Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
Just thinking about that team and how disappointing they were, I never really understood just why they sucked as bad as they did.
Yes, they made the playoffs, and yes, they actually made it past the 1st round, but everything was in such unimpressive fashion, and the RS was such a slog to get through...and they actually had a negative SRS for the season, which means they really weren't a good team at all, despite winning 44 games.
What were the reasons? I know we can point to a lot of different things for why we were never as good as expected, but let's look at the individual players on that team:
-Kevin Garnett: yes, he was pretty washed up at the time, but he was still a really good defensive player at 20-25 mpg. I'm also wondering how he fell off so badly compared to just the year before, when he was still an All-Star caliber player...I would say KG was still a good player at this point, even though he struggled offensively
-Paul Pierce: he actually had a really solid year I think. Don't think the narrative of him being washed up along with KG makes a lot of sense if you just look at his numbers, and then he went on and had a good year with Washington as well.
-Joe Johnson: never anything special as a player, but he was still ok.
-Deron Williams: obviously a huge failure as a franchise player, but again, still an above average player.
-Shaun Livingston: was a huge surprise, and was super solid for us.
-Andrei Kirilenko: injured for most of the year, but again, a serviceable player.
Yeah, Brook missed most of the year, but you still had a team full of "good" players...so even though we weren't nearly as good as some of us expected going in, why weren't we at least an above average team??? Was the coaching that bad?
Yes, they made the playoffs, and yes, they actually made it past the 1st round, but everything was in such unimpressive fashion, and the RS was such a slog to get through...and they actually had a negative SRS for the season, which means they really weren't a good team at all, despite winning 44 games.
What were the reasons? I know we can point to a lot of different things for why we were never as good as expected, but let's look at the individual players on that team:
-Kevin Garnett: yes, he was pretty washed up at the time, but he was still a really good defensive player at 20-25 mpg. I'm also wondering how he fell off so badly compared to just the year before, when he was still an All-Star caliber player...I would say KG was still a good player at this point, even though he struggled offensively
-Paul Pierce: he actually had a really solid year I think. Don't think the narrative of him being washed up along with KG makes a lot of sense if you just look at his numbers, and then he went on and had a good year with Washington as well.
-Joe Johnson: never anything special as a player, but he was still ok.
-Deron Williams: obviously a huge failure as a franchise player, but again, still an above average player.
-Shaun Livingston: was a huge surprise, and was super solid for us.
-Andrei Kirilenko: injured for most of the year, but again, a serviceable player.
Yeah, Brook missed most of the year, but you still had a team full of "good" players...so even though we weren't nearly as good as some of us expected going in, why weren't we at least an above average team??? Was the coaching that bad?
Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
the team had no real speed or athleticism. then add that with Kidd being a green head coach, things got off to a rough start. lots of apathy, and then there's the whole Deron factor which probably was a chemistry killer since Pierce and Johnson both hated him.
midseason however they actually were pretty decent. The team became really good at forcing turnovers in the half court, and we got excellent production from Joe Johnson who was destroying people with his back to the basket game. Shaun Livingston played really well also. Pierce was also hurt to start the season if i recall, he got better as the year went on too.
midseason however they actually were pretty decent. The team became really good at forcing turnovers in the half court, and we got excellent production from Joe Johnson who was destroying people with his back to the basket game. Shaun Livingston played really well also. Pierce was also hurt to start the season if i recall, he got better as the year went on too.
