmons and Seth Curry. At the time, Simmons was going through his own problems. He had sat out the whole season up to that point after a meltdown in the playoffs the year before, citing back and mental health issues whilst pushing for a trade out of Philly.

The Nets front office had traded one problematic superstar for another. Simmons came into the Nets organization under fire for his shooting ability but it was believed that his work on the defensive end would be more than enough for the Nets. The hope was that he would come in and play a Draymond Green type role and use his all-star defensive abilities to make the Nets a more rounded team at both ends. Simmons didn’t play a single game during the 2021-2022 season, despite rumblings that he would make an appearance in the postseason for his new team.

The Nets were swept and dumped out of the playoffs in the first-round by eventual finalists, the Boston Celtics. To make matters worse, rumours started coming out that Kevin Durant and Kyrie were set to request trades. In the end, it was the usually quiet, team player, Kevin Durant that came out with the request after finding out Kyrie wasn’t getting the contract extension he wanted.

A Sharp Decline

The Kevin Durant saga was concluded before the offseason came to an end, with him withdrawing his request. He had just signed a new contract after-all. The hope was that Kyrie, with one year left on his contract and a point to prove, would come back with vengeance alongside Kevin Durant to lead one end of the floor, with Simmons coming in with his own point to prove on the defensive end.

Only 6 games in and things do not look good. The Nets are scoring more than enough points to win games, Kyrie and Durant combined for 77 points against the Grizzlies, only to lose 134-124. Simmons has not only looked short of confidence, missing layups from five-feet out, he has also not looked like the player that has made the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice. Lacking patience, aggression and seemingly, the will to stay locked in for long periods of games.

Durant has also been more inefficient than at any other time in his career this season and that is despite posting up 32 points-per-game and making over half of his shots. With a weakened starting five, he’s posting a career high usage rate which clearly reflects how little help he has. Injuries have played their part but far too often, things have looked fractured both on and off the court. There is still time to recover and with a returning Seth Curry and Joe Harris, things can only get better but all in all, the window for a championship seems to be closing on the Nets.

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