How the Nets Became Stuck in a Cycle of Failure

Andy Hoops

The New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets have been trapped in a constant cycle of rebuilding failure since 2003. In over 20 years they've never created a consistent team that can sustain a high level of success, so let's take a look at everything that went wrong.  contact@tablerock.com  I make all kinds of long-form NBA content which include player stories, analysis, breakdowns, and historical topics. Make sure to leave a like and subscribe if you enjoyed this video! ► X: https://www.x.com/@andyhoopsyt ► TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@andyhoopsyt ► Music:  Black Vortex by Kevin MacLeod Movement Proposition by Kevin MacLeod Inspired by Kevin MacLeod Sardana by Kevin MacLeod Floating Cities by Kevin MacLeod Rising by Kevin MacLeod Faster Does It by Kevin MacLeod Lightless Dawn by Kevin MacLeod Basic Implosion by Kevin MacLeod Super Power Cool Dude by Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 (incompetech.com) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ► Sources: Stats and box-scores from Basketball-Reference.com, NBA.com, Statmuse.com, PBPstats.com #nba

Transcript

00:10Ever since the Nets reached the finals in back-to-back years in 2002 and 2003 when they were still

00:15in New Jersey,

00:16it's now been well over two decades later and they've still been stuck in an endless cycle of rebuilding purgatory.

00:23I'm not even sure how many times they've attempted to rebuild from scratch because it can't be that many.

00:28It seems like they've developed a habit of trading away too many of their assets for the hope of constructing

00:33a superteam to skip the whole process and win right away.

00:37Except they haven't won.

00:39In fact, before they drafted Yegor Dieomen in 2025, the Nets had a streak of 14 consecutive years of zero

00:46lottery picks.

00:47Their last selection in the lottery before that was Derek Favors in 2010.

00:52That seems kind of crazy for a team that wasn't even that good for the majority of that span.

00:56But that's what happens when you give away your picks like candy.

01:00In this video, let's take a look at every mistake, every significant decision the Nets made ever since their last

01:06appearance in the finals.

01:08Decisions that caused them to be stuck in mediocrity through all this time.

01:12One of the reasons the Nets are so good on the fast break is Jason Kidd, a man who's raised

01:17his performance and his profile in the NBA.

01:21When the 2003 NBA Finals concluded and the Spurs came out victorious, this wasn't surprising at all.

01:27When the Nets made a trade to acquire Jason Kidd two summers prior, he completely shifted the dynamic of this

01:33team.

01:34They went from a team led by the score-first Stefan Marbury to one led by the pass-first Kidd.

01:39And surrounded by athletes who fit his style of play perfectly, they immediately reached the finals upon his arrival.

01:51But the thing is, this was also the worst Eastern Conference in modern history.

01:56The Nets were a great team, but they were also a product of a weaker era.

02:01You could say the conference was still in a transition period from the end of the Michael Jordan era in

02:051998.

02:06However, after losing in the finals the second year in a row, they realized they needed some drastic changes to

02:12compete with the dominant West.

02:13With their focus on getting a competent big man to match up against the likes of Shaq or Tim Duncan.

02:19So in July of 2003, a month after they lost in the finals, they signed former All-Star and All

02:24-NBA defender Alonzo Mourning.

02:27They also re-signed Jason Kidd to a long-term commitment.

02:30A six-year, $100 million deal, which was honestly a very good deal at the time.

02:35That contract didn't even put him in the top 20 of annual salaries.

02:39But perhaps it was the hilarious Kyle Korver trade that looked the worst in hindsight.

02:44The Nets drafted Korver in the second round with the 51st pick.

02:48And immediately traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers for $125,000.

02:54And what did they use that money for?

02:56To cover summer league fees and to buy a copy machine.

02:59Yes, it was this infamous trade that showed not only how cheap the Nets' ownership was,

03:03but they actually gave up a great player in Korver.

03:06He'd eventually become one of the best three-point shooters of his generation.

03:10Considering the Nets were a bottom 10 three-point shooting team for several years in a row,

03:15maybe he could have helped them.

03:16In theory, the Alonzo Mourning signing was a massive addition,

03:20but he had a chronic kidney condition that got significantly worse by late 2003.

03:25Just a few months into the season, he needed a transplant,

03:28which forced him to sit out the rest of the year.

