Sixteen games, one playoff series win. That's all the Brooklyn Nets got in return for a Hall of Fame trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. The superteam experiment in Brooklyn lasted only three and a half seasons and it failed miserably. If there's one thing their tenure made up for in lack of wins, it was drama. And boy, was there a lot of it. But that's not what you're here for. Let's take a deep dive into how the Nets acquired and quickly lost Durant, Irving, and Harden.
When the Nets made a ‘clean sweep' in the 2019 offseason convincing Durant, Irving, and their good friend DeAndre Jordan to play for the Nets, everyone knew it would at least be a two-year process. Durant was already deemed out for the year rehabbing from an Achilles injury and the new group needed time to gel. Their championship aspirations increased immensely when they made a blockbuster deal in early 2021 to acquire Harden from the Houston Rockets.
They did mortgage their future by giving up Jarrett Allen, Taurean Prince, Caris LeVert, three first-round picks (2022, 2024, and 2026), and four first-round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025, 2027). On the other hand, how often does a player of James Harden's caliber become available?
Everything was going well even though they lost in seven games to the Milwaukee Bucks in the semifinals of the 2021 playoffs. They were only a Durant half-shoe size away from making the conference finals. But then came the shot. The vaccine shot that Irving refused to get no matter the circumstances.
James Harden wants out
Harden secretly forced a trade to the Sixers because playing for the Nets wasn't what he hoped for. “Mostly what he's found is it's kind of still on him all the time, either because Durant's hurt or Irving's out because of his part-time player status,” said Ramona Shelburne on The Lowe Podcast. If Irving's part-time status was changed a bit earlier, maybe Harden is still in a Nets uniform. At this point, all we can do is speculate. In the end, here's what the Nets got in return for Harden:
- Ben Simmons
- Seth Curry
- Andre Drummond (left in free agency)
- Sixers 2023 first round pick (traded to the Jazz to acquire Royce O'Neale)
- 2027 first round pick (top 8 protected)
Kyrie Irving wants out
Fast forward almost a year later to Harden's trade request, Irving does the same. Although, this one is more on the Nets. Multiple reports surfaced that he asked out due to disagreements in his potential contract extension, per nydailynews.com. Instead of biting the bullet and risking losing him in free agency for nothing, they quickly shipped him to the Dallas Mavericks. Here's what they got in return:
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Dorian Finney-Smith
- Mavericks' 2029 first-round pick (unprotected)
- Mavericks' 2027 and 2029 second-round picks
Nets send Kevin Durant to a better situation
The Nets knew it would only be a matter of time until Durant would demand a trade himself once the Irving deal was made. All of his buddies were gone and he already requested a trade in the offseason. Although Durant still had three years left on his contract, the Nets knew it was time to rip the band-aid off. Instead of trying to recoup their draft capital, the Nets chose to fulfill Durant's wishes and trade him to one of his preferred teams (Phoenix Suns). Here's what they got in return after the trade deadline fiasco:
- Mikal Bridges
- Cam Johnson
- Suns' unprotected 2023, 2025, 2027, and 2029 first-round picks
- Right to first-round pick swap with Suns in 2028
- Bucks' 2028 and 2029 second-round picks
Once all the dust settled, the Nets got an entirely new starting five (excluding Nic Claxton) of Bridges, Dinwiddie, Johnson, and Finney-Smith. They also had Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Royce O'Neale. Then for draft picks, they have four unprotected first round picks from the Suns, two unprotected 1st round picks from the Mavericks, a pick swap with the Suns in 2028, the Sixers' 2027 first round pick (top 8 protected), and two 2nd round picks from both the Mavericks and the Bucks.
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