As part of a new series of articles produced exclusively for Sky Sports by NBA superfans from across the UK, we're looking at the state of play for every franchise with preseason set to get under way at the end of this month
Tuesday 18 October 2022 08:12, UK
Nets fanatic Matt Hardy, who runs the @UKNetsFans account on Twitter, assesses the 2021-22 season for his team, and then casts an eye ahead to the 2022-23 campaign for Brooklyn.
My name's Matt and I've been a Brooklyn Nets fan since the 2013/14 season. I've always had an interest in the NBA, ever since I got NBA Courtside and NBA Jam 2000 for the Nintendo 64. Years later, when a new guy started at my job who was also into hoops, I decided to get into it more and follow a team. The season before, the New Jersey Nets had made the 47-mile journey to Brooklyn, so as the newest team in the league I decided to follow them, win or lose. Fast forward almost a decade later and I'm running @UKNetsFans on Twitter and Instagram, and hosting BK to UK: The British Brooklyn Nets Podcast (available on all podcast platforms).
The obvious two are Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, but in all honesty, Kyrie is far and away my favourite player. Say what you want about his off-court actions, when he hits the hardwood there's nobody better: a dynamic and efficient scorer who dazzles and entertains. Other current favourties are Patty Mills and Cam Thomas.
Where to begin? The 2021/22 season was supposed to be a big one for the Nets. The champions-in-waiting just needed to casually run through everyone in the regular season before another strong showing in the postseason, probably against Milwaukee in the Conference Finals, before beating whoever made it out of the West. The year before, the Nets narrowly missed out on beating Giannis and company, had it not been for KD's elongated metatarsals. The following year should have been predictable. In reality, last season was anything but.
Protracted injuries to key pieces, a poorly constructed ensemble of role players, James Harden wanting away and, not forgetting, Covid-19 vaccination mandates.
The 2021/22 season was split into two: 2021 and 2022. After a month of the season beginning, the Nets were sitting top of the Eastern Conference, and there they stayed until December 31, tied with the Chicago Bulls on 23-10. By February 8, they had slipped to eighth and flirted with slipping below .500, on 29-24, before dropping to ninth and clawing their way back to seventh with just three games to go, avoiding any play-in embarrassment. For a team with such lofty ambitions, where they ended up was a disaster.
The Nets had the pieces to make a deep play-off run last year, but circumstances - both internal and external - meant that they didn't live up to expectations. They limped into the play-offs and got absolutely pasted by the eventual Eastern Conference finalists, the Boston Celtics.
There were two main talking points coming into this off-season. One, which we all saw coming was what to do with Kyrie Irving's contract negotiations and his looming player option. As alluded to above, Kyrie had missed significant time over his Nets career - playing just 103 games in the three seasons in Brooklyn - so the Nets were reportedly hesitant to offer their star SG the max. After some posturing from both sides Kyrie opted in and, the most recent information we have, says that Kyrie is in a good place, happy, and excited about being a Net next year,
The other storyline was a lot less expected: on June 30 Kevin Durant - who a year earlier signed a long-term contract to stay in Brooklyn - requested a trade. We're not sure why, perhaps it was due to Sean Marks and Joe Tsai (Nets GM and owner respectively) not giving his best friend Irving the max, perhaps it was frustration at the coaching or roster. We don't know a lot. What we do know is that the Nets and Durant are now moving forward together into next season.
The only involvement that Brooklyn had in the 2022 NBA Draft was that it was held at Barclays Center, so nothing to speak of there.
In terms of ins and outs, the Nets lost Bruce Brown, which is a gut-punch to many fans but with a rejuvenated Ben Simmons waiting in the wings, his role has become redundant. The fact that, as Brown admitted in an Instagram Live, the Nets didn't even make him an offer, feels like a huge slap in the face to such a fan favourite. The kind of guy that culture is built on being left in the cold speaks volumes about how this front office actually operates.
We re-signed Nic Claxton, Patty Mills and Kessler Edwards, they should all get good minutes next year, and Drummond and Dragic both got shipped out to Chicago. No official word on the old vets from last year - Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, etc.
Had the KD and Kyrie drama not happened, I think the offseason so far would have been a glowing success. Adding 3-and-D wing depth in O'Neale and another scorer in Warren are welcome additions to the roster, especially as pieces to fit around Durant, Irving, not to mention a returning Ben Simmons and Joe Harris. If Brooklyn could add a center of some description, but ideally one that can spread the floor, that would be all the boxes ticked in my book.
By sheer force of being the club of KD, Irving and Ben Simmons, the media, analysts and pundits will say the Brooklyn Nets are among the favourites for the East. As a fan, I'd just like a season free from external distractions, long-term injuries and infighting.
If you're not watching Nets games, you don't like basketball.