03:31Without him, the Nets essentially made no improvements whatsoever,

03:35and were solely banking on their young guys to make a jump into stardom,

03:38like Richard Jefferson or Kenyon Martin,

03:40who was the number one overall pick a few years prior.

03:44They also hoped Jason Collins, their starting center,

03:47can show any semblance of being, you know, a starting center.

03:50Rest in peace, by the way.

03:52The 2003-4 New Jersey Nets featured a roster that was essentially a repeat of the previous year,

03:59except this time, the results were different.

04:01There was no finals run,

04:03because in the second round of the playoffs,

04:05they encountered a team that would become the new dominant force of the East,

04:08the Detroit Pistons.

04:17This series was memorable for me because I vividly remember watching it as a kid,

04:21but it wasn't memorable for a good reason.

04:23It was a horrible series to watch.

04:26Having two dominant defensive teams led to awful, slow-paced, ugly basketball.

04:32I mean, even by the standards of that time, it was still so bad.

04:35The Nets scored 56 points in Game 1.

04:39There were six different times in this series when a team scored fewer than 80 points,

04:43and despite snatching a 3-2 series lead,

04:46the Nets suffered two demoralizing losses to lose the series in Game 7.

04:50While there was still hope for this team to recuperate,

04:53it marked the beginning of the end for the Jason Kidd era in New Jersey.

04:57It wasn't because they got worse,

04:59rather that the rest of the Eastern Conference was improving at a frantic pace.

05:03Not just the Pistons, but we saw the arrival of LeBron and D-Wade,

05:07who turned the Cavs and Heat into contenders within a couple years.

05:11Most importantly, the Nets would make a major decision over the summer of 2004.

05:16Kenyon Martin was in line for a hefty contract,

05:19his first major one after his rookie deal expired.

05:22Yet the Nets did not believe he warranted the amount of money he wanted,

05:25which was over $90 million.

05:28It was a significant chunk of cash,

05:30especially for a player who wasn't improving as much as they hoped.

05:33So they let him go.

05:35The loss of Martin, along with a bunch of injuries,

05:38caused the Nets to start the season with a pitiful 9-16 record.

05:42It was the worst start they had since Jason Kidd arrived,

05:45and there were talks of possibly even trading away Kidd

05:47to blow up the team to start over.

05:49An anonymous Eastern Conference executive stated,

05:53While the Nets hope to keep Kidd,

05:55his unhappiness with the team's roster decisions may force them to trade him.

05:59Rumors of Kidd's disgruntled attitude created a sense of urgency within the Nets organization,

06:03because they were listening to trade offers

06:06even if they still hoped to mend the relationship to keep him.

06:09The Nets were desperate to find a solution.

06:12Perhaps they needed to make a big splash.

06:14A big shake-up to their roster might be the only thing that could salvage this disaster of a season.

06:19So, they looked north.

06:35Vince Carter had been the superstar of the Raptors for a long time.

06:39He was at the peak of his prime,

06:41but had developed a sour relationship with the organization,

06:43to the point where he was basically quitting in the middle of the season.

06:48Carter actively sabotaged his own team to lose.

06:51Reportedly, he would leak the Raptors' plays to the opponents.

06:54It was this kind of attitude that tanked his value,

06:57and teams did not want to deal with the headache of Vince Carter.

07:00The Nets, however, was one of a few teams who were desperate enough to take a chance on him.

07:05With Carter's value super low, they didn't give up much to get him,

07:08so they pulled the trigger on a deal that could propel this team forward or destroy it once and for

07:13all.

07:14Right out the gates, though, Carter proved he was here to stay.

07:21The team started 9-16, but finished the season with a 42-40 record,

07:25making the playoffs again, just to get annihilated in the first round.

07:30You see, the NBA landscape saw a major shift in power when Shaquille O'Neal joined the Miami Heat.

07:36I mentioned earlier how the East got substantially stronger during this time,

07:40and the Nets quickly became outmatched with this new wave of superstars exploding onto the scene.

07:45Vince Carter, in theory, should have been the perfect fit for this team.

07:49A hyper-athletic shooting guard who can run with Kidd,

07:52and equipped with a dynamic shooting ability to score from anywhere on the court.

07:55But in these years, the team's big three of Kidd, Carter, and Jefferson was a solid trio,

08:01but not good enough to excel in this new, more talented landscape.

08:05They lost to the Heat in the playoffs in back-to-back years, both series not close at all.

08:10The reason being, their biggest hole had always been the same problem they've had for years,

08:14their lack of a quality big man.

