The Brooklyn Nets likely did not see this scenario happening when they first signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. What was once thought of as a sure-fire championship-caliber team is now reminiscent of the Nets’ “Superteam” of years past, which set them back a decade. After the mess that Brooklyn endured when they acquired Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, I don’t think anyone thought that a repeat of that would happen.
Brooklyn now stands as the current tenth seed in the Eastern Conference and has a similar record to the rebuilding Indiana Pacers. This is a tough place to be considering that they were swept in the first round of last season’s playoffs. We all know how the offseason went with Kevin Durant demanding a trade and the usual drama with Kyrie Irving. Combine these factors with Ben Simmons looking like he’s regressing, and you have an absolute disaster.
The Brooklyn Nets have some tough decisions to make.
Now the first issue that comes to the forefront is that Brooklyn traded a bevy of their picks to the Houston Rockets in a deal for James Harden. This year is a little different because it would be a straight swap, with Houston making the selection of which pick is better for them. As of today, the Houston Rockets are tied for last place in the Western Conference.
If Brooklyn decides to trade their stars and punt into the lottery, they are guaranteed a lottery pick regardless of the pick swap. They will get either their own lottery pick or Houston’s. The tricky part is that this is really the only year to make this call, with their future picks going to Houston outright. If they wanted to capitalize on this tactic, it would have to be during this season while their stars still have some value.
Kevin Durant would be the first one to go. They could still get a great package for him, just not the one they were demanding in the last off-season. Kyrie Irving is a bit more tricky. With his issues off the court and his inability to stay healthy, it would be fairly hard to move him at all. They might be better off letting him walk in free agency. Ben Simmons is a player they should keep and try to build up. Regardless, if Brooklyn trades Durant for rebuilding assets, they will plummet hard.
The Brooklyn Nets need to rebuild now rather than later.
This is an opportunity for Brooklyn to clean the slate in a way that sets them up with a decent future. If they opt to wait it out and hope for the best, it can really set them back. This is the year…
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