The Brooklyn Nets have officially concluded their grand superteam experiment, and the results: complete and overwhelming failure.
Over the past week, the Nets moved both of their superstar talents before the NBA’s February 9th trade deadline by trading Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks and Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns.
The blockbuster trades shocked the entire landscape of the NBA, leaving the Western Conference in a state of panic to make the next big pickup.
The Dallas Mavericks bolstered their non-Luka Doncic scoring and playmaking, something drastically needed for the squad whenever Luka sat. The Mavs packaged guard Spencer Dinwiddie, forward Dorian Finney-Smith, a 2029 first-round pick, and two second-round picks in exchange for Irving and Markieff Morris.
As for Phoenix, they’ve become title favorites by acquiring Durant and TJ Warren for the price of Suns’ up-and-coming stars in their roles Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson. Phoenix also moved Jae Crowder, who had sat out all season, and four unprotected first-round draft picks in the trade.
The Suns now have arguably the best starting lineup in basketball, with Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and DeAndre Ayton flanking the ‘Slim Reaper.’ Whoever slots in the final starting spot is irrelevant, as those four offensive weapons will strike fear in any team’s heart come the postseason.
Kevin Durant went down with an MCL sprain in early January, leaving Irving responsible for keeping the team afloat.
Irving has had his fair share of issues with the Nets organization during his tenure there, but he’s been relatively quiet over the past few months. He let his basketball talk and averaged 27 points, five boards, and five assists a night for the Nets this year. And it’s led to wins.
Durant and Irving got the Nets to the second seed in the Eastern Conference and looked like a strong contender until Durant’s injury. They fell to fifth in the East, but with Durant’s return looming after the All-Star break, NBA fans assumed they’d return to their previous form. For the first time in a long time, everything was going okay.
But you know what they say about assumptions?
The Nets’ decent fortune came crashing back to earth when Irving requested a trade on February 3rd. The request sent the NBA into a shambolic state. Contending franchises desperately scrambled to throw trade packages to land the star. No team felt the gravity of this more than Brooklyn.
The front office, led by General Manager Sean Marks and Team Owner Joe Tsai, stood with eggs on their faces. Yet again, their ball club was the face of controversy.
A four-year recap shows just how bad it’s been.
Four years ago, they welcomed their two injured stars with a talented young core that had made the playoffs in the NBA bubble. Neither KD nor Irving played that year, but the future looked promising.
The following season they traded that young core for another superstar, James Harden. That trade ended with the Nets having arguably the most potent collection of offensive talent in league history, proven by their then all time number one rated offense. Injuries to both James and Kyrie derailed their championship hopes in the second round of the 2021 playoffs.
The superstar big three tried running it back, but Kyrie Irving’s status as a part-time player due to his refusal to take the Covid-19 vaccine destroyed team chemistry and morale. That disruption caused Harden to demand a trade to the Philadelphia 76ers last season, sending Ben Simmons to Brooklyn.
Simmons coming off of a back injury didn’t play at all last season. His production has since plummeted following his return. To call him a shell of his former self would insult his former self.
Fast forward to a rescinded trade demand from Durant this summer and the clearly underprepared Head Coach, Steve Nash, being fired at the beginning of this season, and you get to the worst of it all.
Kyrie Irving created off-court controversy in November, yet again intruding on the Nets’ championships aspirations.
The star guard reposted a link to a film with anti-Semitic propaganda on Twitter, which sent the NBA media ablaze. In the aftermath, the Nets forced Irving to serve an eight-game suspension and fulfill a checklist of deeds. Irving then proceeded to lose his sponsorship deal with Nike.
But now, we are in February, just weeks from the All-Star break. The Nets have had their most peaceful stretch of noncontroversial basketball since Irving and Durant signed.
And now, Irving is gone.
Durant, practically immediately, requested a trade. It was clear the window for a title had vanished, and while Dinwiddie and DFS are quality, playoff-starter-level players, they don’t replace the unbelievable talent of Kyrie Irving.
Durant, too, is gone.
Four years have gone down the drain.
It’s the second time the Nets went all-in on a championship roster. The KG-Paul Pierce trade in 2013 ended similarly to the signings of KD and Kyrie – absolutely nothing to show for it outside of one playoff series win in four years. How can this chapter of the Nets be viewed as anything but a complete and abject failure?
At least the Nets have an exciting future: draft capital, a young, hungry, and while not star-studded, talented roster. The Nets might be only a superstar or two away from earnestly contending for an NBA title.
Oh, wait. Does this look familiar to anybody else?