Contenders or Pretenders? Figuring out where the Brooklyn Nets stand

Despite the seemingly endless stream of negative headlines surrounding the Brooklyn Nets trio of stars, the team is as talented as any in the NBA. Kevin Durant, even at age 33, is still among the premier scorers in the NBA. In fact, Durant is now top-20 all-time in scoring, having amassed more than 25,000 points. His Teammate Kyrie Irving is both volatile on and off the court but also incredibly talented.

He missed most of last season due to the vaccine mandate but is still in his prime and is capable of dropping 50 in any game. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons is among the most uniquely talented players in the NBA despite hurting his reputation with the season-long drama that followed him from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets.

At any moment, Durant could demand another trade, Irving could get injured or decide to sit out for some reason, and Simmons could forget how to play basketball. Still, this team, if everything goes right, could be a real problem in the Eastern Conference, but they have gotten off to a sluggish start. That’s led to legitimate questions about whether they’re indeed contenders or, perhaps, just pretenders. Let’s take a closer look and try to answer that burning question.

Why Are the Brooklyn Nets Contenders?

At full strength, the Nets have a ton of talent and could have a top-10 offense and a top-15 defense. That’s a recipe for at least a second-round playoff team and, depending on the matchup, an Eastern Conference Finals team. No one doubts this team’s talent, but, at the moment, the safest bet would be to bet against them, given all of the moving parts that Coach Steve Nash will have to manage, and he hasn’t exactly done a terrific job of that thus far.

Dealing with multiple divas is admittedly hard enough, and having to deal with one who tried to get you fired is even harder. Despite that, maybe, just maybe, this situation is just crazy enough to work. Get this team a decent seed and on the right side of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket and they could cause some real headaches. Irving has taken over playoff games in the past.

And so has Durant, in spectacular fashion.

If Nash can figure out how to best utilize Simmons, then they could really be cooking with fire. One option would be to start sharpshooters Joe Harris or Seth Curry in place of Royce O’Neale to maximize spacing, or stagger Simmons’ minutes with starting center Nic Claxton and have him play as the team’s defacto backup center.

That would hopefully help get him going, having him play more with the ball in his hands with four shooters around him. Or, they could even bring him off the bench in a Manu Ginobili-esque super-sub role to ensure that happens. There are also wild cards like T.J. Warren, who’s only played four games in the past two seasons but averaged nearly 20 points and shot 40% from three in his last full season in Indiana, as well as the buyout market.

In the buyout market, they could conceivably get an upgrade at backup center, with rookie Day’ron Sharpe having to learn on the fly and not quite cutting it. That would help shore up their weakest position and raise their floor.

Why the Brooklyn Nets are pretenders

Simmons may be exhibit A in the case of the Nets’ being a pretender. Simmons has all the talent in the world but hasn’t really shown much of it, dating back to the 2021 playoffs when he had an infamous meltdown. After missing all of last season, he’s back and early returns have been underwhelming.

He’s been mired in foul trouble and is virtually a non-existent scoring threat. The Nets need him to be the third star behind Irving and Durant, but that role appears more likely to be filled by Claxton than Simmons at the moment.

With Simmons, Irving, O’Neale, Durant, and Claxton as the team’s starters, they should be well above average on both sides of the ball, but they have a -30 net rating in their first three games. Simmons isn’t solely to blame, but two elite scorers, an athletic rim runner, and a 3-and-D wing should be smoking teams offensively.

Instead, they’re struggling. Teams simply don’t take Simmons seriously as an offensive player, and it basically makes him a center on offense. He’s also incredibly passive:

Most teams can only get away with playing one non-shooter at a time, and Claxton’s already it, so having two can really hurt spacing. Things should improve when Curry returns, but they can’t completely mask that glaring issue in Simmons’ game.

Other issues include backup center as well as general injury concerns. Irving, one way or another, will likely miss 30 games if history is any indicator. Simmons is returning from back surgery, and that will require load management as well as Durant, who will turn 34 this season and is in his 15th year. We’ve already seen a historically talented Nets team get derailed by injuries and absences, and it could just as easily happen again this season.

Are the Nets a contender or a pretender?

So, are the Brooklyn Nets contenders or pretenders? At the moment, they’re definitely pretenders but have the tools to be contenders. As of right now, the biggest threats in the East are the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, and Philadelphia 76ers. However, they won’t have to face all of those teams en route to the NBA Finals.

Of those three teams mentioned, the Philadelphia 76ers have the most firepower at full strength to match a healthy Nets team. That being said, the Milwaukee Bucks have a two-time MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led his team past the Nets in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals and ultimately won both the championship and the NBA Finals MVP.

As a result, I would say the Bucks are the biggest threat to a healthy Nets team, but Simmons and Claxton both have the size, length, and mobility to make him work on the offensive end. That’s easier said than done, but despite the drama, the Nets are surprisingly well-equipped to challenge them.

Overall, a lot will depend on the Brooklyn Nets’ health, managing egos, and balancing rotations, but I believe they have what it takes to contend this season.