NBA
The Brooklyn Nets Will Soon Rule New York Basketball
The news that Jimmy Butler has the Brooklyn Nets as one of his preferred destinations came as a shock to many NBA fans. The Nets are a team that has been in the cellar of the league for years now. They should be ecstatic that Butler, a proven All-Star player, wants to play for them. Most saw it as laughable, but it is very possible. As a matter of fact, it is possible that the Nets become a contender by this time next season and the best team in New York.
The Beginning Of A New Era
When The Nets decided to move on from general manager Billy King and replaced him with Sean Marks, it was unclear where he would take the franchise. He was tasked with taking on a bad team with little young talent and none of their lottery picks. Even with all of these odds against Marks, two years later the Nets culture has changed. He traded for young stud D’Angelo Russell, signed breakout player Spencer Dinwiddie, and drafted future star Jarrett Allen. The team has gained a reputation for finding overlooked talent, and giving them a chance. Next off-season, they will enter free agency with lots of cap space, and their own lottery pick. He has set up this team for a era of prosperity and winning.
Why A Star Would Come to The Nets
As mentioned before, the Nets are looking at about two max contracts slots. With a star studded free agent class players like Kyrie Irving, Butler, Kevin Durant, etc… could join the team. They would be coming to a team that has all the upside in the world, and Kenny Atkinson, who is quietly becoming one of the better coaches in the NBA.
Most importantly, they are in New York and they aren’t the New York Knicks. New York has been a free agent destination ruled by the Knicks for as long as I could remember. However, the Knicks have an unattractive variable that players don’t want to deal with and that’s Knicks owner James Dolan.
Dolan has made the Knicks one of the most dysfunctional organizations in the league. From bad contracts to hiring incompetent general managers and coaches, he has ran this franchise into the ground. Not a single player wants to waste their career for him in today’s NBA. All of this makes the Nets primed to become a contender very soon. Expect this organization to not only take over the East, but also New York City as well.
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