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
deron williams did not want the responsibility of being a franchise player in Brooklyn and quit on the team in the biggest moments. the dude routinely put up 0fers in playoff games. eff deron.
at least joe put up a fight
at least joe put up a fight


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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
shakendfries wrote:deron williams did not want the responsibility of being a franchise player in Brooklyn and quit on the team in the biggest moments. the dude routinely put up 0fers in playoff games. eff deron.
at least joe put up a fight
Joe was a stud March through May of that season. Dude posted a 20 PER over 62% TS in the playoffs, that was literally the best basketball that we saw from him. I don't know if he was energized by playing with PP/KG but the energy Joe had during that stretch was a high level of basketball that we haven't seen on this team SINCE. And that was just a few months

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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
I think it was on Deron Williams' apathy and Kidd's lack of ability as a coach to bring the finished product together. I think if Deron trusted his teammates more and bought into a strong, leadership oriented coaching system (I imagine if we were being coached by Carlisle or McMillan) instead of letting the players figure things out on their own, that he would've been more productive.
That whole team and era... I wanted so badly for them to succeed and we were left not only in a trench, but one of the deepest holes in NBA history. We were completely **** on as fans, then had to endure ridicule for years by other fans, media, and even former players.
I love Sean Marks. Thank god for Sean Marks.
That whole team and era... I wanted so badly for them to succeed and we were left not only in a trench, but one of the deepest holes in NBA history. We were completely **** on as fans, then had to endure ridicule for years by other fans, media, and even former players.
I love Sean Marks. Thank god for Sean Marks.
Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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It was all Deron's fault. We started the season with like a 10-22 record if I recall but by mid season we went on a lot of winning streaks and to end the season. We never practiced, as Joe said, and we had no speed to defend the LeBron and Wade led HEAT. Kidd never had great game plan, and he tanked the last few games of the season so we wouldn't play the Pacers in the 2nd round because we had rebounding issues, which I think was a horrible decision.
Kidd thought because we beat the HEAT in the regular season 3 times that we would of beat them in the series. I feel like the refs robbed us out of one game we should of won but we were not beating the HEAT bottom line. Like MDB said we lived and died with Joe Johnson's post up game and he had an incredible post season. Deron did not show up at all ! Got outplayed by Lowry and I think Mario Chalmers was starting for the HEAT. Can't be a star player and get outplayed by a bench warmer. If Deron was the star everybody thought he was we might of had a chance but those years were all LeBron.
Kidd thought because we beat the HEAT in the regular season 3 times that we would of beat them in the series. I feel like the refs robbed us out of one game we should of won but we were not beating the HEAT bottom line. Like MDB said we lived and died with Joe Johnson's post up game and he had an incredible post season. Deron did not show up at all ! Got outplayed by Lowry and I think Mario Chalmers was starting for the HEAT. Can't be a star player and get outplayed by a bench warmer. If Deron was the star everybody thought he was we might of had a chance but those years were all LeBron.
Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Deron was getting his lunch eaten by Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole.
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
alot went wrong but the biggest factor is ths.... Deron Williams had the msot unprecendented fall from all-star/star to backup level player the league has seenw ithout major injury playing a role. in the middle of his prime he went from 20/10 type all-star to jarret jack level
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No doubt Deron's fall from All-star level player to bench player caliber overnight. It's like the aliens from Space-Jam stole his talents.
There were other factors such as Brook missing the entire season, the fall of KG/PP/AK47, etc.
There were other factors such as Brook missing the entire season, the fall of KG/PP/AK47, etc.
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What went wrong was there was trading for a washed up, immobile malcontent plus KG and Terry, when your coach's DNA wants to push tempo.
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
Prokorov wrote:alot went wrong but the biggest factor is ths.... Deron Williams had the msot unprecendented fall from all-star/star to backup level player the league has seenw ithout major injury playing a role. in the middle of his prime he went from 20/10 type all-star to jarret jack level
and it's not even like he had a traumatic story like Derrick Rose...all of derons former teammates say the dude just got his money and didn't give a f


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shakendfries wrote:Prokorov wrote:alot went wrong but the biggest factor is ths.... Deron Williams had the msot unprecendented fall from all-star/star to backup level player the league has seenw ithout major injury playing a role. in the middle of his prime he went from 20/10 type all-star to jarret jack level
and it's not even like he had a traumatic story like Derrick Rose...all of derons former teammates say the dude just got his money and didn't give a f
I don't think I've ever seen anything like it, I mean I know guys ball out in their contract year to get that fat check so they can chill out a little the rest of their careers, but the dude legit went from an All Pro team guy to a backup point guard, even backups were killing him. I don't think I've seen that in the NBA before, without any injuries etc..
