The Brooklyn Nets have an important offseason ahead of them as they look to retool the roster and get back in championship contention.
With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the team, it’s hard to imagine them being that far off from a title, but they were swept in the playoffs by the Boston Celtics, so it’s clear more than just the superstar duo is needed. Ben Simmons getting healthy and joining the team will certainly help, but those three alone won’t cut it.
Bruce Brown, who made waves before the Celtics series by sort of revealing the team’s gameplan, might have also revealed some more company secrets in a since-deleted Instagram story. Although stories are only there for a finite amount of time, fast-acting fans were able to get a screenshot of it and it seems to confirm the departure of Blake Griffin.
The writing was definitely on the wall for the former All-Star as his minutes were drastically cut, but his veteran presence and willingness to take charges on defense will be missed if he’s leaving.
Bruce Brown Confirms Griffin’s Gone?
In his story, Brown posts a message to several of his former teammates including James Harden and DeAndre Bembry, but he also includes Blake Griffin on the list which would seemingly confirm he’s gone.
Nothing’s known for certain, but since Griffin was completely out of the rotation for much of the year and he’s well past his prime, you might have suspected this was coming.
Griffin doesn’t have as much athleticism as he did in the past, and he looked gassed quick in the limited minutes he played against the Celtics, so it’s not clear what he has left in the tank.
He hasn’t seemed to openly consider retirement, so Griffin might be able to latch on with another team and play a limited role with them, or even return to the Nets. A Nets reunion does appear unlikely considering Steve Nash is coming back as coach, so it’d be tough for Griffin to earn minutes.
What’s Next?
GettyJames Johnson daps up Blake Griffin.
The Nets were always going to have a busy offseason, and it starts with finding out who is going to be on the team outside of the Big 3. Even Bruce Brown is a free agent, but signs appear to be pointing toward a return. Brown played well in the playoffs, so the team certainly considers him to be a good fit with the roster going forward.
Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge and Griffin all appear unlikely to return, so the Nets will need to find some big men to fill the void. Nic Claxton will be back, but outside of him it looks like the Nets are going to be lacking depth.
There are some options out there for the team, but they’ll need to find players for cheap considering how much of the cap space Simmons, Irving and Durant are taking up. Simmons will be able to help out with his size, but they’ll definitely want to find a more traditional big man as well.
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Bruce Brown Seemingly Confirms Departure of Key Nets Role Player