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The Brooklyn Nets are out, and now it’s time to think about what went wrong in a crucial offseason for the franchise.
Will Ben Simmons be ready to shoulder some of the load in 2022-23? Will a healthy Joe Harris unlock some of the problems the Nets faced this postseason?
And most importantly: Is Kyrie Irving staying?
The superstar guard has a $36 million-plus player option, which he could decline and then re-sign with the Nets for more money. And maybe that’s the idea given what he had to say after Monday’s loss to the Boston Celtics: “I don’t plan on going anywhere.”
OK, great, but — then he said this.
“When I say I’m here with Kev [Durant], he said, “it really entails us managing this franchise together alongside Joe [Tsai], Sean [Marks].”
Yes, NBA players have a ton of power when it comes to free agency. They recruit players and sometimes have input with front offices.
But he can’t say that out loud! Especially when Irving was the player who had A LOT of the control over whether he played or not due to his vaccination status. Who knows what the team’s playoff fortunes might have been had Irving played more than 29 regular-season games in 2021-22?
A statement like that tells me that Irving knows how important he is to this team. Like it or not, the Nets need him and are likely stuck with him at least another year, unless Irving declines his option and Brooklyn weirdly decides to look elsewhere. But you don’t do that when you have two otherworldly superstars in the same lineup, and help on the way with Simmons and Harris coming back.
Here’s what this all means: The Nets can be contenders, but the franchise should be nervous that Irving will once again hold all the cards this season. What if Irving doesn’t feel he’s able to “manage” in the offseason? Then what? Also, as Charles Barkley brought up on Monday, it might be a tumultuous summer if the Nets can’t make the kind of depth moves that will make them contenders again.
You know what happens when Irving’s unhappy. Just ask the Boston Celtics. The Nets have to hope that’s not their fate.
Quick hits: NFL Draft questions … Hot dogs dipped in beer?! … and more.
— Here’s one question every NFL team has to answer in the draft.
— Should you dip a hot dog in beer? One fan showed us that could be a thing.
— Video shows what Myles Straw said to Yankees fans over the weekend.
— Russell Wilson in a Broncos uniform looks weird!
