Image via Getty/Steven Ryan
Steve Nash kept it real during a press conference recently. The Nets new head coach, who takes over a team with incredibly high expectations heading into next season, knows just making the NBA Finals may not be enough to satisfy the plethora of people who think so highly of his ultra-talented squad.
"We're playing for a championship. I don't want to say anything less than a championship isn't a success,” Nash told Nets season ticket holders two weeks ago, “but we are playing for a championship, and we are going to build accordingly."
With the 2020-2021 NBA season now expected to start in December, the Nets will be among a handful of teams with serious championship aspirations. And that’s due almost entirely to the fact Brooklyn will finally feature the two superstars it signed a couple of summers ago in jerseys rather than street clothes.
The pressure is on Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, inarguably two of the most talented players in today’s game, to learn how to play with each other, formulate the right kind of chemistry with teammates, get comfortable taking orders from Nash, the former two-time MVP point guard who has zero head coaching experience at any level of basketball, and win on a nightly basis.
Yeah, the Nets are going to be fascinating to watch for a bunch of different reasons. And they should be damn good in an Eastern Conference that appears to be wide open. But do they deserve to be the favorites in the East before we hit free agency? Or does another squad deserve top billing over a (on paper) loaded Brooklyn team? Answers, we got ‘em.
Reasons Why They Should be Favorites
You need two stars to win a title in the NBA and Brooklyn has two of the brightest in Durant and Irving. As we pointed out just before the NBA Finals tipped, the rosters of all but two of the championship-winning teams this millennium have featured a dynamic duo (with a bunch of them even featuring three or four stars) teaming up to raise the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
KD and Kyrie are ridiculously gifted offensive players. Pals who first started talking about teaming up a few seasons ago, we don’t have to spend any time talking up their abilities and/or how un-guardable they are. We all know their offensive geniuses. Opposing squads will attempt to contain the Nets’ superstars—big emphasis on attempt there—and that, of course, should open up opportunities for their teammates to take advantage of open looks and easy buckets. While they obviously feature vastly different skillsets, we could be looking at an Eastern Conference version of LeBron James and Anthony Davis with KD and Kyrie. Opposing teams are going to have few, if any, answers in slowing them down.
They have a legit supporting cast
Durant and Irving can’t do it by themselves and they’re lucky enough to be in a situation where Brooklyn, behind general manager Sean Marks, has pieced together a roster (which will, of course, look a little different after the November 18th NBA Draft and subsequent free agency begins) that has some excellent secondary and tertiary options. We all saw Caris LaVert’s coming out party down in the bubble when he took a depleted Nets squad on his back and averaged 23.1 points per game. Spencer Dinwiddie is one of the most potent scoring subs in the NBA and Jarrett Allen, the Nets’ young big whose defensive presence was impressive last season, has awesome potential and the Nets absolutely love him.
Of course, Brooklyn still have some work to do to fill out the roster and their salary cap situation leaves little wiggle room since they’re already over the cap and will likely be in the luxury tax land. Basically, the Nets do not have the ability to attract any significant difference makers in free agency. They could get creative with a trade for another big name out there (Nets fans scream “Bradly Beal”), but doing so would probably deplete their depth.
The Nets need to prioritize re-signing Joe Harris, one of the top 3-point shooters in the league, and they, fortunately, have his Bird rights meaning they can go above the cap to keep him on the roster. Like every team in the Association, the Nets could use another dynamic wing that can defend and shoot from outside coming off the bench, but finding one via the meager mid-level tax payer exception (approximately $5.7 million) is easier said than done.
Regardless, a core of Durant, Irving, LaVert, Dinwiddie, and Allen is easily among the East’s best.
What other team scares you?
We know it ain’t Milwaukee since the Bucks flamed out spectacularly in the playoffs for a second-straight season. Unless they make a massive move to acquire a certified star to pair with Giannis Antetokounmpo (how about the ultra-obvious Chris Paul?) no one is going to believe the Bucks are legitimate Eastern Conference contenders as long as coach Mike Budeholzer refuses to make adjustments in the playoffs and Antetokounmpo doesn’t improve his long-range shooting.
Boston will yet again roll out a starting lineup that features Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Gordon Hayward (almost assuredly picking up his player option for 2020-21), and Kemba Walker with super sub Marcus Smart playing heavy minutes. But unless Tatum takes another incremental step up and/or the Celtics find ways to improve their paper-thin depth with almost no salary cap wiggle room can you fully buy into Boston?
The Heat deserve all our respect after their unexpected run to the NBA Finals showcased a deep and dynamic roster that will largely return intact next season unless Pat Riley works some magic. And he’s probably saving his bullets for next summer’s free agency, anyway. Miami arguably features the best coach in the NBA in Erik Spoelstra. Jimmy Butler moved himself into potentially top 10 status with his insane Finals performance. But unless Jimmy Buckets gets another star before next season starts, there won’t be too many people picking the Heat to repeat their run.
The Raptors or Sixers scaring you? Nope. Indiana? GTFOH. A quick glance around the conference—again, before free agency kicks in—makes you think it really is Brooklyn’s to lose.
Reasons Why They Shouldn’t be Favorites
We’ll start with the ugly truth that Durant and Irving will never approach the durability levels of LeBron James—then again, who will since LeBron is a certified freak of nature? Durant is, of course, coming back after a year lost to his Achilles tear in the 2019 NBA Finals. The track record of stars returning to their old selves on the court after arguably the most devastating injury a baller can suffer ain’t great. But many will argue that 80-90 percent of the old Durant is still better than 95 percent of the rest of the NBA. And I would agree.
