The Brooklyn Nets are in the process of turning from major contenders to a lottery team in a span of a few months. At the beginning of February, they had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. While the trio didn’t play together as much as most people expected, the three of them could be game-winners on their day.
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Now, Harden is gone while Durant has asked to be traded. Irving will follow suit as the Nets reportedly don’t want anything to do with him. That’s according to Nets owner, Joe Tsai. A recent report stated that Tsai would prefer to have a mid-level team rather than a team full of egos. Although it is an interesting statement coming from the owner of a basketball franchise, it is understandable.
Notably, off-court issues regarding all three of them seemed to keep happening. The team had to defend their choices, be it Irving’s insistence on not getting vaccinated or KD’s war of words with analysts and fans on Twitter. The Brooklyn Nets assembled a team that on paper, looked good enough to win it all.
“Joe Tsai would rather have a team that plays hard that he's proud to own that wins 40 games and fights for the play-in than have a team that has way more talent that he's not proud to be a part of.” 😳
– ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on the Nets’ owner
(h/t @Krisplashed ) pic.twitter.com/WMnwfHPq8L
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 1, 2022
However, losing talents like Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving is a big organizational failure. They were expected to win multiple championships but they couldn’t even reach the Conference Finals. Durant and Irving have been NBA champions previously while Harden is a former MVP.
Whichever way you look at it, this is a failure of epic proportions.
The Brooklyn Nets squandered a huge opportunity
The Nets had a massive opportunity to become NBA champions for the first time in their history. After acquiring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in 2019, they traded for James Harden in January 2021. However, in a span of just over a year, the three of them managed to play only 16 games together.
After some internal issues, Harden was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers for another disgruntled star, Ben Simmons. Simmons hadn’t played a game since June 2021 because of mental health issues. After planning to play in the playoffs for the Nets, Simmons eventually backed out.
WATCH THIS STORY: How Kevin Durant made millions off the court?
Fans were quick to rip apart the Nets owner for his view on the NBA team.
https://twitter.com/loctastic/status/1542910616129658881?s=20&t=kpCWAcjpHmLjB9mY41jP-w
https://twitter.com/hnrydearing/status/1542889146779328512?s=20&t=kpCWAcjpHmLjB9mY41jP-w
The whole point is to win? pic.twitter.com/pLgqf6AizR
— Luka's Burner (@DoncicSeason) July 1, 2022
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Sounds like they want a Top 75 player that plays hard every night. Why not? pic.twitter.com/F2W4eYB6Rh
— FROBE (@FR08E) July 1, 2022
Tsai’s feelings got in the way of doing NBA BUSINESS. Can’t run a NYC TEAM like a small market franchise. Concessions need to be made in these scenarios especially when you can win at a high level. Don’t be surprised to hear him being a loud voice during the next CBA negotiations
— Thee Second Apron (@JarvTGA) July 1, 2022
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While the Durant-Irving era turned out to be a huge disappointment, the Nets will remain hopeful of acquiring massive hauls for both their superstars. What do you think about Tsai’s reported intentions? Will the Brooklyn Nets manage to rebuild again? Let us know in the comments.