After a season of uncertainty, the Brooklyn Nets can finally let out a sigh of relief.
Make no mistake, losing in the first round of the playoffs isn’t fun. But after what the team has gone through—an early coaching change, the saga with a disgruntled and controversy-filled star, plus another franchise player wanting out—to make it into the postseason already seems an accomplishment.
Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are no longer part of the team and what was once a legitimate title contender in the East, is now left to pick up the pieces after a rollercoaster year. Fortunately, the Nets have foundational pieces they can build on. The dream of winning a title in Brooklyn will have to wait a little longer as the team redefines its direction for the future.
At the center of Brooklyn’s immediate future is Mikal Bridges. He went from being a defensive gem and perimeter threat into becoming a shot-creator for the Nets. Is he going to be an All-Star? What’s his ceiling? Are we looking at him being a secondary star to a contender or will he become something more?
From averaging 17.1 points at the start of the season with the Phoenix Suns, Bridges put up 26.1 points in 27 games for the Nets. His attempts from the field and from the line all increased while still being a menace on the defensive end. Are we looking at some version of Kawhi Leonard 2.0? It wasn’t too long ago that Leonard was simply known as a beast defensively with the San Antonio Spurs before working on his jump shot. Being the next Kawhi is a lofty goal but he can be the go-to guy for Brooklyn in the meantime.
The Nets still have a lot of holes in their game as evidenced by their first-round sweep against the Philadelphia 76ers, but a whole offseason and training camp with this new team can do wonders. Aside from Bridges, they have a solid group with Cam Johnson, Royce O’Neale, Dorian Finney-Smith, Seth Curry, Nic Claxton, and Spencer Dinwiddie. Is that enough to be competitive in the East? Maybe. The team needs more playmaking, shooting, and presence in the middle before they can make waves in a competitive conference.
Enter the Ben Simmons dilemma. As mentioned, the Nets have a young potent core they can be happy about moving forward. The next question for them is whether or not Simmons is going to be part of that future. The three-time NBA All-Star has played only 42 games in the past two seasons. If Simmons wants a fresh start with no expectations, then next season is the year to return to form. Even if he gets back to his old self, will that be enough to get the Nets over the hump?
The Nets have a few assets including two first-round picks in this year’s draft. If they want to shake things up and fish for a new star, that would be an interesting move. They’d have to trade a few pieces from their budding core and that would also mean learning how to deal with another franchise player. The Nets went all in the past four years in the hopes of winning a championship. In the end, all they got was a Conference Semis finish in 2021 and a lot of headaches and trade talks.
Are the Nets willing to risk it all again for a new star or are they going to take things slow and develop what they have now?
