The consequences of the Nets’ season begin to unfold. Such a catastrophe could not go unpunished. The elimination in the first round against the Celtics (4-0) has been a jug of cold water for a disjointed, decontextualized and chemically broken team. Something that everyone expected and that, obviously, has ended up happening. The Brooklyn team has had a disastrous basketball course, it has had internal problems, a very questionable role of its coach, Steve Nash, and two stars who have not risen to the occasion in that maligned first round against Boston. An end in keeping with what they have been as an entity, group and staff.
Sean Marks and Steve Nash have addressed the media in statements that the medium has collected in detail CBS Sports. And in particular, the General Manager has been very tough on one member of the team the Nets haven’t finished anything with this season: Kyrie Irving. The star has played only 29 games this season due to his decision not to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The point guard turned the franchise upside down with his decision and missed many games, something that neither Marks nor the rest of the team liked, to round off, his performance in the playoffs has been quite questionable: 39 points in the first game, yes (with 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals)but just 15.3 in the next three games, playing more than 40 minutes in all of them and shooting with a pyrrhic 37% from the field.
After the season, Irving said something like he intended “drive“this franchise alongside Kevin Duran, Marks himself and owner Joseph Tsai. And the reporters’ question to Marks was whether the franchise was committed long-term to Irving.: “we are discussing it“, assures the manager. “Kyrie has decisions to make on his own.” “We’re looking for guys who want to come out here and be a part of something bigger than themselves, play selflessly, play team basketball and be available. And that doesn’t just apply to Kyrie but to everyone here.“. A clear statement of intent about the anger that the entity has with the player.
“He made it difficult for all of us. Again, I don’t want to make excuses about that because I think there was a variety of teams, and the teams that are still playing to this day, they may not have had the scope of excuses that we can come up with, but they also had to navigate COVID, they had to deal with injuries, they had to drive through everything this. And if I’m going to be brutally honest, they handled it better than us.Marks continues, who also showed his anger at Kyrie’s constant absences when his team needed him most and he made reference to his vacation last year, when he was absent for his sister’s birthday (in the midst of a pandemic) without giving explanations to the entity.
“What motivates the players? What drives them? Do you want to be part of this? Are they motivated by something that might not be good for the whole team here? Those are questions we will have to ask ourselves. and also ask the players that we want to bring back here“, added Marks, who only has six players with a contract for next year and has to think about what he offers a Kyrie who will leave free agency in 2023. “We prided ourselves in the past on finding players with a chip on their shoulders, with resilience, with something to prove. We’ll have to get back to that. We’ll have to go back and look at development a bit more, look more at the right characteristics of a player that fits here.“, he sentenced.
Steve Nash, who seems to continue to be linked to the project, moved along the same lines as Marks and assured that he was not at all happy with the way the team played against the Celtics. And both insisted on the “commitment” and in the “availability“, facing the future. One in which they want to have Ben Simmons, whose absence in the series against the Celtics confirmed his year in white. Both justified him, they assure that the player works on his recovery and that he wanted more than anyone to go out on the track. Of course, things are pretty bad in Brooklyn after an absolutely embarrassing season. And a period of reflection is coming. Meanwhile, in the franchise they point to the public enemy number 1. We already know, of course, who it is. By Kyrie Irving.
