The Brooklyn Nets are expected to hit a massive reset button this offseason. After their embarrassing first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics, the Nets will be looking to build a better team around Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons.
The Nets were slammed across the board for their poor performances against the Celtics, as Boston dominated them throughout the series. The Nets will now have a lot of major decisions to make, from both a coaching and a players’ perspective. And it appears the Nets have an idea of what they want from next season.
NBA insider Ramona Shelburne spoke recently on NBA Today about the Nets. Shelburne revealed that according to her sources within the Nets, the team wants to go back to its blue-collar culture, and wants no more drama like the kind they’ve had over the last few seasons.
"Nets want no drama, to get back to blue-collar culture"
— @ramonashelburne ("NBA Today")#NBATwitter #NetsLevel pic.twitter.com/7QxMtDHEde
— 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧' 𝐍𝐁𝐀 (@_Talkin_NBA) April 28, 2022
“People I’ve spoken to in Brooklyn have a pretty resounding message; We need to get back to the Brooklyn Nets culture. We need to get back to this blue-collar, we’re from Brooklyn this is how they built that team in the first place. Can’t have drama, there can be no drama this year. There can be no situations that they got themselves in this year especially. They want to reset the culture. Easier said than done. How do you do that? That is an organizational decision of ‘this is what we want to do’. But how they enact it going forward is going to be fascinating to watch.”
The Nets are expected to retain Kyrie Irving, as he has expressed his desire to stay with Kevin Durant and the rest of the team. Given the personalities of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Ben Simmons, the Nets will have to find ways to incorporate this blue-collar culture within the team.
The Nets are expected to build around the big three of the Nets and have 7 free agents this season. Other than Bruce Brown and Nic Claxton, there isn’t much information about whether these players will return. The Nets need to be clever in the offseason, as cap constraints will make it tough to bring in new players.
