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It still remains to be seen how much defense the Nets will play, and if their Big 3 will get along all season.
Once the playoffs and they are playing good coached teams like the Heat, Celtics & Raptors (if they make it), the Nets are either going to have to get a 4th option or shore up the defensive issues because the defense is going to be their main culprit. Cool, Harden/Kyrie/Durant can give you 110 points, but Harden & Kyrie will give up 80 on the defense end, so what's the point?? It's like a 50 win baseball team hoarding Mariano Rivera, what's the point of keeping him if you never have a lead to use him??
Imagine if the Nets got rid of Kyrie for a pass-first PG like Ben Simmons or Kyle Lowry.
That would be one unbeatable team, especially with Ben Simmons because he's the best defensive player in the NBA.
The problem is, who would rely on Kyrie to play basketball? Only a very desperate and unprincipled team would take Kyrie.
But I guess despite his shortcomings Kyrie is more talented than most players in the NBA, so someone will take him, and all Brooklyn want is someone to fit-in (but some defense would be preferred).....and it doesn't even need to be a Point Guard, since Harden is brilliant at that anyway. Could simply trade Kyrie for a couple of defensive-minded big men.
Imagine if the Nets got rid of Kyrie for a pass-first PG like Ben Simmons or Kyle Lowry.
That would be one unbeatable team, especially with Ben Simmons because he's the best defensive player in the NBA.
The problem is, who would rely on Kyrie to play basketball? Only a very desperate and unprincipled team would take Kyrie.
But I guess despite his shortcomings Kyrie is more talented than most players in the NBA, so someone will take him, and all Brooklyn want is someone to fit-in (but some defense would be preferred).....and it doesn't even need to be a Point Guard, since Harden is brilliant at that anyway. Could simply trade Kyrie for a couple of defensive-minded big men.
I think a big reason Durant chose the Nets was Kyrie. And even if someone was going to take him and his unreliability on, they won't give up much (certainly not an All-Star).
I just love watching the Nets with KD and JH, they're so smooth, like Jordan and Pippen.
Hope KD is objective about what is best for the team, its not KI.
And the problem is KI keeps delivering perfect stats, so KI will keep trying to dominate....
I think a big reason Durant chose the Nets was Kyrie. And even if someone was going to take him and his unreliability on, they won't give up much (certainly not an All-Star).
I seem to recall that was the case as well--that Kyrie and KD wanted to play together.
I seem to recall that was the case as well--that Kyrie and KD wanted to play together.
Right now, why would you want to trade for Kyrie?
But someone who has no playoff aspirations and just wants to sell tickets, will trade for him (even though he might not show up to games).
And if Brooklyn are smart, they'll just get rid of him for very little in return, because they are clearly a better team without Kyrie.
Harden is a completely different player without Kyrie.
And their perimeter defense will be far better without Kyrie, so just trade him for a good defender.
You don't even need to trade for a PG, because Harden will dominate the ball anyway, just get anyone who can defend the perimeter.
This is a real test to see how badly Kevin Durant wants another championship, because he needs to sign-off on Kyrie's removal.
I'm not going to say I thought Durant was a genius but for most of his career he seemed pretty smart, definitely smarter than the average NBA player. Then the last couple of seasons made me think he really wasn't all that smart. Let's see what he does with the Kyrie saga. Kyrie and Harden play, for the most part, the same position. Both are bad on the defensive end of the floor, both can take periods of time off, but when both want to play they are great. However, the Nets can't have them both on the court at the same time, and the Nets through early sample sizes are a much better team when Harden is out there than when Kyrie is out there. Durant can say all he wants about how he wanted to play with Kyrie but the fact is he has a much better chance to win with Kyrie out of Brooklyn then with him there. The Sixers won't do this, and I doubt the Raptors would either, but someone like a Simmons or Lowry would be the perfect engine for that team. A true PG that does well without the ball, that will set up shots for Durant & Harden. I'll take this a step further: IF the Nets could somehow land Simmons between now and by the time the playoffs start they'd be the odds on favorite to win the whole thing because Simmons to me is that missing piece for them. If the Paul/Harden experiment didn't fail at the end there in Houston I'd say he be a pretty good 2nd option, especially if Phoenix falls out of the race.
I'm not going to say I thought Durant was a genius but for most of his career he seemed pretty smart, definitely smarter than the average NBA player. Then the last couple of seasons made me think he really wasn't all that smart. Let's see what he does with the Kyrie saga. Kyrie and Harden play, for the most part, the same position. Both are bad on the defensive end of the floor, both can take periods of time off, but when both want to play they are great. However, the Nets can't have them both on the court at the same time, and the Nets through early sample sizes are a much better team when Harden is out there than when Kyrie is out there. Durant can say all he wants about how he wanted to play with Kyrie but the fact is he has a much better chance to win with Kyrie out of Brooklyn then with him there. The Sixers won't do this, and I doubt the Raptors would either, but someone like a Simmons or Lowry would be the perfect engine for that team. A true PG that does well without the ball, that will set up shots for Durant & Harden. I'll take this a step further: IF the Nets could somehow land Simmons between now and by the time the playoffs start they'd be the odds on favorite to win the whole thing because Simmons to me is that missing piece for them. If the Paul/Harden experiment didn't fail at the end there in Houston I'd say he be a pretty good 2nd option, especially if Phoenix falls out of the race.
I agree, Ben Simmons is the perfect fit next to Harden/KD, but I can't see Philly doing it, especially recently because of Kyrie's behavior. But even if Kyrie was a model citizen, Doc Rivers probably wants to win a ring with Ben Simmons+Embiid to prove people wrong.
Then again, there was that rumor that Philly almost traded Simmons for Harden, so I guess they may trade for Kyrie if Kyrie is willing to play basketball....
And Toronto are such a professional team, they wouldn't want Kyrie, especially if it means losing their favorite son.
But, Brooklyn don't have to trade for a Point Guard anyway, just get rid of Kyrie and let Harden run the offense, because we know he plays best with the ball in his hands anyway.....and the small sample size indicates Harden is very good at scoring big while sharing the ball with KD perfectly.
Just trade Kyrie for some defense, it'll be easy if all you ask for is defenders.
Unfortunately as you said, KD may not be smart enough to let Kyrie go.
Simmons would be a horrible fit beside Harden and KD because of his non-existent jumper. On offense, while he can handle the ball, you can always sag off of him and muck up the works for KD and Harden.
Simmons must have the ball in his hands to be effective.
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