Pretenders to Contenders: What’s behind the Nets staggering 180?
By Rob Greene
Kevin Durant (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Do the Nets have yet another gear?
Everyone was underrating the development of Claxton coming into the season, and presumably, Ben Simmons would be more ready to be at the forefront of the defensive interior with the Nets erasing all worries and exceeding expectations in that aspect.
The trade deadline is approaching, with it now being less than a month away. The Nets can sell future draft compensation or low-tier portions of the roster to bulk up and potentially complement Claxton as Simmons gets more into form each night. This way, Brooklyn can afford to have their young big man off the floor against larger teams with the ability to provide him some relief through his evolution while receiving more depth.
A breakup seemed to be approaching just two months ago, with the abundance of drama only piling up, but the Nets are here and finally doing their job to the best of their abilities.
"“I’m not a leader.” “What the f—k does that mean?” Durant stated as much in that interview with Bleacher Report’s best back in November. “A lot of people say I’m not a leader because I didn’t tell Kyrie to get vaccinated.” Come on. Or I didn’t condemn Kyrie for leaving the team, going out, and living his life. “I’m not about to tell a grown man what he can and can’t do with his own life and dissect his views or how he thinks about s–t.”"
People needed to relax with their assumptions of Durant’s capabilities as a leader. He knew what needed to be done.
"“We can have a conversation and exchange perspectives on how I feel about the topic and how you feel about the topic, but everybody else doesn’t need to know or hear about our conversations because we’re grown-up men,” he said. “I don’t operate like that.” Next: Can the Nets keep the momentum without Durant?"
The Nets are a scary matchup with much bigger plans heading into the fun part and latter half of the season.