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I'll never forget the way that Nate Robinson dominated him in the playoffs versus a Bulls team that was depleted.
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Yea I mean the simple answer is usually the right one - the "best player" on the team played the worst out of everyone on the team. It was that simple. Pierce did his part, KG did ok in his role. Livingston was great off the bench. JJ was absolutely solid and clutch. Deron just completely choked. He couldn't even inbound the ball at the end of the game let alone make anything positive happen. Completely fell apart in a moment that was there for the taking, as crazy as it seems in hindsight.
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
I might be misremembering this, but I thought evidence eventually came out that Deron's wrist / ankle issues (one of those) were significantly worse than publicly known at the time of the trade. And that at least one of the examining doctors had some reservations, but King decided to just grit his teeth and hope for the most favorable outcome. Assuming Billy King even knows how to grit his teeth, which is debatable.
Also, to me a lot of this goes back to Prokhy's / King's / Razumov's disastrous plan of grabbing as many big names as possible, no matter the baggage, no matter the negatives. Carmelo, Deron or Howard as the main acquisition, it was most likely going to make a certain splash and then fail at a certain point.
Also, to me a lot of this goes back to Prokhy's / King's / Razumov's disastrous plan of grabbing as many big names as possible, no matter the baggage, no matter the negatives. Carmelo, Deron or Howard as the main acquisition, it was most likely going to make a certain splash and then fail at a certain point.
Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
- shakendfries
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Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
gigantes wrote:I might be misremembering this, but I thought evidence eventually came out that Deron's wrist / ankle issues (one of those) were significantly worse than publicly known at the time of the trade. And that at least one of the examining doctors had some reservations, but King decided to just grit his teeth and hope for the most favorable outcome. Assuming Billy King even knows how to grit his teeth, which is debatable.
Also, to me a lot of this goes back to Prokhy's / King's / Razumov's disastrous plan of grabbing as many big names as possible, no matter the baggage, no matter the negatives. Carmelo, Deron or Howard as the main acquisition, it was most likely going to make a certain splash and then fail at a certain point.
Derons physical decline, coupled with the pressure of being in the spotlight, beat his confidence down and joy for the game way before his reputation caught up to his apparent decline.
I mean, Deron Williams routinely got washed by secondary players, Shaun Livingston and Jarrett Jack in practice. So much so that both Jason Kidd & Lionel Hollins routinely benched dwill in favor of his backup, which wouldn’t be anything to be ashamed of if dwill wasn’t getting paid $98 million and being touted as a franchise cornerstone, or if it looked like he gave a damn on the court.
Derons teammates questioned his work ethic and desire to even play for the team. It was so bad that Paul Pierce deadass looked dwill in the face in front of the rest of the team and mocked
^ I am not exaggerating, this exchange was reported by ESPN
The Brooklyn Game has a fantastic first hand write up on his tenure in Brooklyn
Noise followed Deron Williams like a shadow. The less he made, the louder the cacophony grew. He lacked confidence. His body hurt. He was overpaid. He didn’t want to be a leader. He didn’t like New York. He didn’t like his coaches. The fans didn’t like him. Everyone had something to say, and the less he said, the more it allowed everyone else to fill in the gaps
... But Williams had never lived up to the lofty expectations that come with a max contract and a big market, and as the symbol of the franchise’s pricy failures, both he & the Nets were ready for a breakup. The Nets have not hidden from the trade rumors, and though Williams stayed professional in his answers, the constant rumors clearly affected his desire to stay.
