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Brooklyn Nets: Could trading Kyrie Irving be the next order of business?

By Craig Cochran

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 15: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 15, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 15: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on prior to the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center on January 15, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving
Brooklyn Nets, Kyrie Irving Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

Following their acquisition of James Harden, could the Brooklyn Nets now consider trading Kyrie Irving? Here’s why they should.

The wait is finally over.

A maneuver reportedly months in the making, Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks and his front office cohorts constructed on Wednesday what many within league circles had trembled at the thought of: A new superteam comprised of James Harden—the polarizing, back-to-back-to-back scoring champion—and the already frightening duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Now, with the Brooklyn Nets wielding the keys to three of the most gifted offensive weapons the NBA has ever seen, groupthink has shifted in the direction of considering the Nets all but a shoo-in to dominate the Eastern Conference on their way to a Finals berth.

While this notion certainly has some sense to it, I like to believe that, regardless of how marvelous things might look on paper, the reality is rarely ever that simple.

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In the last decade alone, tier-two stars like Chris Bosh, Kevin Love, and Klay Thompson took a back seat to their more transcendent teammates. What made their individual cases so compelling was the fact that, no matter how challenging their transition in becoming the third banana proved to be, Bosh, Love, and Thompson did so with selfless grace. Due in large part to their willingness to set their egos aside, each of their respective teams went on to win at least one NBA championship. Ultimately, their slightly decreased statistics were well worth the sacrifice.

But in the case of the Brooklyn Nets’ new trio—one in which each player is a tier-one superstar boasting extraordinarily high career PER’s (On the all-time list, Durant ranks eighth (25.22), Harden ranks tenth (24.83), and Irving, despite ranking 33rd (22.30), has amassed a PER above 24.3 in each of the last four seasons)—the likelihood of either player willingly taking on a lesser role is less likely than my odds of landing a dinner-and-a-movie date with Rihanna. Sure, we can wish all we want, but there comes a time where we need to face the facts:

Someone is going to need to take a step back.

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