NBA analyst mocks Brooklyn Nets’ distorted ‘shebang’: “I’m betting on disaster every time…Armageddon is here”
The Brooklyn Nets have won just two of their first eight games to open the 2022-23 NBA season and have looked like a play-in team. They’ve also just fired Steve Nash and are facing the uproar of Kyrie Irving’s recent anti-Semitic post.
Zach Lowe, on his podcast, is already seeing doom that he didn’t expect this early into the season:
“If you are betting on this team, you got serious problems. If you’re asking me to choose between it all clicks on one end and complete disaster and everybody runs for the exits on the other, I’m betting on disaster every time.
“I did not think disaster of this proportion on-court, off-court, firings, the whole shebang would arrive eight games into the season. … Here we are, Armageddon is here.”
Talked a lot about GSW's early-season play w/ @espn_macmahon in the "Are We Worried Yet?" section of yesterday's Lowe Post podcast:
Spotify: spoti.fi/3TY3ina
Apple: apple.co/3U0CrXI
The Nets, featuring Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, were supposedly always going to be elite title contenders. They were swept by the Boston Celtics last season and have only won one playoff series during the Irving-Durant era in Brooklyn.
After a humiliating exit against the Celtics, their offseason drama commenced promptly. Both Irving and Durant wanted out, but couldn’t get past team owner Joe Tsai’s hardball stance. Durant demanded coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks be fired before re-committing.
When Tsai threw his weight behind Nash and Marks, KD decided to continue with the nets.
Meanwhile, Kyrie Irving recently posted a link on Twitter with numerous ridiculous anti-Semitic claims. He worsened it with confusing statements when offered the chance to answer about his post. Irving has since accepted responsibility for his actions but failed to unequivocally state that he has no anti-Semitic beliefs.
The drama surrounding Irving has only gotten louder as Adam Silver has set up a meeting to talk with the point guard. The Nets have also suspended “Uncle Drew” after posting this:
“We are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the [Nets]. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures...”
Nets statement on Kyrie Irving: “We are of the view that he is currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets. We have decided that Kyrie will serve a suspension without pay until he satisfies a series of objective remedial measures…” https://t.co/Mp682Sck23
This was before the imminent hiring of coach Ime Udoka, who is currently under a season-long suspension with the Boston Celtics. The complete story regarding Udoka hasn’t come out yet and it has been less than two months since the Celtics announced his suspension.
As a result, it’s bound to be another controversial move by the embattled Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets Armageddon could peak with Kevin Durant demanding to be traded again
Amidst all the drama, Kevin Durant has largely kept quiet. He did say that he was shocked by Steve Nash’s removal after calling for the coach’s head this offseason. KD also seemingly defended Kyrie Irving once again when he said Irving’s controversial post had no effect on the locker room.
With his close buddy now suspended for at least five games and with objectives to fulfill before being reinstated, the chaos could really explode. Durant could once more demand to be traded, which would leave the Nets in a no-win situation.
"Trade Kevin Durant when his value is the highest — which is as soon as possible. ... The idea that this Nets team is salvageable I think is insane. The only way to build it up quickly, bc they don't have their own picks, is by trading KD." — @getnickwright https://t.co/rELMQi4hBf
They could keep a disgruntled KD who could play below his usual level without the player he wanted to form a partnership with. The Nets also couldn’t trade him for maximum value in the offseason, with the NBA well aware of the chaos that’s happening in Brooklyn.
Many were expecting another chaotic season for the Nets, but few could have imagined that they would be on the verge of Armageddon so early in the season.