The 2019-20 season will come with plenty of challenges for the Brooklyn Nets, as Kyrie Irving will have to navigate his first season with the team without Kevin Durant, who is out with an Achilles injury. Former Net Kerry Kittles believes the transition could wind up being beneficial for the star point guard, drawing a similarity to his playing days, when Jason Kidd once came to the Nets and was forced to adjust to a bevy of new faces and a new system to go with it:
“So there’s always unknowns, right? — when you’re a player and going to a new organization,” Kittles told Nets Insider. “Even though you’re a superstar player, I can remember when the Nets brought in Jason Kidd, and he was already an All-Star and a well-established superstar in the NBA, but he came to a new organization with a bunch of new faces, and new coaches, and new system. It’s going to take some time for those guys. I think Kevin Durant sitting out most of this year, if not the entire season, will give Kyrie a chance to grow and to learn how to play the style of play that Coach Atkinson has and how to lead. I think will be his first real chance of leading and grow in that role.”
Irving's mastery of the system is perhaps even more important than Durant's, as the latter has proven to be a plug-and-play in any system, whereas Irving has had difficulty relinquishing control of the ball and becoming a threat without it.
The earlier he can master that in Kenny Atkinson's system, the better the duo of Irving and Durant will be for it.
Follow Us
Subscribe