In the 2019 offseason, when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving unexpectedly announced that they would join the Nets together, Nets general manager Sean Max had a grateful gesture. No one expected that the two big fish caught in the free market would be Max, who was from the Spurs but still had little seniority. At that time, Max and Nets fans thought they had a savior. But three years later, the Nets not only did not touch the goal handle of the Eastern Conference Finals, but this year they were swept out by the Celtics 4-0 in the first round.
This offseason, Irving faces a contract extension. For three years, the Nets tolerated Irving, who sparked a series of farces, but will the Nets continue to tolerate Irving next? Will they give Irving a 5-year maximum salary contract?
Irving is just one of the complex questions the Nets face in the offseason, will coach Steve Nash stay? How to deal with Ben Simmons? How to reinforce in the case of an explosion of salary space? The Nets management faces too many tricky conundrums.
Does the "711 combination" really have the strength to bring the Nets championship?
Not counting the 2019-20 season when Durant was reimbursed for injury, Durant and Irving actually played together for only two seasons. When Durant is healthy, when Owen is not a moth, the "711 Combo" is indeed one of the most amazing combinations in the League.
Durant averaged 28.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game during the Durant Nets era, shooting 52.5 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from three-point range. He averaged 27.1 points and six assists per game during the Irving Nets era, shooting 49 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from three-point range. In terms of stats and efficiency, both Durant and Irving have reserved their most efficient and prolific performances to the Nets, and their statistics are better than when they have played for other teams before.
This season, when Durant and Irving were on the floor at the same time, the Nets exploded a staggering 122.8 points per 100 possessions and a 13.1 points difference in 100 possessions. Last season, the two figures reached 120.6 points and 8.8 points, respectively, when the two were on the floor at the same time. What this set of data means is that durant and Irving are on the floor at the same time, and the Nets can play a historic super offensive efficiency and crush opponents with offense.
Durant and Irving are both the league's top singles players, and Durant has scored 1.181 points per singles and 1.097 points per singles in the last two seasons, respectively. Irving has scored 1.113 and 1.006 points in his last two seasons. In these two seasons, few people in the league have matched Durant and Irving's singles efficiency and stability.
Are Durant and Irving capable of fighting alone? Very strong. Are the two on the court at the same time the Nets offensively efficient? High enough. But do the two have the ability to lead the Nets to the championship? This question should be marked with a big question mark.
In the past two seasons, the failure of Durant and Irving's cooperation and the failure of the Clippers duo have proved that the cooperation limit between two stars with strong individual combat ability but average team-wide ability has limited cooperation, even when Durant and Irving, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are healthy, they have not led the team to make a breakthrough. In the playoffs, where defense is highly targeted, the pass after relying on star singles and attracting defense cannot collapse the top defense. Or, you need a point guard with strong organizational tandem ability. Or, you need a mature defensive system to find opportunities from the defensive end.
Originally, the Nets already had a point guard James Harden with strong organizational ability, and after they exchanged Harden for Harden last season, Harden was also willing to make sacrifices and put more energy into the organization. The Nets' offensive system suddenly escalated, adding Harden's offensive line to Durant and Irving's singles, and the effect was very good. However, due to Durant's injury, the farce caused by Irving and other reasons, the Nets eventually lost Harden.
So the shape of the Nets this season is: aside from durant and Irving's singles, they haven't changed much on the offensive end. Before the start of the season, the Nets introduced forwards such as Bembry and James Johnson to try to improve the defense, and in the middle of the season, they also exchanged simmons and Drummond for two defensive toughsters, but at the end of the season, Bembry and Johnson were cut, Drummond had limited role, and Simmons did not play for a second due to injury. One does not have a good point guard to give Durant and Irving a pressure, the second has no defensive system, when Durant and Irving are limited, the Nets end up being swept out of the first round.
In the future, if the Nets do not have major adjustments in the lineup configuration, if the Nets do not replace nash, the manager of the indulgent star singles, then the upper limit of the "711 combination" is probably the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Should the Nets keep Simmons?
Simmons left Philadelphia with a "heartbreak", thinking that Simmons's change of environment would heal the "heartbreak", but he did not expect that Simmons would not change the image of the farcical little prince after coming to Brooklyn.
"Simmons is close to a comeback" shouted over and over again, eventually becoming the story of "The Wolf Is Coming." In the end, the Nets did not wait for Simmons' line of fire to help. Simmons is said to have planned a comeback in game four of the Nets' series with the Celtics after two weeks of training, but the day before the big fight, Simmons woke up to find pain in his back again, and the Nets announced with surprise and disappointment that Simmons missed game four.
