The Nets have lost eight straight games as the NBA nears the trade deadline. Should Brooklyn be concerned about the recent skid? Is there a trade partner out there for it? How many rings will the Big Three win together? The Crossover staff answers that and more.
1. On a scale of 1-10, how concerning is the Nets' eight-game skid?
Howard Beck: It’s an 11—no hyperbole. There is only one successful outcome for the Nets this season: a championship. And championship teams do not lose eight straight, even if they’re missing their best player. Nor do championship teams let themselves fall to the bottom half of the playoff bracket. The Nets have sunk to seventh in the East, with 29 games to go.
Chris Herring: I’d rate it a 6. The skid itself isn’t a huge problem, as Kevin Durant’s return will be more than enough to keep/make the Nets contenders. But if you see the skid as exacerbating the questions around Kyrie Irving’s part-time status, or James Harden’s frustration with that—or as pushing Harden out the door—then that’s a separate thing, and perhaps more concerning. This team was built around three stars. As we saw last year, when they had 1.5 stars in the playoffs, the thing doesn’t work when the team isn’t whole. So the skid isn’t that stunning to me.
Michael Pina: 5. More concerning than the losing streak are the circumstances from which it came. Kevin Durant is out with a knee injury. Joe Harris is out with an ankle injury. Kyrie Irving is in and out of the lineup because he refuses to comply with New York City’s vaccine mandate and James Harden’s hamstring is acting up again. Poor health has shown how thin and flawed this roster really is, but if/when the Nets are at full strength they should be fine.
Chris Mannix: For symmetry's sake, I'll go with eight. Blake Griffin said it best after Brooklyn's loss to Denver—the Nets fourth straight double digit defeat, by the way—describing his level of concern as "very high." The Nets are not just losing; they are looking lifeless doing it, and the rumor swirling around James Harden's future can't help. Still, I'm reminded of all the issues Brooklyn had going into the playoffs last season, and the Nets were a couple of inches of Kevin Durant's sneakers from advancing to the conference finals. So while it's bad, the return of Durant and Harden will solve a lot of problems.
Rohan Nadkarni: It’s a 10. Even given the injuries, we’ve seen many teams lose their best players for stretches this season and not have losing streaks as bad. The Bulls, for example, have been consistently hit with injuries to their top guys and remain in the mix for the top seed in the East. The Nets may still be fine when healthy, but you’d like to see some more resolve from a veteran group. And with the competitive nature of the East, potentially sliding into and having to fight out of the play-in is no joke this season.
Robin Lundberg: 5. I put this right in the middle because it would be naive to say there aren't issues in Brooklyn. However, given who they have returning (Kevin Durant) and the likelihood of a bit of a roster reset after the break, all is not lost. The situation feels disastrous but could still end in a championship.
2. What would you like to see the Nets do at the trade deadline?
Beck: Forget the Harden-Simmons rumors, at least for now. Trade Kyrie Irving. Get whatever you can for him, even if it’s not an equal talent. It is simply untenable to go through a season (and possibly the playoffs) with one of your stars playing only on the road. It’s disruptive to chemistry. It’s placed an unfair burden on Harden, who’s clearly unhappy with the situation. Irving is still an elite scorer. He can play 100% of the schedule with nearly every other team. He has more value elsewhere. Flip him for multiple players who can fortify the Nets’ otherwise-lackluster rotation.
Herring: They could use a knockdown shooter, since it looks like Joe Harris isn’t making good progress in his rehab. For all the focus on not having Durant, the Nets’ best player, Harris’s absence has really hurt the team, too.
Pina: Adding another shooter on the wing would be great. Can they somehow swing a deal for Eric Gordon? A three-point marksman with playoff experience and familiarity beside Harden would be great.
Mannix: Trade for someone who will convince Kyrie Irving to get vaccinated. Honestly, the Nets have limited flexibility and few tradable assets. They could be players on the buyout market, but as for trades, a transformative one isn't coming.