I have stood face to face with a monotone, glassy Williams as he tried to explain losses, and face to face with Williams while he described wins with the same tone and fervor. Even when the team was successful, Williams was coming to terms with his own creaky body, his limited lift, his waning confidence, with the slow realization that he was a highly-paid, underperforming former All-Star who’d slowly lost his role as Brooklyn looked forward without him
I have watched Deron Williams deflect reasonable, honest questions about his body like they were an insult. I appreciate your concern for my health was a common refrain, or just a blank stare and a “next question,” even as he missed games and struggled through possessions. I have watched him dis the New York Knicks and Kobe Bryant in candid moments that were as few and far between as his signature games.
It wasn’t always this way. I watched a rejuvenated Deron Williams throwing down a reverse two-handed dunk in Game 1 against the Chicago Bulls in April 2013, putting an exclamation point on a blowout that would two weeks later prove irrelevant. I watched him set an NBA record for three-pointers in a half with nine, sitting next to Nets play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco just laughing, because I had no other way to process what was happening. We saw him dunk on Roy Hibbert and drop 57 on the Bobcats. I watched him trash-talk A.J. Price, barking “this is my home now!” about Brooklyn’s Barclays Center during a preseason game in 2012. There were always sizzles in the pan.
But he was rarely considered the catalyst for Brooklyn’s victories. Joe Johnson hit the game-winners. Kevin Garnett anchored the defense. Paul Pierce made damn sure everyone knew why he was there. The little guys — Andray Blatche, Shaun Livingston, Reggie Evans — flourished in one way or another. There were maybe a dozen times in five years when you thought “wow, Deron Williams won the Nets that game.” Somehow, Williams was squeezed out of the team that had sold him as the centerpiece.
Even his final shining moment — an out-of-nowhere, 35-point playoff performance against the Hawks that was so good that it wasn’t even vintage, just mystifying — served as a time for the team to rally around him in support. The story was Unity, not Stardom; “he’s ours,” not “he’s great.” It was a supreme fall from grace from what his past billing as the leading man.
Williams’s last shot in a Brooklyn Nets uniform came on May 1, 2015. It was a twisting layup against the Atlanta Hawks, in the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the NBA playoffs, with the Nets down 22. It was blocked by Hawks backup Mike Muscala.
Deron Williams’s time with the Nets is over. But the Deron Williams “era” ended long ago.
This writing is phenomenal btw, shoutout to Devin Kharpertian
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
- gigantes
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
@shakendfries,
Honestly, that all sounds pretty compatible with what I mentioned above.
Sometimes injuries don't need to be severe and dramatic in order to shake a player's self-confidence. Sometimes it's enough that they make your body feel different... less capable, more frail, less 'special.' I think this is especially true with chronic, nagging injuries.
By comparison, in some ways it's much easier to embrace a fierce, rehab mindset like a Kobe Bryant let's say, especially when you can entertain the hope that you'll come out even better at the end, like a Jeremy Lin is hoping to, let's say. But not everyone can deal with being sort of permanently diminished and likely with a steady, annoying pain. IMO wrist and ankle troubles in particular don't help. Personally I've had them all, and I'd almost rather have a chronic nagging back injury, especially for something like BBall.
Nets fans typically seem to think that Deron's willpower and drive fell off the cliff first, and then the other stuff followed, but I'm not sure if that's right, nor how much sense that really makes. Regardless, it does sound like D-Will wasn't being as honest with himself as he could have been, which would have made the whole thing worse. One suspects that a part of his mind just couldn't accept no longer being a special player, and that increased his sulkiness and sour attitude.
*shrug*
But again, under the three stooges' management plan, I'm not sure this was going to wind up much differently either way. Instead we'd be rehashing why Carmelo or Dwight Howard and whoever else were so disappointing, instead. It's still insane to me what a nice stock of draft picks and positive opportunity the Nets had at a certain point before blowing through them all in short order instead of rebuilding like most sane teams would have done.
