Getty Kevin Durant and Steve Nash look on during a recent game against the Miami Heat.
Things are settling down after a rollercoaster of the offseason for the Brooklyn Nets. Just to give a brief breakdown of the chaos of the offseason, the Nets were uncertain about Kyrie Irving’s future as he had a player option that allowed him to test free agency, but ultimately chose to play this season in Brooklyn. Shortly after, Kevin Durant requested a trade from the franchise but also decided to return.
Now, as Durant and the Nets prepare to enter training camp in September, they can finally focus on what they have wanted to do all along, play basketball. But Durant’s former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate, and 2008 NBA champ, Kendrick Perkins, believes that because of all the ruckus Durant caused with his trade request, the dust has not settled yet in Brooklyn. And the success of the Nets will be based on if they have one clear leader in the locker room.
“Who is going to be the leader, like who is the leader of their locker room? Right, that’s what I want to know,” said Perkins on the September 9 episode of ‘NBA Today.’
“Ben Simmons needs guidance, Kyrie Irving needs guidance, h*** Kevin Durant needs guidance at this point. So, I’m trying to see, in order to go win a championship… you need some form or some type of leader. I don’t see that with the Brooklyn Nets, even from Steve Nash.”
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Perkins Questions Climate of Nets Locker Room
Durant and the Nets worked tirelessly to find a trade that benefitted both sides. When that plan took longer than expected, Durant gave Nets owner Joe Tsai the option of firing head coach Steve Nash and general manager Sean Marks or trading him. An ultimatum the Nets owner would not oblige.
Durant and the Nets elected to move forward with their partnership, with Marks and Nash being part of that journey. And although everyone involved has seemingly found resolve in the situation, Perkins questions if the dust has settled with the wounds being so fresh.
“Can somebody explain to me, how is Steve Nash going to walk into training camp and put his foot down or have the attention of their locker room – when he knows that KD feels a certain type of way about him?” Perkins added.
Steve Nash, Sean Marks Considered Package Deal
After a disappointing second-round exit in 2021, many thought the Nets would come into last season on a warpath to win the title. But unfortunately, their season ended in a first-round sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics.
After two seasons and two early exits, Nash is under a microscope in Brooklyn. But the Nets face a grim decision when it comes to his future. In July, NBA Insider Brandon “Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports, says the Nets parting ways with their current head coach would also mean losing their general manager Sean Marks, who has been the catalyst of their rise back to the top.
“I think that in this situation, Steve Nash and Sean Marks are packaged deals, and so you can’t have one way or the other,” Robinson said on Sirius XM Radio with Rick Kamla and Antonio Daniels.
All eyes will be on the Nets this season, as they look to capture the franchise’s first NBA title.