Two years ago, it was Kevin Durant's trade request that officially ended the Nets' competitive window. Durant has been watching the delayed rebuild from afar and insists it's heading in the right direction.
Brooklyn lost 108-84 to Durant's Suns on Wednesday at Barclays Center. He, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden once formed a powerful Big Three there, but they weren't lucky.
The last star player, Durant, left at the 2023 trade deadline.
He had 24 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday, returning with hope and confidence that the Nets' latest rebuild will bear fruit.
Brooklyn fans can only look forward to seeing their team drop to 14-31.
Nic Claxton is the only full-time starter available, with Cam Johnson, Cam Thomas, D'Angelo Russell and Ben Simmons all injured.
“I definitely want to see this franchise succeed,” Durant said beforehand. “What do you mean the picks they got are 12, 13? Assets, the most important thing for a rebuilding group is assets. The product that's on the floor may not be compatible with some games. Yes, they looked great when they beat us early in the season, but then they lose to the Clippers by 40 or 50 points and it might not be great.
“But when you look at the big picture, you have young players who are getting experience and playing time. You're building assets, you're getting future picks. And you're drafting well and putting together a team well. So I think they're going in the right direction. I think the fans definitely want to see great basketball on the floor, and I think that's going to come to this team.”
The Nets lead the NBA in both cap space this summer (estimated at $65 million) and future first-round picks (15, four of them coming this June).
Most of those draft acquisitions came directly or indirectly from trades for Durant: eight unprotected firsts, another lightly protected first, and a swap.
Durant famously refused to come to Brooklyn with the Knicks in a package deal with Irving in 2019.
They scouted Harden to form a Big 3, but they lost to eventual champion Milwaukee in the 2021 conference semifinals due to injuries to Harden and Irving.
Irving will miss two-thirds of next season after refusing to comply with the city's coronavirus vaccination mandate, and Harden requested a move at the trade deadline.
After Irving did the same thing at the deadline the following year, Durant finally asked.
The Big 3 collapsed due to various factors and ended up playing in just 16 games.
“We just haven't been able to be on the court because of injuries, because of COVID,” Durant said. “Those were the two biggest factors. People will say our attitudes and our three personalities just didn't mesh well. [There were] There are a lot of stories going around about individual players like myself, James, Kyrie, their mentality as men. But once we got on the court and actually played together and saw the culture that we were building, we knew it was something our fans could get behind.
“The first year James came here in the middle of the season, it was some of the greatest basketball I've ever seen, and I played, too. But what was bigger than that was the locker room, the bus. When we got on board, when we got on the plane, and in the hotel” — that was the culture we were building. I'm sure there are many people who haven't been able to see it, but I'd like them to see it. It was special.
“The most important thing is that we weren't able to be on the court together and we had a lot of injuries. Me, James and Kyrie's injuries were a factor. In addition to COVID-19. , all of which are exactly [caused] Lots of ST. ”
Nic Claxton is one of the few remaining Nets from those teams and had a double-double (10 points, 12 boards) on Wednesday.
Keon Johnson (20 points on 9-of-16 shooting) and Jalen Wilson (15 points) were among the young players mentioned above.
But in what Durant described as a shaky game, Brooklyn shot just 37.4 percent from the field (34 of 91) and 19.4 percent from deep (7 of 36).
The Nets are currently in sixth place, effectively two games back of second place, as the Suns, led by Devin Booker's game-high 32 points, look to trade All-Star Jimmy Butler to win now. It is located within the lottery area. The location is Utah.