08:17Going from Jason Collins to Nenad Kristic wasn't much of a boost, to be honest.

08:21And losing Kenyon Martin hurt them even more.

08:24You have a point guard with arguably the best court vision in the league next to Steve Nash,

08:29yet no bigs to capitalize on his passing.

08:33D-Wade, Shaq, and the Miami Heat put the Nets in the coffin.

08:36Then, a year later, LeBron James buried them.

08:44The 2007 playoffs marked the final time this trio would make the postseason,

08:48as the era of Jason Kidd eventually ended with a trade to Dallas.

09:07A few months following the departure of Jason Kidd,

09:10the Nets wound up with the 10th pick of the 2008 draft,

09:13which they used to select Brooke Lopez,

09:15a center who they had hoped could be the future face of a brand new era.

09:19On paper, this was the first sign of positivity.

09:21They managed to get the best center of this entire draft,

09:25a guy who could potentially change the course of the New Jersey Nets.

09:28They hoped to build through the draft,

09:30accumulate picks,

09:31and eventually return to the playoffs with Lopez leading the charge.

09:35Ultimately, however,

09:36the direction of this franchise would not be determined by Brooke Lopez,

09:40or his coach,

09:41or even the front office.

09:42This team would change forever in September of 2009.

09:49Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov purchased a large stake in the Nets for $200 million,

09:55with the intention to build a new arena in Brooklyn to relocate the team there within a few years.

10:01This marked a massive turning point in the franchise,

10:04not just the relocation itself,

10:06but the fact that they now had the richest owner in the entire league

10:09with a limitless pool of money to spend.

10:11The Nets went from a stingy ownership group

10:13to one that was willing to throw money at the wall to get whatever he wanted.

10:17So, the goal of rebuilding slowly has now changed.

10:21Prokhorov had the ambitions to win immediately

10:23by getting superstars onto their roster.

10:26Moving to Brooklyn would make that easier to do than staying in New Jersey,

10:29which, if we're being honest,

10:31wasn't exactly an appealing destination for free agents.

10:34With his intention to move to Brooklyn,

10:36Prokhorov made this ambitious statement to the media.

10:39Quote,

10:39We're going to turn Knicks fans into Nets fans.

10:43If everything goes as planned,

10:44I expect us to be in the playoffs next season

10:47and win a championship in one year minimum,

10:49and maximum in five years.

10:51Calling this ambitious is an understatement.

10:54It's straight up delusional.

10:55Also, I'm pretty sure the opposite happened.

10:57More Nets fans turned into Knicks fans than the other way around.

11:01Anyway, when Prokhorov made this announcement

11:03at the beginning of the 2009-10 season,

11:06all the diehard Jersey fans felt robbed.

11:09Sure, Brooklyn isn't even that far.

11:11Heck, for some folks,

11:12the traffic was so bad in Jersey

11:14that you're better off taking the PATH train to Manhattan

11:16and hop on the subway to Brooklyn.

11:18But this was still their team.

11:20As a result, this season saw an atrocious attendance turnout.

11:24With fans knowing they'll be gone,

11:25the Nets averaged just 13,000 fans a game,

11:28the fewest among all teams.

11:30I mean, what's the point, right?

11:32The team sucked.

11:33They won 12 games, for crying out loud.

11:36To make matters worse,

11:37they had the best odds of getting the number one pick

11:39but ended with the third pick,

11:41which they used to draft Derek Favors.

11:44This new ownership desired to become a destination

11:46for superstars like the Lakers,

11:48and the construction of a new state-of-the-art arena

11:51was used as an incentive to get them to come.

11:54I'm pretty sure I can convince the very best of the best

11:58that the Nets is the place they need to be.

12:01I have my own secret.

12:04On July 1st, 2010,

12:06Prokhorov held the infamous meeting with LeBron James,

12:09who was a free agent at the time.

12:11During that pitch,

12:12he also invited Jay-Z to try and convince him to come.

12:15I mean, in hindsight, it was freaking hilarious.

12:18And according to the reports,

12:20LeBron did seriously consider the Nets for a little bit.

12:23But that fizzled out.

12:25Without LeBron,

12:26they obviously couldn't get D-Wade or Bosh either.

12:29After this failed meeting,

12:30Prokhorov realized he needed a general manager

12:33who can fulfill his vision of a super team.

