Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Brooklyn Nets

[Mr_Mojo_Risin]

Kind of in the same boat as Lakers ...2 amazing players but the supporting cast has to be perfect and the leadership is questionable at best.

Yea, they should play a series. Would get plenty of media attention....

They could call it the ESPN Trophy.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

this is a revolutionary idea but trade kd and build around simmons.

AD/Russ for KD/KI. Just for the laughs. Lakers go for it one more time, nets get younger with two possible stars and multiple picks.

[Crazy-Canuck]

Can't win without defense.

[floppymoose]

https://www.nbcsports.com/washington/wizards/here-are-preseason-nba-title-favorites-2021-22

Who are the betting favorites to win the NBA title in 2021-22?

Here are the title odds for all 30 teams this season:

Brooklyn Nets, +225
Los Angeles Lakers, +350
Milwaukee Bucks, +800
Golden State Warriors, +1000
Utah Jazz, +1400
Phoenix Suns, +1600
Los Angeles Clippers, +1800
Philadelphia 76ers, +1800
Denver Nuggets, +2000
Miami Heat, +2200
Dallas Mavericks, +3000
Atlanta Hawks, +3300
Boston Celtics, +4000
...

It was easy money.

[jpengland]

They could quite clearly go either way, to the extreme.

Theoretically this team is built fantastically moving forward and if SImmons does return, he's an ideal piece as he instantly elevates the defense considerably and takes some pressure off KD and Kyrie by being able to initiate offense (albeit largely on the break). Claxton, Brown, Seth Curry and Harris are also pretty ideal role players alongside them and being Brooklyn and having the stars they have, they can always find a rotating cast of veterans who will come and fill out the rotation.

The issues are availability, coaching and the mental make up of the stars. The season was over once Kyrie was sidelined IMO. That put the pressure on Harden (who didn't want to be there) and then ultimately resulted in KD having to do too much work during the season. There was then no time to get things right in time for the playoffs and Nash's coaching was (from what we can see) incredibly weak.

Can you fire Nash given the hand he was dealt this year? Or do you have to give him another year (I'd fire him, but I think the Nets stand by their man).

Does Ben Simmons WANT to return? If he does and he has a full pre-season behind him that solves an awful lot of problems for them right off the bat.

Where is Kyrie's head at? I'd certainly be looking to trade him at the first available opportunity for another scoring guard as he's a ticking time bomb. Again, I assume they stick.

[FeatheryTouch]

Small ray of potential future sunshine - Joe Harris and Ben Simmons might actually play next year.

Massive clouds of darkness - Too many to mention really. Disappointing season overall, swept in the playoffs, the Harden debacle, impotent Nash, huge amounts of cap $$$($130 mil+ next season alone?) tied up in unreliable flakes Kyrie and Simmons and aging injury risk KD.

Perhaps worst of all for the Nets, the GMs moving forward seem to be named Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving:

"When I say I'm here with Kev, I think that really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe and Sean," said Irving.

[wco81]

Would the team be better if they'd never made the first Harden trade?

They'd still have Allen, LeVert.

Not sure who else. Joe Harris might still be injured.


Big decision on Kyrie's extension. They can't let him walk but they may have hit their ceiling, which was last season. This season they did worse and they don't seem to have the cap space to get better players? Or have any significant draft assets?

[Soca]

KD and Kyrie didn't look very good overall. Major disappointment. They shouldn't have traded Harden. It would have been better to keep him and let him leave in the offseason.

It's not like Harden is playing well right now. Even if they kept him I don't think they were going far.

[metalinguss]

2 people really voted for "Peformed better than expected", huh. What did they expect, a lottery team?

[Statlanta]

GM: Change or keep? Keep
Coach: Change or keep? Change
Relative to expectations, how did they fare this year? Worse than Expectations
Rising, falling, or treadmill? Treadmill
If you were in charge, what would you do this offseason?

Ideally trade Kyrie and Ben for reliable role players.
Realistically, sign Kyrie to a 1 year contract and run it back again.

[ElectricMayhem]

Kind of in the same boat as Lakers ...2 amazing players but the supporting cast has to be perfect and the leadership is questionable at best.

Yea, they should play a series. Would get plenty of media attention....

I thought the exact same thing after this series ended. I could see Kyrie Irving calling up LeBron and pitching a series between the two teams that went directly against the NBA finals, time slots and all. Why let yourself be dictated by the oppressive rules of the NBA when you know you are the rightful champion?

[chilluminati]

What will be Kyrie's next debacle? Will Ben Simmons even play basketball for the Nets? Have the Nets realized yet that they have KYRIE AND BEN on the SAME ROSTER?! On paper it's great, in reality it's a nightmare.

I really believe they need to drop 1 max player, between Ben or Kyrie, and trade them for some serious depth, and maybe consider a head coach that demands respect and actually runs the team. That depth and structure is what's allowing teams like the Bucks, Suns, Miami, Boston & more to have the success they've had.

The Nets looked very solid before they mortgaged their depth in the James Harden trade with Houston. Then once Harden wanted out, they lost him and all that depth from before, save for getting Seth and Drum in return, as well as a pro gamer lamb suit enthusiast.

If they manage to actually obtain depth, KD won't have to play 40+ minutes a night. Steve won't have to tell the world how gassed his star is all the time. And this depth I speak of would be players ACTUALLY willing to play basketball (hopefully).

[CobraCommander]

They are in worse shape than the Lakers. At least the Lakers got a ring, know that their alpha is over the hill and they need to move Westbrook-

Nets got Ben who may never play again- Kyrie who was a no show and while is great one on one, is a losing player that can’t lead your team offensively or defend his position that is a part time player COVID or not and KD who is a max player that is a shell of himself when there are expectations and he has to be great to meet them. With the GSW they were great already he was seasoning but on the nets he needed to Make the meal and can’t do that himself clearly. Nets are not a contender even if they run it back a year older and with Ben

[ropjhk]

I'm not sure if KD's and Kyrie's playoff experience matters when you consider their lack of maturity and leadership qualities.

[Curmudgeon]

First two things the Nets need to do is to let Kyrie walk and then trade Ben Simmons for Westbrook. That clears their cap in a year and they can rebuild. The real tragedy is that ownership is paying massive luxury tax for a failed team.

[JXL]

Watch on YouTube

I find this truly hilarious.

[JXL]

ESPN should give out a preseason favorite title so whoever they hype up, if they crash and burn, ESPN can point to the "we said preseason!" excuse.

[makubesu]

One thing we should still discuss: Simmons trades! While you risk trading a guy at his lowest value, but you’ve really got to wonder if this is the team for him after that debacle.

For example, Simmons for Kawhi…

[Rafael122]

They have $17 million in trade exceptions that expire in August, they would be fools not to use them. You can basically trade for 2 rotational pieces for picks that would never convey.

[Jadoogar]

They should start by ditching Nash. Dude can’t coach for sh**.

I don't understand this sentiment. This team has Kyrie doing kyrie things, James harden being out of shape and quitting on the team, the whole Ben Simmons ordeal, and KD missing a ton of time. There's only so much a coach can do when the team is nuts.