Honestly, that all sounds pretty compatible with what I mentioned above.
Sometimes injuries don't need to be severe and dramatic in order to shake a player's self-confidence. Sometimes it's enough that they make your body feel different... less capable, more frail, less 'special.' I think this is especially true with chronic, nagging injuries.
By comparison, in some ways it's much easier to embrace a fierce, rehab mindset like a Kobe Bryant let's say, especially when you can entertain the hope that you'll come out even better at the end, like a Jeremy Lin is hoping to, let's say. But not everyone can deal with being sort of permanently diminished and likely with a steady, annoying pain. IMO wrist and ankle troubles in particular don't help. Personally I've had them all, and I'd almost rather have a chronic nagging back injury, especially for something like BBall.
Nets fans typically seem to think that Deron's willpower and drive fell off the cliff first, and then the other stuff followed, but I'm not sure if that's right, nor how much sense that really makes. Regardless, it does sound like D-Will wasn't being as honest with himself as he could have been, which would have made the whole thing worse. One suspects that a part of his mind just couldn't accept no longer being a special player, and that increased his sulkiness and sour attitude.
*shrug*
But again, under the three stooges' management plan, I'm not sure this was going to wind up much differently either way. Instead we'd be rehashing why Carmelo or Dwight Howard and whoever else were so disappointing, instead. It's still insane to me what a nice stock of draft picks and positive opportunity the Nets had at a certain point before blowing through them all in short order instead of rebuilding like most sane teams would have done.
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Deron's attitude was horrible from the first day he got here.
And frankly, the fact that a grown man walked up to another grown man and asked him mockingly "does your pussy hurt?" and it didn't result in at least a heated verbal altercation speaks volumes about the entire situation.
And frankly, the fact that a grown man walked up to another grown man and asked him mockingly "does your pussy hurt?" and it didn't result in at least a heated verbal altercation speaks volumes about the entire situation.
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
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Re: Looking back: what went wrong with the 2014 Nets?
gigantes wrote:@shakendfries,
Honestly, that all sounds pretty compatible with what I mentioned above.
Sometimes injuries don't need to be severe and dramatic in order to shake a player's self-confidence. Sometimes it's enough that they make your body feel different... less capable, more frail, less 'special.' I think this is especially true with chronic, nagging injuries.
By comparison, in some ways it's much easier to embrace a fierce, rehab mindset like a Kobe Bryant let's say, especially when you can entertain the hope that you'll come out even better at the end, like a Jeremy Lin is hoping to, let's say. But not everyone can deal with being sort of permanently diminished and likely with a steady, annoying pain. IMO wrist and ankle troubles in particular don't help. Personally I've had them all, and I'd almost rather have a chronic nagging back injury, especially for something like BBall.
Nets fans typically seem to think that Deron's willpower and drive fell off the cliff first, and then the other stuff followed, but I'm not sure if that's right, nor how much sense that really makes. Regardless, it does sound like D-Will wasn't being as honest with himself as he could have been, which would have made the whole thing worse. One suspects that a part of his mind just couldn't accept no longer being a special player, and that increased his sulkiness and sour attitude.
*shrug*
But again, under the three stooges' management plan, I'm not sure this was going to wind up much differently either way. Instead we'd be rehashing why Carmelo or Dwight Howard and whoever else were so disappointing, instead. It's still insane to me what a nice stock of draft picks and positive opportunity the Nets had at a certain point before blowing through them all in short order instead of rebuilding like most sane teams would have done.
deron owed the fans, franchise, and teammates more than he gave us. his tenure involved pointed fingers at teammates when things went south, getting coaches fired, half-assing in practice, and eventually agreeing to a buyout.
we never even really got an explanation. all we heard about deron while he was here is that he didn't really want the responsibility of a franchise player or even play in brooklyn.
he was a bum as a Net and will be remembered as such. laziest most idgaf attitude from any NY athlete since Eddie Curry. disgraceful


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