It’s not just what happens on the floor that affects a basketball team – it’s everything off the floor, too, and quite frankly, the Nets made just as much news (if not more) in that realm in 2021-22.
“For sure, a big reason why we were in the position we were in was lack of continuity,” head coach Steve Nash said after the Nets were swept out of the playoffs by Boston Monday night. “Having to carry such a heavy burden to stay in the playoff picture, all the stuff off the floor has an impact. We had moments and pockets, but over the season, too many things held us back.”
Still, the Nets made it to the playoffs, a feat Kevin Durant was proud of based on the turmoil the team faced this season, and now Brooklyn plans to use the feeling of being swept in the first round as motivation when the team re-convenes this summer.
“It’s burning in my heart right now. I know so many people wanted to see us fail, so I’m using that as fuel for the summer,” Kyrie Irving said. “Hopefully we don’t run into any barriers and can start fresh and be realistic with our own expectations.”
“Everybody is sad, but you just have to deal with it for a few days,” added Goran Dragic. “You can take advantage of that as a challenge for the offseason, keep it in your mind and have that chip on our shoulder when you come back. We have good enough players to go far.”
That’s something the Nets have hoped to do since Day 1 of the Irving-Durant era, even adding James Harden last year to make it a huge Big 3. But, thanks to myriad factors, here we are three years later, the Nets having failed to reach even the NBA’s Final 4, let alone a Finals or a Championship.
“I see what’s going on, it’s a great time to be in our league, but I just focus on being the best I can be and adding to our group,” Durant said. “There’s so many great players, and we have to be right there with the pack, so we have a lot of work to do.”
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As Kyrie noted, though, there’s always year four, and another chance for the Nets to build up and make another run.
“Now we turn the page and look forward to what we’re building,” Irving said. “This is a league that’s getting younger, taller, more athletic, and more competitive. I can feel it. So it’s added motivation when you get swept like that. We have to look forward to the future, and I get excited about that.”
And even though they have nothing to show for three years of elite superstar primes and hundreds of millions of dollars in salary, one Net is ready to turn the page immediately, because there’s no point in looking back at the past and wondering if anything could’ve been done differently.
“No regrets – s—t happens,” Durant said bluntly. “There’s no crying over spilled milk, it’s about how we can progress and get better from here. We’ve been through a lot this year, but there’s no time to feel regret or be pissed off. It’s about being proactive to find solutions to get better. Great teams don’t dwell, they just try to get better. We know what our mistakes were, we just have to improve on them.”
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