12:35Somebody who wasn't the smartest guy in the room,

12:37but has enough connections and relationships around the league

12:40to encourage them to join the Nets.

12:43So two weeks after the failed LeBron meeting,

12:45he hired Billy King,

12:47who did not have a good track record in the past,

12:49but he got hired simply because he knew people.

12:53At this point,

12:54with the whole relocation and the building of a new arena,

12:57the drafting of Brook Lopez almost seemed like an afterthought,

13:00because the Nets were now more motivated than ever

13:03to build their team in a different way,

13:05by just throwing money at stars.

13:07So Billy King's first major transaction

13:09came just a few months later.

13:14In Utah,

13:15Darren Williams' relationship with coach Jerry Sloan

13:17deteriorated to the point where Sloan quit because of him,

13:20and the team was ready to move on from D-Will too.

13:23The Nets saw this as an opportunity

13:25to get one of the league's best point guards,

13:27and they did.

13:28This trade was eerily similar to the Vince Carter deal

13:31all those years ago,

13:32if they were able to snatch a disgruntled superstar

13:34in their prime again.

13:36However,

13:37Darren's debilitating ankle issues became a hindrance,

13:39especially for a guy who relied on his explosion and handles

13:42to break down a defense.

13:44Yet,

13:44he was already slowing down by the time he joined the Nets.

13:48It's okay though,

13:49Billy King bided his time

13:50because Darren was merely the first step

13:52for something even greater.

13:54At least,

13:55that's what he thought.

13:56In Brooklyn,

13:57a project that was years in the making

13:59and marked by a lot of controversy

14:01is officially a reality tonight.

14:03There was a lot of fanfare this morning

14:04as Mayor Bloomberg cut the ribbon

14:06to open the Barclays Center.

14:08After a tumultuous lockout year,

14:10the summer of 2012 finally arrived.

14:12The official end of the Nets in New Jersey

14:14and the grand opening of the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

14:17The Nets just finished at the bottom of the league

14:20in attendance again,

14:21so this move ought to ignite some passion

14:23to a new local crowd.

14:25This summer also marked the first of two monumental off-seasons.

14:29With this relocation,

14:30they also wanted to make a huge splash

14:32to get fans invested immediately.

14:34So they made a blockbuster trade

14:36for Hawks all-star Joe Johnson.

14:38They re-signed former all-star Gerald Wallace

14:41for four years, 40 million.

14:43They extended Brooke Lopez for four years, 60 million.

14:46And they re-signed Darren Williams

14:48for five years, 100 million dollars.

14:50Securing a new core of players

14:52which they labeled the Core Four.

14:55Nothing like a catchy new group name

14:56to attract a new fan base, right?

14:58Because of these moves,

15:00there was a belief around the league

15:01that the Nets had a legit chance to win the title.

15:04I mean, they were kind of a dark horse,

15:05but they had a really good squad.

15:07Sadly, what seemed like the start of something special,

15:10the 2012-13 season

15:12was a crazy rollercoaster of a year.

15:14They fired their head coach, Avery Johnson,

15:17after a 14-14 start.

15:19But when P.J. Carlissimo took over,

15:21they finished with a much better 49-33 record.

15:25Carlissimo put a heavier emphasis

15:26on running the offense through Lopez,

15:28as before he got hired,

15:30he was only averaging 17 a game with Avery Johnson,

15:32but it jumped to over 20 a game under Carlissimo.

15:35This allowed the Nets to play a more simplified playstyle

15:38between their guards and Lopez in the post,

15:40instead of following the more complex plays

15:43that Johnson had implemented.

15:45Their success, however, was short-lived,

15:47because by the time the playoff started,

15:49the Nets got stunned by the Chicago Bulls

15:52and lost Game 7 on their home court.

15:55And Chicago, decimated by injury,

15:58decimated by illness.

15:59They go into Brooklyn and get the win.

16:02Keep in mind, the Bulls were the heavy underdogs this year.

16:06Derrick Rose missed the entire season

16:08recovering from a torn ACL,

16:09and their other all-star, Luol Deng,

16:11got injured during the series.

16:13So to still pull this off

16:15was a testament to their resilience,

16:17with a roster that was clearly

16:18nowhere near as talented as the Nets,

16:20but they worked and grinded so much harder.

16:22What this series made painfully clear

16:25was that the Nets and Mikhail Prokhorov

16:27did not know what the best way to build a team was.

