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If you’ve read the blog before you know that I normally save the questions for the end of it, but today I actually have to ask ne to start off.

Are the Brooklyn Nets not only the biggest joke in the NBA, but in all of professional sports?

Right before free agency started Kyrie Irving made it official that he would be accepting his player option. That means Irving will make $36.5 million dollars for the 2022-23 season. Now Irving did give the Nets a list of teams that he would be interested in being traded to, but apparently the only team on his list that had any interest in him was the Los Angeles Lakers.

After the drama with Irving was wrapped up the drama for the Nets wasn’t over as Kevin Durant made it known that he would like Brooklyn to trade him. I don’t believe that Durant gave a reason for wanting to get out of Brooklyn, but apparently, he’d like to move on.

Durant is signed to a max contract that still has four seasons on it, so the team that acquires him will have him under contract until the end of the 2025-26 season.

There have been reports that the Nets received quite a few calls once the news of Durant interest in being traded came out, but right now the front runners seem to be the Miami Heat and the Phoenix Suns.

So, we had the Irving news and then the Durant news, but that’s not it for the Nets. There have also been multiple reports that the Nets would also like to deal Ben Simmons who hasn’t even played a game for them. Simmons was acquired last season from the Philadelphia 76ers in the deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia. Due to injury Simmons never played a game last season even though there were quite a few reports that he would return in last year’s playoffs, but he didn’t. Simmons is signed through the 2024-25 season, so if he is traded that team will have him under contract for three seasons.

So, the Nets spent all of this money to build a “super” team and what did they get for it? They didn’t win an NBA championship even though they’ve been everybody’s pick the last couple of seasons. The Nets have made the playoffs the last four seasons but have only managed to win one playoff series with the likes of Durant and Irving in their lineup. This past season the Nets were swept out of the playoffs in the 1st round by the Eastern conference winners the Boston Celtics.

I’m not sure what teams would be willing to give up acquiring a player like Simmons, but a player like Irving could bring the Nets some quality players or draft picks in return and a trade for Durant could be the key piece to a quick rebuild for Brooklyn. You’ve already seen multiple 1st round draft picks traded in deals for players that aren’t the same caliber player as Durant.

Of course, any trade for any of these three players would have to meet the NBA’s salary cap standard rules, so the Nets would probably have to take some big contracts back in return.

Oddly if the Nets make the right deals, they could still end up being a playoff team in the Eastern conference and they might even manage to land a higher seed than they did this past season when they went into the playoffs as a 7th seed and had to go into the NBA’s play-in portion of the playoffs.

As we watch teams try to align themselves with what everyone says you need to win a title “The Big 3” the Nets could be a precautionary tail for those teams. Brooklyn didn’t win anything when they had Durant, Irving and Harden as their Big 3 and Simmons never even took the court for them, so we never saw if the Big 3 of Durant, Irving and Simmons would’ve put anything together.

I guess it’s time for teams to start asking themselves if they really need a Big 3 to win a championship or can they get by with two stars and the right amount of role players.

Since I already asked you a question all I have to do is remind you that you can find me on Twitter @Burketime.

Have a safe and Happy July 4th.