gigantes wrote:This is probably going to sound stoopid & reactionary, but the more I turn the whole puzzle over in my mind, the more obvious it seems that the smartest thing now would be to move on from KD & Kyrie and get a jump on the inevitable rebuild. Because as stated above, winning and sacrificing to win are clearly not their highest priorities, and they both come loaded with extra challenges on top of that.
For example, even KD, as amazing as he's been, is going to start next season at 34yo, and the problem with aging players is not just that they tend to decline, but that they're also more statistically prone to injuries. The Nets have been incredibly lucky with KD, but it's not remotely something I'd want to rely on.
After this draft, I believe the Nets still owe their '24 and '26 picks to the Rockets, plus of course pick swaps in '23, '25 & '27, with two Sixers picks coming back. If they can make quality deals for Kyrie, KD, and probably Joe, I'm thinking that should put the Nets roughly back in the bonus, far better shape than they were when Marks first took over. Whether the Nets assets are hugely valuable to HOU or not, that part's simply water under the bridge, now. The Rox aren't even in our conference, and regardless, you can't manage your franchise just to avoid benefiting another team.
I think a rebuild starting this summer would be a lot less painless this time around. Marks did nicely picking the last four rookies, and there's little choice but to see what Simmons can bring next season. Bruce (25yo), Clax (23) and Drummond (28) all need to be decided on, but the money would be there, if necessary. With the expected picks coming back from the trades above, Marks can get back to his strengths and add whatever extra talent and 'gems in the rough'-type players the scouting dept can scare up.
Sure, there wouldn't be many wins next season, but there'd be a lot more talented young guys to watch than last time around, and a chance to reset back to the core values that Marks used to preach, which was accountability, hard work, and "Brooklyn grit." I think most Nets fans could get on board with that soon enough, and we'd likely get back our national reputation for what that's worth.
Of course it would also constitute a setback when it came to star players eying the Nets as a destination, but hopefully that wouldn't be relevant for a couple years, and I think the BOS sweep helps a lot to establish that the KD-Kyrie tandem just wasn't working, anyway.
Is this something Marks would actually entertain doing, even fractionally? I doubt it. It sounds like he's convinced himself that due to a weird set of circumstances (true enough), the Nets were missing huge chunks of their payroll for most of the season (Harris, Kyrie, Harden/Simmons). Also true enough, and it's a pretty damn convincing argument in a vacuum. Unfortunately, it misses the more important issue that a team built around these two is too problematic as a consistent title-aspirant, not to mention the serious age and flakiness concerns, which will never go away.
So-- it sounds a lot like Marks believes that Nash is worth sticking with, that these two stars are still worth building around, and that quite possibly the Sixers picks will be traded to help get them a bit more help. I therefore expect the Nets to keep bumbling along like this for the next few years, sometimes coming tantalizingly close like last year, but ultimately having little to show for all the years and talent sent out the door, reaching too hard for the prize. Winning isn't everything of course, but I think what makes this so excruciating compared to the team from just a couple years ago is that this these guys aren't even likeable, nor fun to watch. That's a bit of a killer, that is.
It won't happen, but I think you're right. That's why I'm not too optimistic about next season.
I think it all starts with Durant and Irving. Nash is a bad coach, but the more I think about, the less I think it matters if he gets fired. Because if he was to be dismissed, I think the Nets would just hire a Nash 2.0. That's what KD and Irving want and the front office apparently tries to make them happy.
I don't know if they don't care enough about winning or don't understand better, but I don't think they win by playing in a non-existing System. Defense is even worse than our offense but playing with this ISO-only system limits our chances heavily. The issue is not that it is ugly to watch (which it is) and easy to gameplan against (which it is), but that you have to play them tons of minutes. With this system you rely on players who can create their own shot. If they don't play, the offense collapses. If you have a pass heavy system, you can survive even win good iso players are not on the court. That's why great teams even win, when their stars are out. Everyone knows his role and actually has a role.
KD and Irving clearly were not enough this year. Maybe Simmons will help, being a additional playmaker. But with KD's age, the health issue of Ben and Kyrie being Kyrie, I don't expect them to play 82 games. Heavy minutes will come again, injuries might follow as well as fatigue in the playoffs.
But KD and Irving want to play that way, they don't want a real coach. If Marks doesn't have the balls to fire Nash and hire a real coach with a real system ( after Irving signs an extension), I think the best you can hope for, is adding better assistant coaches (especially a defensive coordinator), having some roster upgrades, like real 3&D guys/bigger wings and being healthy.
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