Bill Simmons believes Kevin Durant & Kyrie Irving are "one move" away from being a top team: “They're not that far out of Boston and Milwaukee”
Bill Simmons believes that the Brooklyn Nets, along with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, are just one move away from being an elite title contender. The Nets are on a 10-game winning streak. On the most recent “Bill Simmons” podcast, the host talked about how the Nets are playing.
“They're not that far out of Boston and Milwaukee,” Simmons said.
Simmons believes that the Nets are good, but they need to add another player to put them over the hump. The team has been playing good defense since Jacque Vaughn took over as coach on Nov. 1, and the duo of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving is playing at the top of their games.
Simmons praised Durant for his elevated play this season.
"It's the best we've seen Durant play in three to four years," Simmons said.
Kevin Durant has himself in the MVP conversation. He was Brooklyn's only consistent player in the early part of the season before the team turned everything around, and he is flourishing more now that it appears the all the pieces around him have gotten it together. Durant is averaging 29.9 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game.
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Over the past 10 games Durant is taking his game to another level, being very efficient. He is shooting 58.1%, including 44.7% from 3-point range, and 96.4% from the free-throw line.
His great play has contributed to Brooklyn (23-12) moving to second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Now the team also has a player like forward T.J. Warren emerging with 10.1 ppg, shooting 41.2% from 3-point range. The Nets may not have to make a move if others keep playing at a high level.
The Nets not trading Durant worked out
This summer, Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets. The team did not honor the request and is now a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. Durant did get one thing that he wanted in the removal of Steve Nash. It just didn’t’ happen the way he wanted it to. The Nets and Nash parted ways after a 2-6 start, and Jacque Vaughn took over.
After a summer when Brooklyn didn’t extend Kyrie Irving's contract and brought Durant back, it could all pay off. It may be something other organizations can think about when dealing with a disgruntled superstar.