BOOM! When you think a team can’t get any more talented and annoying in terms of having Divas or high personalities as of right now in Basketball you would think of the Brooklyn Nets. A team that has just gone from little brother to the Knicks in New York City to perhaps the most overhyped team in NBA history in the span of 2 years. As a fan of a team trying to knock them off in the East I have come to a conclusion that the Nets have once again thrown everything into the sun to bring in egotistical star players. Let us begin!
2013-14: The Nets are looking to add fire to a core that already features the likes of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, and an emerging talent in Brook Lopez. They may have come up short against Derrick Rose and the Bulls in an Overtime Game 7 last season but GM Billy King is looking to make the biggest trade since Kevin Garnett Sam Cassel and Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson were traded to the Celtics in a 3 team trade which led to their 2008 championship. Speaking of Boston they want to get rid of Paul Pierce and KG declining talents. Their solution sending both of them and 3 point specialist Jason Terry to Brooklyn for 5 first round picks and Gerald Wallace. The media called it the trade that would start a dynasty for NYCs second team. The only issue was that they had a 1st year coach in Jason Kidd who had just retired from the hardwood that summer. The regular season was nowhere near predicted by every sports pundit that year but they still made the playoffs even in a loaded Eastern Conference thanks to their starting 5s talents. They stormed past an up and coming force in the Raptors and caused Drake to eat the salt of Pierce in Game 7. The bad news for Nets fans is that they got crushed in the next round by a steamroller known as LeBron, D-Wade and the Miami Heat.
2014-15: Despite playing down to competition that season King as well as Jay-Z were trying to get LeBron James to come to Brooklyn but he instead went back to Cleveland! The bad news for the Nets was not only did they strike out swinging they lost Paul Pierce to Washington, as well as Jason Kidd taking the first flight out to Milwaukee (Where he became a CLOWN! “Salty Bucks fan”) not to mention Deron Williams was injured and Jason Terry left as well. Despite those moves they still had Johnson, KG, Lopez, and few good prospects. They may have struggled in the regular season but they still made the playoffs that year. The bad news was that they got smacked in 6 games by the Atlanta Hawks and Mike Budenholtzers “Let it Fly” scheme. Well at least they can attract free agents. BOOM! Well then.
Mid 2010s: For a few years the Nets went into the tank brigade despite having no 1st Round Picks until 2019. The only good players that were left were Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin, and Deron Williams who just lost his cool. When they gave up those 5 first round picks to Boston everyone thought they were crazy but no one expected what they went through. By the way, who did they get with those picks? Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. Not to mention they traded 2 of those picks to get Al Horford. That could have been you guys but the Nets during the 2017 offseason finally got rid of Brook Lopez. They traded him to the Lakers for D’Angelo Russell. The bad news for Nets fans is that Lopez has had some of his best years in Milwaukee as well.
2018-20: It took awhile but the Nets were able to make the playoffs around a core that featured Jarret Allen, Spencer Dinwidde, Russell, and a few others. Despite a hot start to their series against a juggernaut in the Philadelphia 76ers they were always one step behind them despite D’Angelo Russell’s efforts, plus there was good old REFBALL in Game 4 that too. Even if their front office has changed they now are looking to strike for the Prizes of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. But to get those 2 they would have to compete with their Manhattan Rivals. The good news for Brooklyn is that Jay-Z is good buddies with those 2. Oh KD and Kyrie are coming to New York alright, BOOM! Well it may have been a few years but they said you know what, “WE FAILED THE PIERCE AND GARNETT EXPERIMENT SO WHY NOT GET KD AND KYRIE!” The bad news is that Russell, and a bunch of 1st and 2nd Round picks would be heading to Golden State or Boston. The only concern was that Durant was out for the season still trying to overcome a torn achilles and Irving would also suffer a season ending injury as well. Despite the pandemic and Dinwidde, Caris Levert, and DeAndre Jordan opting not to play they were so desperate for anyone that they signed Jamal Crawford to be in their place. The bad news for Nets fans is that they put up a solid fight against the defending champion Raptors, Toronto did just enough to sweep them. Well at least the 2 headed monster has yet to play together yet!