16:30They simply believed

16:31they could get as many stars as possible,

16:33go deep into the luxury tax without any care,

16:36keep throwing money at the wall,

16:37and that's enough to win the title.

16:39Chemistry wasn't even in their vocabulary.

16:41So losing to the Bulls

16:43set them up for the most catastrophic trade

16:45that destroyed the team for years to come.

16:48Three unprotected first-round picks

16:50and one pick swap is what they gave up

16:52for an aging Pierce and KG.

16:54These picks they gave to the Celtics

16:56eventually built them the next era

16:58for their franchise,

16:59as they used those picks

17:00to draft Tatum and Brown,

17:02while the Nets had only one chance

17:04to win the title.

17:06The 2013-14 season,

17:08it was make or a break for this team.

17:10They had a payroll of $102 million,

17:13which was $14 million higher

17:14than the Nets' closest team,

17:16so they better make a run at the title.

17:19Nonetheless, the season was kinda rough,

17:21as they struggled even more

17:23than the previous year

17:24due to Brook Lopez suffering

17:25a season-ending injury.

17:27Finds Lopez, who's fouled,

17:29and Lopez goes down!

17:31Yet, the fact that they swept

17:32the season series against the Miami Heat

17:34was promising.

17:35The Nets built this team solely

17:37to compete against them,

17:38so winning all four games

17:39in the regular season was a bright spot.

17:41Except, it's the regular season.

17:44When they met each other

17:45in the second round of the playoffs,

17:46the Heatles sent these guys

17:47to the retirement home.

17:49It was obvious from the start.

17:51The Nets were clearly too old,

17:53too slow,

17:54to match up against a team

17:55with far superior athletes.

17:58Ultimately,

17:58what this whole saga proved

18:00was the NBA isn't just

18:01a pay-to-win league.

18:03You can have an infinite supply of money

18:04and still fail

18:05if you don't construct a proper team

18:07that actually fit together.

18:08The Nets were simply

18:09an old roster filled

18:11with washed former stars.

18:12They desperately needed Lopez

18:14to be healthy,

18:15but seeing how badly

18:16the Heat trampled them,

18:17he wouldn't have made

18:18much of a difference.

18:19Oh, by the way,

18:21they also hired Jason Kidd

18:22as their coach,

18:23who was more memorable

18:24for spilling a drink

18:25than doing any coaching.

18:27He did try to snake his way

18:29into a front office position,

18:30but they said no,

18:31so he left.

18:33When this super team experiment

18:35concluded,

18:36the Nets entered an era

18:37of four consecutive years

18:38of losing seasons.

18:39It would be great right now

18:41if they had some picks

18:41to help them rebuild,

18:42but guess what?

18:44They had nothing.

18:45Almost every asset they had

18:46was given up

18:47in that horrendous trade.

18:48I'm not sure what's worse,

18:50the hopelessness of this team

18:51or the fact that

18:52Billy King remained the GM

18:53for another three years

18:55after making the trade.

18:57However,

18:58when Sean Marks

18:58took over in 2016,

19:00Marks spent the previous

19:01five years

19:02as the assistant manager

19:03on the Spurs,

19:03and he brought his knowledge

19:05over to the Nets.

19:06This time,

19:07he said the best thing

19:08that the fanbase

19:09wanted to hear,

19:09to rebuild from scratch

19:11and focus on player development

19:12instead of chasing stars.

19:14That was his initial goal,

19:16though it would change

19:17down the road.

19:19Marks inherited a team

19:20in a god-awful situation.

19:22Knowing how putrid

19:23their draft pick dilemma was,

19:25they had to rely

19:25on a different way

19:26to rebuild.

19:27In his first offseason

19:29with the team,

19:30Marks relied on

19:30finding diamonds in the rough,

19:32lesser-known players

19:33with potential

19:34to become decent contributors

19:35to help establish

19:36a new identity

19:37in Brooklyn.

19:38This started when he signed

19:39Joe Harris to a minimum deal,

19:41a player who was recently

19:42waived by the Cavs,

19:44but the Nets noticed

19:44his shooting ability.

19:46Harris would eventually

19:47lead the league

19:47in three-point shooting

19:48for several years.

19:50So he was for sure

19:51a diamond in the rough.

19:53Marks also offloaded

19:54Thaddeus Young's

19:55expensive contract

19:56to the Pacers

19:57for the 20th pick

19:58of the draft,

19:59Karis Levert,

20:00who eventually became

20:01a 20-point-per-game scorer

20:02on the Nets.

