Nets make several moves

Ben Jackson, Staff writer

The Brooklyn Nets, previously known as the New Jersey Nets, have slowly but surely built their team so well that it has the potential to be one of the best teams of all time. In the 2018 – 2019 season, the Nets popped up out of nowhere and made the playoffs. Before the 2018-2019 season, the Nets were always a very disappointing team that most fans chose to hate on and make fun of, but with the team having such great chemistry and a new leader in D’Angelo Russell, they put together a great season making the sixth seed out East. Unfortunately they lost in five games, but the future seemed very bright for the Nets. 

Then they traded away D’Angelo Russell during the off-season but managed to bring in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Durant had ruptured his achilles in the 2019 playoffs so he missed the whole 2019-2020 season and Irving missed most of the season as well due to injury. The Nets, however, still made the playoffs thanks to their bright young core and a special talent in Caris LaVert. Even with these great players, they lost in the first round in four games to the Raptors. During the shortened off season, the Nets didn’t seem to do much. They still have Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, both of which are fully healed, but they decided to add one more piece, James Harden, arguably the best scorer in NBA history combined with arguably the best offensive player, Kevin Durant. Many fans questioned this move, saying there’s only one ball to go around and there’s no way three ball dominant players can all fit together and make it work. However, they have made it work. Harden has taken a step back from being the main go-to guy on the team and has become more of his old self, working off ball, playmaking, and creating shots for his teammates. 

One of the biggest problems with this team is their horrific defense. In the trade to get Harden, the Nets had to trade away two of their best young players in Caris LaVert and Jarret Allen, a defensive minded center who can grab boards and block shots which is exactly what the Nets need right now. There have been rumors about the Nets trading for big man Andre Drummond who would fill the much needed defense role perfectly. The Nets have proved to everyone in the league how good they are and how much potential they have. Now all fans have to do is sit and watch to see what the Nets can do this post-season.