I wonder what contract the Nets will offer Kyrie. U simply can not trust that fool if we found out he didn’t show up to game 4 against Boston for personal reasons, would anyone be surprised? Idk how a teammate can have any respect for Ben Simmons. Harden was willing to play on 1 leg last postseason, and KD had problems with him, but will tolerate Kyrie missing most of the year and will ok trading Harden for a guy in Ben Simmons who is 1 of the softest and most mentally weak players in the NBA. Of course he woke up with “back soreness” after being expected to suit up in game 4. Who does he think he’s fooling? trojan horse Kyrie ruined everything
“he’s 1 of the absolute professionals at missing work” Pastor Smith was preaching in that clip…surprised he didn’t whip out a napkin and start wiping sweat from his forehead
This thread might age quite well like a fine wine that flows like beer, a thread where the beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. I'm talking about a little thing that happens called "implosion".
The more I look at this trade in retrospect, I'm stunned Stone got all these picks and swaps unprotected.
It is more likely a question of how much does Durant "love basketball" and when does he want to retire. He is under contract until the 2025-26 season on a max deal that you normally pay a MVP level player. He has looked like for stretches with the Nets, but he hasn't been able healthy enough to play a full season anymore. Unless Simmons can finally become the player his fanboys protected him to be, the Nets will not be contenders in that span. Would another team be willing to trade for Durant on that contract to be their 2nd star? It's possible, but it feels there would only be a few teams in that conversation and the compensation to the Nets may not be as much as they want.
Considering his health and current level of play, I can't see him having the leverage to force his way out of Brooklyn at the amount he's making. Paying Durant $45M is going to be another John Wall / Westbrook situation.
if healthy and locked in I think they can contend next year. Kyrie will be able to play full time, curry and Harris offer elite spacing, Simmons, brown and Claxton are a good group of defenders. they need to move off of the old guys. stop playing LMA, Blake, mills, etc... maybe bring in a better/ more experienced coach. they have no incentive to break up. they have assets to improve, and can contend as-is if healthy. I don't see KD forcing his way out. and I don't see them pulling the plug... yet. but another year or two of playoff failure could force their hand. here's hoping.
I am not even worried about whether he leaves. He played 55 games this season. 35 games the season before. and 0 games the season before that. And he's 33 now. It's not going to get easier to stay healthy. Literally the only thing that can save the Nets at this point is if somehow Ben Simmons gets healthy and somehow makes us all look like fools by reaching his potential. Seems like a long shot to me. Not sure that they'll be coughing up lottery picks in the next couple years, but those picks and pick swaps are WAY more valuable than anyone predicted and I think the media already ought to start revisiting that trade. Remember when the narrative was that we got nothing for Harden? How's that look now? We're already getting a #17 pick and Harden isn't even on their team anymore.
I think you are making it seem too simple of a fix. Part of why Durant and Irving loved Nash is he lets them do what they want, which in this series has shown that not having a good coach is a huge detriment. They have no real plays. They have very little scheme. They have no real rotation other than Kyrie and Durant go play ~40 minutes. Will they be okay with Net's bringing a guy who won't be as laissez faire? Will they be okay with an upcoming coach or will they want a retread like Snyder or Doc if those guys get fired? Would those coaches really move the needle for this team? Also, does anyone think Kyrie is not going to opt out this off season? He has never done anything not in his own interest, and opting out to ask for a new max deal is in his interest. In that case, would Nets really give it to him? Who wins that staring match and how does it work out? This team made sense when Harden, Durant and Kyrie were there because their offensive efficiency was so high they only needed to be average on defense. Their offense is now just too stagnant and predictable against the best defense. It is basically the exact opposite of Utah's problem -- works in regular season, but not really against elite playoff teams. Unless Simmons is actually able to become that distributor they don't have anyone to do that, and there is currently no evidence Simmons will be able to play a game, much level be a good distributor. On defense, Irving is often a negative defender in the NBA. Even Brown and Claxton are good defenders compared to who else is on the Nets roster, but not compared to other playoff teams. At one point Durant could do that for a season, but he is shouldering way more offensive load on this team as constructed and can't even play a full season any more.
The Nets are positioning themselves for 2023, since all their hopes are completely placed on Ben Simmons. If it does not work out, the Nets will likely need to make a very important and drastic decision: Completely blow up the team and trade everyone for assets. Kyrie and Simmons are very tough to work with on the market, but Durant should still be commanding a lot of trade value. I wouldn't be surprised if Durant is also okay with this decision. Hope the ship somehow steers itself back in the right direction, which is almost impossible because all their cap space is tied up between 3 players. Frankly, this is a very tough spot for any GM to be in. The team as it is constructed now just does not look like it will ever have a shot, but they also don't have the assets or cap space to improve. If by the middle of next season the Nets are still struggling, if I was the GM, I would try to salvage the value of Irving (Simmons is likely a lost cause or would need several seasons for his value to recover), whilst bubble wrapping Durant as much as possible. Then trading both of them for picks and assets during the off-season. This will hurt a lot in the short run, especially since Houston has complete control over their picks for 5 years, but frankly putting a healthy Durant on the market is the only way the Nets can pick up enough assets to counteract the effects of the trade with Houston.