20:03He also signed

20:04Spencer Dinwiddie,

20:05who got waived

20:06by his former team

20:07just like Harris did,

20:08but he recognized

20:09Dinwiddie had enough

20:10talent to invest in.

20:12Fast forward a year later

20:13and Marks continued

20:14to bring the Nets

20:15out of the depths of hell.

20:16Because of a pick swap,

20:18their pick went to the Celtics

20:19who took Jason Tatum

20:20in the draft.

20:21So the Nets were left

20:22with the 22nd pick,

20:23and they managed

20:24to take Jared Allen,

20:25a great selection.

20:27I mean,

20:27he's no Jason Tatum,

20:29but he did well

20:29with what they had.

20:31But it was the

20:32Brooke Lopez trade

20:32that worked out

20:33better than anticipated.

20:35The Nets are set

20:36to trade Brooke Lopez

20:37and the 27th overall pick

20:39in Thursday's NBA draft

20:40to the Lakers

20:41in exchange

20:41for D'Angelo Russell.

20:43Lopez had been

20:44their franchise player

20:45for a while,

20:46but it was about time

20:47to move on.

20:48In exchange,

20:49it might not seem

20:49like they got much

20:50in return,

20:51but D'Angelo Russell

20:52became a very important asset.

20:54You'll see why later on.

20:56Not only did he have

20:57his first and only

20:58All-Star season,

20:59but he surprisingly led them

21:00to the playoffs

21:01for the first time in years.

21:03If you look at the roster

21:04that brought them

21:04to the playoffs,

21:05it was just D'Angelo

21:06and some players

21:07who nobody believed in

21:08just a few years ago.

21:10Levert,

21:11Harris,

21:11and Dinwiddie

21:11all developed

21:12into solid players,

21:13who played well above

21:15their pay grade

21:15in Brooklyn.

21:16Now instead of being

21:17the oldest team

21:18in the league

21:19like before,

21:19they were now

21:20amongst the youngest

21:21with an average age

21:22of 25.

21:23Yet despite the success,

21:25the Nets knew

21:26this was just

21:26a temporary solution

21:28and the much-anticipated

21:292019 offseason

21:31was looming

21:31just around the corner.

21:34To give you some context,

21:36this was a summer

21:36filled with marquee

21:38free agents.

21:39Kevin Durant,

21:39Klay Thompson,

21:40Jimmy Butler,

21:41Kawhi Leonard,

21:42Kemba Walker,

21:43Kyrie Irving?

21:44Those were just a few names

21:46in this loaded free agent class,

21:48possibly the most stacked

21:49since 2010.

21:50This is when

21:51the secret meetings

21:52were discovered.

21:53Starting around

21:54June of 2019,

21:55Kyrie Irving started

21:56meeting in private

21:57with the Nets front office.

21:59After two underwhelming

22:00years in Boston,

22:01he sought a fresh new start

22:03on a team

22:03where he can build

22:04a star-studded roster

22:05to compete for the title.

22:07The Nets gave him

22:07a chance to essentially

22:08build his own super team.

22:10In those meetings,

22:11Irving discussed

22:12his intention

22:13to bring Kevin Durant

22:14and DeAndre Jordan

22:15as well,

22:15and he had already

22:16discussed with them

22:17in private conversations.

22:19When Kyrie agreed

22:20to join the Nets,

22:21Durant didn't even

22:22have a single meeting

22:23with the organization.

22:24He just agreed

22:25to join the Nets

22:26when Kyrie did,

22:27so they worked out

22:28a sign-in trade

22:28with the Warriors

22:29to get him.

22:30I mean,

22:31it was basically tampering.

22:32Because all of this

22:33was a done deal

22:34before the free agency

22:35period even started.

22:37The NBA tried

22:38to investigate

22:39their signings,

22:39but it didn't matter.

22:41The result of

22:42Sean Mark's patience

22:43finally paid off.

22:44Leading up to this

22:45offseason,

22:46they got rid of

22:46a ton of bad contracts

22:48to clear up space

22:49to fit multiple stars.

22:50This is where

22:51D'Angelo Russell's

22:52contract came in handy.

22:54He got included

22:55in the sign-in trade

22:56with Durant

22:56to make the deal work.

22:58So if you think about it,

22:59trading away

23:00Brook Lopez for D'Lo

23:01essentially got them Durant.

