The Brooklyn Nets plan to keep their Big 3 together for the foreseeable future.
GM Sean Marks is optimistic that they’ll be able to reach extensions with superstars James Harden and Kyrie Irving after already inking Kevin Durant to an extension earlier this off-season.
Trade Kyrie For Ben Simmons?
Contrary to the trade speculation that Stephen A. Smith threw into the Twittersphere concerning Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons the Big Three has unfinished business in BK.
Here we go with the lies again. I never said any trade offers were made regarding Kyrie & @BrooklynNets. What I said is, they would do a deal to swap Kyrie for Ben Simmons in a heartbeat, but @KDTrey5 ain’t having it. He loves his brother Kyrie. He won’t have that!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 23, 2021
If Kyrie was going to be traded it would have happened back in June when those rumors first surfaced after Kyrie had been spotted at a family event in January with no mask on and his cryptic tweets were the talk of the sports news cycle.
Where There’s Smoke
Back in June, author Matt Sullivan, who has spent a significant amount of time picking the brains of the “Big Three,” appeared on the “Celtics Lab 52” podcast.
Sullivan hinted that Marks might be willing to break up Brooklyn’s Big Three by dealing his 29-year-old star point guard.
Fast forward to September and Marks sounds like a man who isn’t thinking about breaking up the gang. He’s actually trying to make sure they all retire as Brooklyn Nets and champions.
“We’ve had those positive conversations with both guys — whether it’s family members, other people and so forth Marks said at a news conference on Tuesday. “I think it always helps to do these things in person. Again, with this being summer, we’re very cognizant of letting people have their own time away before we all get back into the swing of things here.”
Done Deals
Marks said that he expected to sign “The Beard” and “Uncle Drew” to extensions by training camp, which begins next week.
“We’re looking forward to sitting down with them over the course of the next week, two weeks to further discussions,” Marks added.
Championship or Bust For BK
It’s championship or bust for the Nets who have assembled arguably the greatest collection of offensive talent in the last 30 years.
First and foremost, this unit has to stay healthy and shake the “injury prone” label. The Big Three have all missed significant time over the past couple seasons.
It got so bad last season that Kevin Durant was the lone member of the triumvirate left by the time they reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Nets’ supporting cast is improved from last season. Blake Griffin returns, and LaMarcus Aldridge is back after retiring (due to a heart condition) in April. Savvy veterans Patty Mills and Paul Millsap also help position BK to win it all.
With a healthy roster the Nets should be one of the odds-on favorites to hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June.
Both Harden (32) and Irving (29) are under contract through the 2022-23 season.