The Huge Topic: If you are wondering why I am doing a document on these guys? It’s because they doubled down on getting players with huge egos. KD usually isn’t an ego but the media gives him all of the glory because he was a 2 time Finals MVP (Let’s be real he only won those because he was with the Warriors and Steph Curry was THE GUY.) Kyrie however is a total diva, a few years ago he called his relationship with LeBron the world being flat. He ran his mouth in 2019 saying that no team was going to beat Boston in that postseason, the bad news is that they got smacked by the Bucks in 5 games. (KARMA! “Salty Bucks fan”) Look at him recently, skipping games to go to family birthday parties at strip clubs! I mean I know he wants to be loyal to his family but when you are one of the better players in the NBA you play almost every night. This situation would only get harder for them since Spencer Dinwidde is out for the season with a torn ACL, they need someone for Durant and Irving to hang out with at New York nightclubs after games. REMEMBER HOW THEY MESSED UP THEIR FUTURE BY TRADING FOR PIERCE GARNETT AND TERRY FOR 5 1ST ROUND PICKS!? BOOOOOOOOOOM! THEY DID IT AGAIN! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! PAUSE.
James Harden! A man who is perhaps the biggest egotistical maniac in the league. I know he was a former MVP and one of the best shooting guards in the game but look at how he got himself run out of Houston, opting out of preseason to go to parties in Atlanta and have chicken wings with strippers! I mean the Nets WANT THIS GUY! What is he going to do now is he gonna miss games like Kyrie to do what Dennis Rodman did in 1998 in Vegas with Carmen Electra! I don’t know why all of the New Yorkers are crowning these guys defacto Eastern Conference Champions and their fans are booking flights to LA for the finals when the season just began! (I bet you they brought him in to tick off Giannis Antetokounmpo since he won 2 MVPs that in Harden terms should have been his.) The worst part about the Beardman trade was not only did they give up a boatload of 1st Round picks to Houston they traded Caris LeVert to Indiana, and Jarret Allen to the Cavs in a deal that also included Victor Oladipo to the Rockets as well. To me they just traded their entire depth for one guy so they can clone the Lakers whole by bringing in ring chasers. (Example the Anthony Davis trade last year.) Steve Nash I hope you’re ok because this situation could cause you to run for the hills like Kidd did in 2014. Now KD is trying to get the gang back together from OKC in 2012 that went to the Finals and lost to LeBron and the Heat. They are becoming what the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs are in the NHL. A team that has most of their cap space attracted to 3 players. Not to mention James Harden is what PK Subban currently is to some of their fans that just so happen to be fans of the NHL team in their old home in the New Jersey Devils. A total diva that is more of a big name that has only one good play and doesn’t play defense, and is a headcase in the locker room. I don’t want to be wrong about this team but it might happen.
Early Results: So far since the Harden trade they have had rarely any issues in the locker room. They have mostly been focused on basketball. They at one point had the best record in terms of matchups against teams over 500 but now they have had mixed results. KD has had to miss a week thanks to being in close contact with someone who has tested positive then got injured again. James Harden has had some good games but isn’t what he was in 2018 just yet, and Kyrie lets just say he has been a good boy since he came back. The major concern for the Nets since that trade has been defense. BOOM! Then they went on a torid win streak on the West Coast thanks to Harden and Kyries heroics. In most of their games they score 125 to win at MINIMUM! And if you have a team with no defense especially in the playoffs it could kill you. Just ask Harden’s old team in the Rockets. I will say though that even if they have become the most talked about team in the NBA because of the New York market, they are despised by the rest of the Eastern Conference. Please don’t destroy the Greek Freak and the Bucks in the playoffs this year after taking 2 of their better reporters from ESPN and Fox Sports Wisconsin over the summer! PLEASE!
Bragging Rights Sports 