Nadkarni: The drama fan in me would like to see a Harden trade, just because the fallout would be fascinating. If I were in the Nets’ front office? I would be the guy trying to keep the band together. When healthy, few, if any, trios have looked as unstoppable as Durant, Irving and Harden offensively. This team was blowing the doors off the Bucks with only two healthy stars at the start of the second round last year. Even with all the friction and the constant frustrations, Brooklyn’s best chance to win a title this year is with KD, Kyrie and Harden on the floor together. I don’t think they should give it up.
Lundberg: I am leaning toward the Nets making the Harden trade if they can get a package back that looks something like Ben Simmons, Seth Curry and a first-round pick. They should also see what they could possibly turn Joe Harris and Nic Claxton into if there is value on the market for them.
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3. True or False: The Nets will land in the play-in tournament this season.
Beck: True. Kevin Durant is out at least another two weeks, and possibly through the end of February. Harden seems worn out and/or disengaged. As of now, Kyrie is eligible to play in only 13 of the Nets’ final 29 games. And the East is seriously deep now. The Raptors are for real, and surging. The Sixers have stabilized. The Cavs are legit. The Bulls aren’t going away. If the Nets are whole in mid-April—and if Kyrie is eligible for all games by then—they can certainly make a deep playoff run. But it’s going to start from the seventh or eighth seed.
Herring: False. The Nets were really, really hard to beat before Durant went down—even as Harden wasn’t playing all that well for long stretches. If the Nets trade Harden elsewhere, they’d get a useful player/useful players in return, which they could use with Harris and LaMarcus Aldridge being out. And Kyrie is still there part time. They really just need KD back in the next couple weeks to avoid the play-in, I think.
Pina: False. Injuries and inconsistent defense have plagued them all year, but the Nets will be an attractive destination for players who are waived, and when healthy they’ll be as hard to stop as any team in the East. There’s a lot of basketball left to be played.
Mannix: False. As bad as things are, the Nets are still just three games back of the No. 5 seed and five games out of the top spot. Durant will be back this month and Brooklyn will have nearly two months to reintegrate him.
Nadkarni: True. Boston, Toronto and Atlanta are all vastly improved from where they were at the start of the season. And Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, Milwaukee and Philly have all remained steady. With Durant still out for some time, even being average won’t necessarily cut it for the Nets.
Lundberg: False. This team was the number one seed for a while. I expect them to look much better out of the All-Star Break and with a healthy KD.
4. How many championships will the Nets' Big Three (KD, Kyrie, Harden) win together in Brooklyn?
Beck: Zero. The Nets might eventually win a title with Durant—but it almost certainly won’t be this season, with Harden and Irving on board and all the clouds surrounding them. Harden could leave this summer, either via free agency or a trade demand. Irving also can become a free agent, and I have to wonder how eager the Nets would be to re-sign him long term, given everything he’s put them through.
Herring: I’d honestly bet none. It seems like there are too many competing issues taking place. They’re more than a year in, and still haven’t played 20 regular-season games together. Which is a completely wild thing to say by now.
Pina: 0. I wouldn’t rule out Durant winning a ring in Brooklyn, but one of those other two names won’t be around to enjoy it.
Mannix: I'm not big on predicting titles, especially during a team's darkest hour. Plus: Winning championships is hard. Windows close quickly. Brooklyn has the potential to win multiple. But winning one will be hard enough.
Nadkarni: I think zero? Winning championships is really hard. I just don’t see how this current group, especially if Kyrie is missing home playoff games, gets past a team like the Bucks in the postseason. Or then wins against an outfit like the Suns. And aside from the off-court story lines, the Nets’ defense remains an issue, the Joe Harris injury looms large, and the minimum vets in the rotation this year haven’t been as impactful as a year ago. If Brooklyn has a rough playoff exit, I don’t see Harden sticking around this summer (if he’s still on the team by then). And the experiment would be over before it seemingly even got a real chance.
Lundberg: It looks like zero at the moment especially given the talks of a Harden deal. However, that doesn't mean the core of the team sans it being a Big 3 will go ringless.
