The Brooklyn Nets are relevant for the first time in a long time, but the real championship expectations don’t kick in until next year.
Six summers ago, the Brooklyn Nets made a franchise-altering trade with the Boston Celtics that brought future Hall of Famers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn in exchange for a haul of young talent and draft picks.
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The trade was supposed to turn the Nets into instant title contenders. Instead, they went no farther than a quick second-round exit.
And despite missing the playoffs three times between then and now, Brooklyn couldn’t make any lottery picks because Boston essentially owned their draft.
This summer, the Nets again acquired two future Hall of Famers and again raided Boston’s pantry for one of them.
By signing former Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving and former Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant in free agency, the Nets are nationally relevant for the first time in a long time.
But with Durant expected to miss all of the 2019-20 season recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon, the real championship-level expectations won’t kick in until 2020-21.
In the meantime, the Nets’ priority should be building a foundation and setting the stage for Durant’s BK debut, where he can — like he did in Golden State — step onto the court with a team ready to win ASAP.
It’s not a title-or-bust situation, but there is an expectation for improvement beyond last season’s No. 6 seed and first-round exit.
Here are the three players facing the most pressure for the Nets in 2019-20.