Brooklyn Nets: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Alec Liebsch
Overall
In three and a half years, Sean Marks and the gang have turned the Brooklyn Nets from one of the least hopeful franchises into one of the most attractive destinations. From a desolate team to one of the most loaded, the Brooklyn Nets have truly arrived.
All the losing, all the “no one care about the Nets” crap and all the Trevor Bookers and Quincy Acys have led to this. Everything was worth it.
Those rumors of the Knicks getting KD and/or Kyrie? Nope, wrong borough. The Nets earned this, because they’ve been one of the best-run organizations for years. The fruits are now bearing.
On a macro level, Brooklyn’s coup represents a changing landscape in the NBA. Players have realized the power they have over franchises and are using it to team up like they’re in AAU again. Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen, but the content is exquisite.
The slippery slope argument is that players will continue to move, because they’re never happy. But that’s bound to slow down eventually.
Yes, the Raptors did everything right with Kawhi Leonard. But Leonard also didn’t choose that organization in the first place. Sure the Warriors were awesome with KD, but they were awesome without him too; that was a corrosive marriage from day one.
Anthony Davis bolted from New Orleans because they couldn’t build around him. Paul George saw the dead ends in both Indiana and Oklahoma City.
Jimmy Butler is an enigma, considering he left a true title contender, but both destinations he was traded to (Minnesota and Philly) were not his choice.
The big decisions that came this summer, trades and signings alike, were mostly by player choice. As players find their ideal homes, the grass will stop being greener on the other side, because they’ll be on that side.
In the case of the partnership of Irving and Durant, it’s obviously been in the works for months, possibly years. This is not something they’re going to pout over in a year.
Was it tampering? Yes. Does the league care? Nope. The Nets managed to do exactly what everyone hyped the Knicks up to do, because they have all the big market allure without the front office dysfunction.
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Signing both these players was a culmination of everything the Nets have done over the past three-plus years.