For many people, the Brooklyn Nets were the clear winners of the 2019 NBA offseason. Enticing both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to ink contracts are certainly great arguments for their case. Taurean Prince and DeAndre Jordan fill gaping roster holes, and the extension of Caris LeVert secures their future for years to come. On paper, the Nets will be serious championship contenders for a long time.
I’m not convinced.
Despite claiming possession of a top-five offensive player in history, along with one of the premier point guards in the league, the Brooklyn Nets won’t meet everyone’s expectations. Here’s why.
Lack of Leadership
KD and Kyrie aren’t necessarily applauded for their locker room behavior. Both have had their fair share of drama with teammates, coaching staffs, and even the media. Broken promises, harsh words, and altercations have tainted their reputations. Not only does this bring chemistry issues into question, but it leaves Brooklyn without a clear cut leader off the court.
Leadership on the hardwood is a whole different story.
While they’re both top basketball players, Durant and Irving are second options. History reveals that both are incapable of winning without LeBron James/Steph Curry-type players.
Players like LeBron and Steph make those around them better, causing their teammates to appear much better than they actually are. Irving isn’t a top-four point guard in the league, but his years with LeBron lead everyone to believe he’s an MVP-caliber player.
Don’t get me wrong, KD and Kyrie are outstanding basketball players and are capable of putting up surreal stat lines. However, stats only mean so much.
Their shared problem is that they lack the ability to make winning plays. Whether it’s playing hero-ball at the wrong times or not putting trust in their teammates, KD and Kyrie have always struggled to put up meaningful stats. They won’t have anyone to elevate them in Brooklyn, which is why they won’t succeed deep into the postseason.
Durant’s Health
When Kevin Durant went down in Game 5 of the NBA Finals with an Achilles injury, everyone was quick to blame the Warriors for letting (or making) KD return too soon. Regardless of the actual events prior to Durant checking in against the Raptors, Brooklyn doesn’t want to make the same mistake.
Nets GM Sean Marks has publicly said that it’s up to Kevin to make the call, but he expects the 6’10” forward to sit out the entirety of the 2019-20 season. Barring a miracle, he’s probably right.
The average Achilles tendon tear takes 9-12 months to fully recover, as was the case for Durant’s Warriors’ teammate DeMarcus Cousins. The real question will be how much of KD’s former self will return to the court.
Brandon Jennings is another former victim of this gruesome injury. The promising young guard ruptured his Achilles during the 2014-15 season, an injury that completely derailed his career.
Prior to his injury, Jennings averaged 15.4 points and 6.6 assists on the season and 16.6 points per game for his career. After missing almost 11 months, he returned to the Pistons where he averaged just under 7 points per game through 23 games.
Jennings never averaged more than 8.6 points per game for the rest of his NBA career and started a mere 14% of games played, a far cry from his 99% start percentage prior to the injury. Although an extreme case, Jennings is just another example of Achilles’ tear victims who lose their prowess post-injury.
Hopefully, Kevin Durant will return to 100% for the 2020 season. Rehab has improved exponentially over the past few years, and the Nets have a state-of-the-art training and medical facility. Brooklyn will have to carefully monitor KD’s health moving forward, as re-injury would be costly to his career and the franchise.
The Overrating Of Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving is heavily overrated. Like I mentioned before, I don’t mean to take away from the obvious skill he possesses, or the fact that he’s an NBA Champion. However, the narrative that Kyrie is a top-two point guard in the league is simply outrageous and unintelligent.
Irving has never shown he can lead his own team. After riding on LeBron’s shoulders to their 2016 Championship ring, Kyrie wanted to move on from Cleveland to lead a team of his own. He dramatically failed at doing so.
Rather than taking advantage of a young, talented team last season, Irving decided to start locker room trouble and distance himself from the rest of his teammates. While he put up good numbers, his teammates struggled to find their role amidst his selfish hero-ball. This lead to a frustrating 4-1 loss against the Bucks and sent him searching for another team to “lead”.
Kyrie’s value is minuscule compared to other elite guards. There’s no question he’s a top-three guard based on pure skill, but he tends to have negative effects on his teammates, something that heavily tarnishes his worth as a basketball player.
All of that being said, Irving will obviously provide great help for the Nets, as they’ll make deep postseason attempts. He’s still a better guard than 95% of his competitors, but Kyrie’s just not as good as people make him out to be.
Conclusion
The Brooklyn Nets will fail to meet most people’s ambitious expectations. Kevin Durant’s injury will keep them from success this coming season, and Kyrie’s lack of team play will hurt the Nets tremendously.
The ceiling for this team is the NBA Finals, and they’ll probably reach one within the next four years. Yet, they lack the leadership required to win against the superstar-stacked Western Conference.
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