Irving, we all know, is perennially injured. He missed a massive chunk of last season with a shoulder injury that eventually required surgery and has played in 70 or more games in a full season just three times over eight 82-game campaigns.
So it seems ludicrous that the Nets will get a full 72-games (reportedly the projected number of games played should the 2020-21 season begin around December 22) out of their superstars since they’ll want to preserve them as much as possible for the playoffs. But breakdowns, even while load managing, can occur and Nets fans will be holding their breath a lot watching these two.
Nobody’s rooting for an injury to Durant or Irving. And nobody’s predicting it, either. But their propensity to be hurt can’t be ignored and should one of them miss time in the playoffs it could easily be lights out for the Nets way before the Eastern Conference Finals.
Chemistry issues
KD and Kyrie might be best buds, but they’ve never played an entire season with each other before and sometimes playing with your BFF doesn’t always work out like you imagined. Is Durant option No. 1 or is Irving? Who is taking the last shot? Do they really, deep down care? Both have valid arguments for being the man in Brooklyn. Will two stars in KD and Kyrie, who left their old squads in order to be the man somewhere else, jockey for top dog status or will they curtail their ego for the greater good? And how will the Nets who enjoyed breakouts last season, like LaVert and Dinwiddie, handle their offensive demotions? Yeah, we know Durant was around the team last season while he rehabbed, but now that he’s officially back in the fold things could change. The 2020-21 Nets will be a psychatrist's dream.
“It’d be ideal if we’re a team that enjoys each other, bonds, spends time together away from the floor, has an understanding and a caring for one another,” Nash said during a recent YES Network town hall. “You have to care at least. Even if you’re not best friends you have to care and have a common goal. So that’s important. That, in my experience, also made it more successful and more fun, so that [will] be something we seek to foster.”
Who takes leadership duties? Is it Irving’s team since he played last season and he’s a point guard or is about to be KD’s since he’s older and has more rings and the superior basketball resume? Or will they share responsibilities? Irving’s track record as a leader is debatable depending on whom you talk to and Durant largely deferred to Golden State’s core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green during his days with the Warriors. We’re not saying neither of these guys at ages 32 (Durant) and 28 (Irving) aren’t capable of being the right kind of leaders, but it should be noted how unique the situation will be for both of them.
It should also be noted that Durant and Irving have two of the most mercurial personalities in the NBA and haven’t been afraid to publicly express their opinions or frustrations on social media or to a bunch of reporters. Do that in New York and it’s going to get blown up to epic proportions that will create a ton of content for the debate shows. Will they gripe about Nash if they’re not vibing with his instructions? If the going gets rough will one spout off? Will they post some wild shit on social media? Chemistry issues killed the Clippers and while we’re not predicting the Nets will ultimately blowup like LA's other team unexpectedly did down in the bubble, were also not not predicting a couple of crazy episodes in Brooklyn.
New head coach
Nash’s hiring took the NBA by surprise since there were a plethora of candidates out there with infinitely more experience than him, including Jacques Vaughn who was demoted to lead assistant (albeit a handsomely compensated lead assistant) after a successful stint guiding the Nets as an interim coach late last season. For various reasons, Marks chose Nash, whom he knew from their days in the Suns organization together, and maybe pairing two future Hall of Famers in Durant and Irving under the guidance of a soon-to-be-Hall of Famer in Nash just might be genius. It sounds like Nash is going to want his squad to play fast, like his heyday running Mike D’Antoni’s offense in Phoenix, and there are few players more offensively gifted than Durant and Irving. We could see some beautiful basketball. Or it could be a spectacular disaster.
Sure, there’s a recent track record of first-time head coaches winning titles in their inaugural season like Steve Kerr, Ty Lue, and Nick Nurse. But Lue took over in the middle of the season and neither Kerr nor Nurse had championship expectations placed upon them when they started. It should be noted that Nash will have some highly respected basketball minds to help him out including Vaughn, who obviously didn’t get the full-time gig, former Rockets coach D’Antoni who just signed on to be an assistant, the well-respected Ime Udoka who many NBA insiders predict will one day be a head coach, and the recently retired six-time All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire. D’Antoni as the quasi-offensive coordinator and Udoka as the quasi-defensive coordinator (he’s a Gregg Popovich disciple) ain’t a bad combo.
If I Was a Betting Man…
Listen, if you’re easily seduced by star power then it’s hard not to pick the Nets as the Eastern Conference’s team to beat. For what it’s worth, oddsmakers have (largely, but not exclusively) installed Brooklyn as the second shortest choice (10-1) in the East to win the NBA title. Milwaukee currently has the shortest odds at 6-1, but only a sucker would beat on the Bucks as currently configured. Can Miami repeat its run with a target on its back? I personally like that Celtics squad a lot, but can Danny Ainge make enough moves to take them a level higher with their capped-out situation?
“If” will be the imperative word for the Nets in the 2020-21 season. If Nash isn’t in over his head, the Nets surely should end up playing for a championship. If the supporting cast picks up where it left off last season, absolutely the Nets are the team to beat in the East. And of utmost importance, if KD and Kyrie are healthy and end up balling beautifully together, it’s really, really, really hard to make a case against Brooklyn not being the favorites right now to make the NBA Finals next June.
So sure, put me down as one of those proclaiming the Nets Eastern Conference favorites next season. Just don’t hold this against me next spring since predicting the future is as utterly ridiculous of an exercise as psycho-analyzing an Irving Instagram story.