Former NBA Champion Refuses to Believe James Harden & Kevin Durant Alone Can Win a Championship for Brooklyn Nets

The James Harden trade saga finally came to an end as the Brooklyn Nets pulled off a blockbuster deal to bring in the 31-year-old. Now with James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant, they cement themselves as one of the favorites for the title.

While Irving has been absent for the last 7 games, the partnership between Kevin Durant and James Harden looks great. The pair have put up a staggering 138 points between them in the first 2 games.

With such a strong start to the partnership, many critics have said that the Nets are better off without Irving in the team. Former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins doesn’t think so. In a recent appearance at the First Take, Perkins spoke about the importance of Kyrie Irving.

He said, “He’s gonna have a huge impact. I know everyone is saying that the Nets don’t need Kyrie, they can make it out of the East, and that’s right, I get that. But that’s not the Nets’ goal.

“James Harden wanted to be traded to Brooklyn not just to make it to the Finals, but to win a championship. And guess what, they are not doing that without Kyrie Irving.

“The guy is averaging 27 points on 50% shooting. So when I look at Kyrie Irving, and I look at James Harden and Kevin Durant, this could be the most explosive offensive firepower we have ever seen in league history on one team.”

He added, “When you add Kyrie Irving to James Harden and Kevin Durant offensively already showed us on a small sample size, he is just gonna add to this.

“The pressure is on Steve Nash and how he is going to stagger their minutes and what type of position he is going to put these guys in.”

The Nets already look scary with Harden and KD on the floor. Kyrie makes his return tonight. It will be interesting to see how Steve Nash uses him and how the trio plays together.

Can the Brooklyn Nets finally win an NBA Championship this season?

The Nets have instantly become one of the title favorites with the Harden trade. With the Big Three of KD, Kyrie, and Harden, the Nets have an explosive offense that can outscore any opponent.

The Nets are the latest team to form their own version of a Big Three. If we were to take a recent example of a similarly formidable combination, the Golden State Warriors’ trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kevin Durant comes to mind.

The trio won the championship in some style against the Cavs and KD got his first ring and Finals MVP.

Can KD recreate his magic and make this Big Three work? The trio is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous offenses the league has seen in some time. The key factor will be how Steve Nash handles 3 big characters with their own egos and legacies.

The other biggest worry for Nash will be to play efficient defense. There is no doubt that the Nets have a monstrous offense, but is an aging DeAndre Jordan good enough? Will the trio be up for putting up any defensive efforts?

There are many doubts about this Nets team for now. Irrespective of that, the team has impeccable quality. It will be intriguing to see how this plays out in the near future.