In the trade between Harden for Simmons, Drummond, Seth Curry and draft picks, the Nets are the obvious losers. Drummond and Seth Curry have provided limited help to the Nets, the former habitual butter hand has changed, Seth Curry filled joe Harris's position, and Simmons only brought the Nets the topic, and his so-called talent and ability only exist in the Nets' imagination.
According to the latest news, Simmons' agent, Rich Paul, has met with Max, and the two sides are committed to working together to help Simmons return to the court. At the same time, Simmons also expressed his attitude to the Nets, and he is eager to play for the Nets.
Simmons is only 25 years old, and his contract is 3 years left, worth more than $100 million. Over the next three seasons, Simmons will earn $33.93 million, $36.27 million and $38.6 million, respectively. Next season, Simmons will most likely continue to play for the Nets.
On the one hand, healthy Simmons has proven his ability after all, although his wind evaluation is seriously polarized, but it is undeniable that his strengths are very strong. Simmons' height of 2.11 meters and excellent athletic talent are there, and if he can play the role of Bruce Brown, do a good job of grabbing rebounds, covering, blocking and dismantling cover to end the attack, and using the ability to hold the ball to push back, he will be a good title puzzle.
On the other hand, in Simmons' current situation, the Nets can't operate if they want to send him away. Simmons' mental illness and back injuries have deterred many teams, and few teams are willing to take the risk of bringing in Simmons. Simmons has not played for a season this season, his trade value has fallen to the lowest point, the Nets will only lose money at this time, they have a hard time in hardening the trade to get back the draft picks to return the blood, certainly do not want to post the draft pick to send Simmons away.
This offseason, Brown, Claxton, Drummond's contracts will expire, and the Nets can keep Simmons first and try to transform him into the fourth or fifth position of the small ball. This is both a relief from salary pressure and the best way to use Simmons.
How does the Nets payroll space explosion work?
This season, the Nets dropped the luxury tax sharply after sending Jordan Jr., but after completing the Harden trade, the Nets' luxury tax was raised to $97 million, second in the league, after the Warriors' $170 million. This offseason, the Nets face more salary pressure, and a number of key players, including Irving, face contract extensions. If the Nets can't do the operation aimed at cutting expenses, they may need to pay $350 million next season with a luxury tax on their salaries, similar to the Warriors this season.
Durant's contract expires in 2025-26 last year, and Durant's annual salary is $42.96 million, $42.96 million, $49.85 million and $53.29 million for the next four seasons, respectively. This offseason, Irving has the right to jump out of a $36.5 million contract to become a free agent, and the Nets can offer up to a five-year $246 million top salary contract.
Irving has said that he wants to renew his contract to stay with Durant as a teammate, with the friendship between the two, Durant will definitely lobby the Nets management to keep Irving, the Nets are unlikely to let Irving go in vain or sign him first and then change. Irving was only 30 years old, and the Nets should have brainlessly paid him a maximum salary. But in recent years, Irving has caused controversy off the court again and again, he will miss a lot of games for various reasons every season, and this year's playoffs Irving has not come up with a performance worthy of a maximum salary contract, should the Nets give him a 5-year maximum salary?
If the Nets give Irving a maximum salary contract, Durant, Irving and Simmons will have nearly $110 million in salary space next season. Counting Harris, who earns $18.64 million a year and Seth Curry, who earns $8.56 million a year, the Nets' 5 players have burst the salary space, which makes the Nets very entangled in the renewal of Brown and Clarks.
With the market conditions of Brown and Clarkston, the annual salary of their new contracts is expected to be around $10 million, the former playing in the playoffs this year, and the latter is a blue-collar center with the league's scarce finishing ability and strong ability to change defenses. If the Nets renew Irving with a top salary, give Brown and Clarkston new contracts that meet the market price, and then use up the luxury tax mini-middle-class exception (about $6 million a year) and reinforce other positions with a base salary, the Nets' salary expenditure could reach $180 million or more.
Of course, the Nets are conditional to carry out tax cuts, and in the case of having Seth Curry, Patty Mills may execute the player option to stay in the team, Harris, who earns $18.64 million a year, becomes a chicken rib, and the Nets can send Harris away. As a prolific and efficient shooter, Harris has a good market value. If Harris is in good shape after his return next season, the Nets could also consider sending Seth Curry away.
In any case, the challenges facing the Nets this offseason are huge, and even if Cai Chongxin is willing to spend money, the Nets management still faces a number of difficult choices. To really have the strength to rush the championship, the Nets management has too much work to do. In addition to Durant and Irving's guaranteed high attendance, a qualified organizational guard, richer playing style, and better defense are all needed by the Nets.