23:03Now,

23:04the Nets' hope

23:04of winning the championship

23:05was stronger

23:06than it's ever been.

23:10It was so promising

23:11that the evaluation

23:12of the team skyrocketed

23:14to the point

23:14where Mikhail Prokhorov

23:15decided to sell the team.

23:17Honestly,

23:18it was the best time

23:19to do so,

23:20right after they got

23:20their superstars

23:21but before they had

23:22a chance to perform.

23:24Now began the next iteration

23:26of the Nets' super team,

23:27and hopefully this one

23:28would be better

23:29than the last.

23:30But they would have to wait.

23:32You see,

23:33when they acquired

23:34Kevin Durant,

23:35it was a month after

23:35he tore his Achilles

23:36in the 2019 finals.

23:38He'd have to sit out

23:39an entire year.

23:41However,

23:42it was the James Harden trade

23:43that significantly drained

23:45their pool of assets.

23:47Some of those picks

23:48were used to accelerate

23:49the Rockets' own rebuild,

23:51as they returned

23:51to the playoffs

23:52very quickly

23:53after trading away Harden.

23:55This was the ultimate

23:56all-in move,

23:57a trade that was reminiscent

23:58of the old KG and Pierce

23:59trade all those years ago,

24:01because if they did not

24:02win the title,

24:03their team would crash

24:04all the way back down

24:05into purgatory.

24:07Unfortunately for them,

24:08the championship

24:08did not come.

24:112021 was their best chance

24:13to win it,

24:13with Kevin Durant

24:14being one shoe size

24:15too big,

24:16or else they could've

24:17beaten Milwaukee

24:18and likely had a great shot

24:19at winning the title

24:20that year.

24:21Nonetheless,

24:22this short-lived

24:23super squad was plagued

24:24with off-court issues,

24:25the first being injuries.

24:27James Harden had been

24:28an Ironman for his

24:29whole career,

24:30but Brooklyn was the

24:31first time he struggled

24:31with severe hamstring problems.

24:34Kyrie sprained his ankle

24:35in the middle of the series.

24:36Durant recovered

24:37from his ACL surgery,

24:39but also suffered

24:39from knee and hamstring

24:40issues on the Nets.

24:42All while there was

24:43tension between the superstars

24:44and their new coach,

24:45Steve Nash.

24:47With Kyrie infamously

24:48telling the media,

24:49quote,

24:50I don't really see us

24:51having a head coach.

24:52KD could be a head coach.

24:53I could be a head coach.

24:55There was a tendency

24:56for this team

24:57to ignore Nash's play calls.

24:59And this super team era

25:00concluded with just

25:01one playoff series victory

25:02in three years.

25:04And by the 2023 deadline,

25:06this trio

25:07was all gone.

25:10There was a bright side though.

25:11This time,

25:12they actually put themselves

25:13in a great situation

25:14because they got so much back

25:15for both Kyrie and KD.

25:17They got way more assets

25:18in return than what they

25:19gave up to get them

25:20in the first place.

25:21So they were able

25:22to kickstart a new rebuild

25:24shortly after this ended.

25:25For example,

25:26they had a ridiculous

25:27four first round picks

25:29in the 2025 draft alone.

25:31As quickly as the

25:32super team era disappeared,

25:34it was a much smoother

25:35transition to a new era.

25:37With their history

25:38of two decades

25:39of failed attempts,

25:41with multiple chances

25:42to speed up the process

25:43while never establishing

25:44their own identity

25:45in New York,

25:45and the Knicks winning

25:46the championship

25:47during this span,

25:48there's way more work

25:49to be done

25:50for the Brooklyn Nets

25:51to maintain a strong

25:52foothold in the NBA landscape.

25:54There's so much potential

25:55to cultivate supporters

25:56for this team,

25:57a massive New York fanbase

25:59to be tapped into,

26:00but to do this,

26:01they need to actually win.

26:02They need to sustain

26:03a longer stretch of success

26:05with a team that's worth

26:06rooting for.

26:07From their last finals

26:09appearance in 2003

26:10up until now,

26:11that's something

26:12they haven't yet figured out.

26:14Let's see if this new era

26:15in Brooklyn can change that.

26:18Anyway, that's all folks.

26:20I hope y'all enjoyed the video,

26:21and as always,

26:23I'll see you next time.

26:25Peace.

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