Simmons/Irving/Curry/Harris/Durant… Nets are going to be very good this year if they can stay healthy. Won’t be rooting for injuries, but also won’t be mad if Ben Simmons needs another mental health break.
Initially I thought you were talking about Harden based on the first line, as he often would skip the team plane and fly private to Vegas for a night and then rejoin the team later. The difference is talent. If you are a great player it is just super star things you do, if you are a mediocre player then it is viewed as being a headcase. Now we've got a below average player in KJ acting like he is prime James Harden making demands. I'm OK w KPJ acting the same way as long as he becomes a super star.
Demanded to be traded is a bit of a strong way to phrase that. Look, would you rather have him sit on the bench and pine away while he plots his exit from Houston, or for him to be transparent with the GM about a tough situation which he is perceiving correctly? Fact is that unless you move or consolidate guys, KMJ may not get many minutes next year.
My guess is that Kyrie is traded before then. The Nets aren't obligated to do a sign and trade, and Kyrie likely didn't want to risk losing his Bird Rights.
The reality is we do need to consolidate, and likely fairly quickly. Even if the Dallas guys are all cut, I think we have a lot of guys that still need to be moved, and Silas has not given guys the opportunity to even show what they have. We will likely end up trading away multiple guys that end up being very productive NBA players elsewhere. I am not even thinking of Robert Covington level of contribution, but well beyond that. I don't think Houston in my life has ever given up a guy without knowing who he is and him ending up a star elsewhere. There seems like an increasing probability of that happening with the number of 1st round draft picks we will have from 2021-2023+. If I were to guess i think it will end up being someone like Christopher that gets moved and ends up shining elsewhere.
I think people are continuously misinterpreting the opt in and previously the S&T. There are so few teams with cap space and so many operating over the cap that the S&T was virtually impossible to work out. Look at the crazy hysterical hoops the Knicks are jumping through to sign Jalen Brunson. Someone needs to do the trade cost on that one with draft picks and players given away to create the space. Kyrie had such a contention with the team that they gave him permission to seek a trade. Obviously, he wants out of there and they have allowed the relationship to be damaged enough to WANT him out of there, all the way to damaging their relationship with KD. Smart teams don't do this but in any case I see the opt-in as a far greater predicter that he does get traded soon. I don't care what language he or they gave about the opt-in. This is no different than our negotiating with C Wood on an extension and throwing out the first pitch the day before trading him.
LOL! This does not discount what I said in any way. The Nets allowing Kyrie to seek a S&T does not contractually obligate them to do one. If Kyrie had become a free agent, the Nets could easily decide trying to do a S&T is not worth it (i.e., THT contract isn't worth the pick) and say buh-bye. The Nets aren't going to tell him they are going to dump him if he didn't opt in. Opting in was the only way Kyrie could guarantee making $37M this coming season. Kyrie either really wants to play for the Nets or he is doing what will make him the most money.
It was always gonna be useless unless the Rockets were gonna be the surprise team of the NBA in 2022-23. We're gonna have another high lottery pick and the Nets will be at worst a lower playoff(or play-in) seed like last year. The year we want Brooklyn to implode is 2023-24. THAT is when we own their pick outright and will presumably be a much better team ourselves. And it can still happen. If Kyrie bolts next summer for nothing and/or Durant demands a trade(either because of Kyrie's departure or the Nets underachieving again), Brooklyn will be left in shambles just when we need them to start sucking. In a weird way, it's almost good Kyrie opted in. I don't want the Nets beginning their rebuild too soon and potentially undermining the potential strength of the picks and swaps from 2024-27.
Jordan should tell Kupchak to trade for Kyrie. Hayward + Rozier for Kyrie. Irving plays off ball with Melo like how he did with Harden, Jordan gets out of Hayward's and Rozier's contracts, Brooklyn gets a decent return back (when compared to, say, trading for Russell Westbrook) to actually form a team around Durant and Simmons. Short term if all parties are healthy that's still a pretty good team; long term I see this new Nets team breaking down fast which makes our Nets picks even more valuable.
