Nets’ “Likability” Doesn’t Assuage Bitter Disappointment Of End To 2022-23 Campaign

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

I liked the Nets a lot more when they were less likable.

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden all had detractors among fans and the media, often for good reasons, and were unreliable in terms of their availabilities, but go back just two years ago when Brooklyn made mincemeat of Boston in five first-round games and then nearly upended Milwaukee’s route to the NBA title.

That was a lot better for my mindset than this iteration.

In many respects, the Nets’ season-ending 96-88 loss to Philadelphia in Saturday’s Game 4 at Barclays Center came as a relief. The manner in which Sixers were able to complete the sweep—the second consecutive season in which Brooklyn was bounced in such an ignominious fashion—with MVP candidate Joel Embiid back in Philadelphia with a sprained knee, spoke volumes.

So much for those who assumed that the Nets would have automatically taken Game 3 had Embiid been ejected (as he should have been) for his first quarter kick to Nets center Nic Claxton’s groin area. Brooklyn’s bugaboos reared their ugly heads again as they had all series, with the Sixers feasting on the offensive glass to the tune of 25 second-chance points on Sunday, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Paul Reed, Embiid’s replacement, snared eight (8!!!) offensive rebounds.

Offensively, not only are the Nets lacking in shot creators, they seemed like they had no plan with regard to who and how to attack. Oh, they’d screen to get the Sixers to switch, but then they’d too often do nothing with it. The Sixers picked up four team fouls in the first 4:45 of the third quarter. With the bonus in effect, guess how many times Brooklyn got to the foul line the rest of the period. That’s right—zero.

The Nets looked even worse when Philly went to a zone. In the first three possessions against it, the ball never touched the paint. How was that possible when the coaching staff had all these off days to prepare for it?

Like I’ve been telling you for weeks, the “newness” excuse following the KD and Kyrie trades in exchange for four new starters in advance of the February 9 deadline doesn’t hold every ounce of water. From my perspective, this would have been a lottery team had they had a training camp and a full 82-game regular season to develop chemistry. They only got this far because the Nets former stars gave them enough of a head start.

And that’s a shame, because these Nets are “likable” in many respects. Mikal Bridges seems like an ideal role model, especially after he took his game to a lofty level following his arrival with Cam Johnson in the Durant trade with Phoenix. Even Head Coach Jacque Vaughn, a perpetual optimist, is admired within the media, even if he failed miserably in finding solutions to the Sixers’ talent superiority.

Looking at the big picture, however, this wasn’t anything close to what Nets fans signed up for the last few seasons. The organization blew opportunities to build a legitimate championship contender around three of the greatest offensive players in the game. I don’t think enough fans fully appreciated the privilege it was to watch an all-time great like Durant perform in 129 regular season games. Sure, you could blame the bad luck of injuries, Irving’s cancerous behaviors, and anything else you wish to add for why it didn’t work.

However, it was owner Joseph Tsai and his chief decision maker Sean Marks, the team’s General Manager, who were responsible for its construction and demolition. To reiterate my initial view, every team in the league would have thrown their chips in with such a Big 3, but smarter ones could have found alternatives to how things proceeded thereafter.

I can’t think of anyone who would have entrusted that foundation to a head coach like Steve Nash who had absolutely zero experience on the sidelines. The supporting pieces never fit properly, either because they were defensively deficient or couldn’t shoot straight. Accepting Ben Simmons as part of acquiescing to Harden’s trade request last year, as I’ve written ad nauseum, was a foreseeable epic disaster on so many levels. And in almost every one of their six playoff series over the last five years, of which the Nets won just once, Marks’ inadequate roster balance ensured that Brooklyn was the smaller team.

Marks made his, um, mark by transforming what many had called the worst NBA situation ever in 2016, with almost no Draft capital to secure talent, into a respected franchise within three years. His emphasis on development, player satisfaction, and savvy salary cap management helped make Brooklyn more attractive than their crosstown rival Knicks when Irving convinced Durant to choose New York City when they became free agents in the summer of 2019.

Though Marks couldn’t finish the superstar era with a championship, most believe he won’t pay a price for it. All signs point to him getting another shot at rebuilding.

So, this is on you, Mr. Marks. Fix it.

This project, though, will be different. As I outlined in my last post, the Nets already have a pretty full cupboard of picks from the Big 3 trades, though Houston is still owed Brooklyn’s 2024 and 2026 first rounders plus the right to swap out 1s in 2023, 2025, and 2027.

That doesn’t automatically make it easier. The returning players under contract aren’t that young, with Claxton the only rotation member who will be under 27 when training camp commences in September (Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe, who saw a combined 34 minutes of action in the series, will still be 21). Does Marks tear it all down and start from scratch, or does he hold the view that he can use what he has to bring in a legitimate offensive force, whether it’s Portland’s Damian Lillard or someone else?

I do wonder whether the constant turmoil in Brooklyn over the last few years might dissuade a star from choosing them as a destination, even if the unlikable causes have been purged. Likeability only goes so far.