The Brooklyn Nets have had one of the busiest offseasons in the NBA, landing all of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan in free agency, a truly historic haul.
Of course, Durant will miss all of next season as he recovers from a torn Achilles, but the hope is that he will return close to his normal self for the 2020-21 campaign, giving the Nets a dynamic duo of Durant and Irving with Jordan anchoring the defense.
While most of the talk surrounding Brooklyn has been essential dual acquisition of Durant and Irving (and understandably so), it does feel like people are overlooking the signing of Jordan.
This past season, the Nets were a decent team that actually gave the higher-seeded Philadelphia 76ers a pretty good fight in the first round of the playoffs, but ultimately bowed out in five games due to the talent disparity.
The main issue for Brooklyn that was on full display, however, was its lack of physicality and toughness, especially on the interior. As good as Jarrett Allen is, he is slight and is not someone who is going rough anyone up.
As a result, Embiid took full advantage inside, using his significant size advantage over Allen for easy buckets inside.
This wasn't just exclusive to the 76ers series, either, as the Nets lacked an enforcer all year long, with Jared Dudley actually having to step in and play that role.
But now, with Jordan in tow, that shouldn't be a problem for Brooklyn anymore.
Jordan is big, strong and tough, and he is absolutely one of the best interior defenders in the game. Big centers like Embiid won't be able to plow their way into the paint for easy baskets anymore against the Nets, as Jordan will be waiting.
This is something that will be evident immediately, as Durant doesn't have to be on the floor for Jordan to show his worth. But once Durant does come back in the fall of 2020, Jordan's impact will be even more noticeable, and on both ends of the floor.
Jordan will not only represent the defensive backbone of the Nets, but he will also be a reliable pick-and-roll partner for Irving and help suck in the defense, which could result in open looks for Durant and the rest of Brooklyn's shooters.
Remember: there is a very good—if not probable—chance that Durant will have to rely even more on his jump shot once he gets back on the floor, because Achilles injuries are not exactly kind to athletes. So, the more open looks for KD, the better.
That's what so many people don't seem to understand about Jordan. He doesn't just make teams better defensively; he makes them better offensively, as well.
Yes, I understand that he can't shoot, but his ability to draw attention off of rolls and on the boards is unquestionably significant, as it makes the jobs of his teammates easier.
But, most of all, Jordan will represent the muscle that Durant and Irving will sorely need, as Allen will likely never provide that, and it's not like the Nets have any other true tough guys on their roster.
So while Durant and Irving have stolen the show for Brooklyn, we should not forget about Jordan, and he will make sure we don't forget about him once the season starts.
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