The Brooklyn Nets Went All In But At A Steep Cost
The Brooklyn Nets have done it again. They’re so desperate for a championship they went and made NBA trade headlines again with a mega-deal that will net them James Harden from the Houston Rockets. On paper, this is a Dream Team of sorts but beneath the surface, it’s a freaking nightmare.
Pairing Harden with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is huge. All three players can easily post 30+ points on any given night but it’s not them that has me and other fans concerned. It’s what they have left and what they gave up.
Teams in full championship mode often forget about their future for their present. The Miami Heat after the Heatles Era went through this. The same with the Cleveland Cavaliers after LeBron left for Los Angeles. And just think how close the Lakers came this offseason if Anthony Davis would have taken his talents elsewhere.
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The Brooklyn Nets are loaded for sure but was it all worth it in the end? Durant is looking for his stride and Irving, well, he’s injury prone and something is still up with his mental condition as he’s been missing for the past week. Now they bring in Harden and there’s no telling how this dynamic will work out.
The front office took a major gamble on Harden. Not his talents but their talent. Losing Jarrett Allen was a huge blow. The young Center is just 22-years old and could have been one of the cornerstone pieces for the franchise moving forward. On the season, he had averages of 11.2 points and 10.4 rebounds to go along with 1.6 blocks per game while splitting time with DeAndre Jordan. And yet, the Nets gave him up without batting an eye.
Then you take into account the young wing player in Caris LeVert. Just 26-years old, LeVert was on his way to reaching All-Star level. Now he’s gone and the Brooklyn Nets will have to rely on bench players who normally see 8-10 minutes per game. Joe Harris is still there but who will take over if an injury hits?
The Nets were already down Spencer Dinwiddie now there is no Allen or LeVert and that’s not the real head-scratcher with this deal. On the floor, this season, they may be able to pull off a miracle but their future is f*****.
James Harden not only cost them a defensive and rebounding presence in Allen and an offensive machine in LeVert but it cost them possibly an astounding 7 first-round picks. Yes, you read that correctly, 7 picks, all in the first round. How are the Nets supposed to rebuild? Who’s to say that Durant, Irving, and Harden will want to finish their careers in Brooklyn? This is what LeVert and Allen were for. They were the insurance in case the Nets had to start over.
Now, they’re gone, and with them, first-round picks. The Brooklyn Nets can win a championship within the next two years and their organization will still be in shambles.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
