Nets Big Man Sounds Off with Championship Prediction

Getty Day'Ron Sharpe #20 of the Brooklyn Nets dunks against the Washington Wizards

The Brooklyn Nets have made a lot of effort to make up for the rocky offseason full of trade rumors. Social media has been a good tool to help them do so. After a roller coaster offseason of messy contract negotiations with Kyrie Irving, it was on social media that the team showed Irving support at his August’ More Than a Run’ event as well as support from his Nets teammates. The Nets’ official social media accounts is where they gained hope again when we got to see Kevin Durant in the Brooklyn Nets training facility with other Nets teammates after rescinding his trade request and just ahead of training camp. 

Now in training camp, the team is looking to prove what many on the outside looking in are considering weaknesses with their disorganization or lack of chemistry are in fact, not and the team is committed to one goal this upcoming 2022-23 NBA season. 

“We want to erase everything that was said about our team the last few years in terms of our weaknesses,” Irving told reporters Saturday. “We want to turn those into our strengths—and it starts with developing good practice habits. And going out in the game and not just talking about it, and actually doing it.”

Day’Ron Sharpe on Nets Championship Expectations

The Nets have perhaps the most talented roster in the NBA. With the return of Durant and Irving this offseason and Ben Simmons and Joe Harris being recovered from injury, they are a pretty deep team after also adding Royce O’Neale, TJ Warren, and Edmund Sumner. They have what it takes to compete for an NBA championship if they are able to erase or endure some of the weaknesses and drama displayed last season. 

One of the players that is getting a chance to make an impact on this year’s Nets squad is the young big man Day’Ron Sharpe, who will be given time to prove he can be a key player in their rotation. The Nets elected to give Sharpe chances rather than go out and add an aging veteran like Dwight Howard or Hassan Whiteside. The second-year big man is hoping to take that chance and run with it individually, and as a team, Sharpe has major expectations for this Brooklyn squad. 

When asked at the team’s Practice in the Park event if this would be a championship season for the Nets, Sharpe confidently answered, “Yeah. For sure.”

Ben Simmons and the Nets Versatility

Part of the renewed hope floating around the Nets this season is because of the return of Ben Simmons and what they hope is one of the best big threes in the NBA. The word being mentioned about Simmons over and over is ‘versatility.’ The All-Star point guard is being lauded about all the ways the Nets can play him this season whether it be at center, primary ball-handler, a lockdown defender, and more, Simmons is expected to play a lot of roles for this upcoming Nets teams in his return from injury and thus far this preseason it looks like it could be an exciting possibility. Steve Nash spoke about the potential fit of Simmons with Irving and Durant at the team’s media day. 

“I think they’ll have a certain element of cohesion out of the gates,” Nash said of the trio. “Because they’re all really good basketball players, but hopefully it’s something that evolves. And they can continue to find ways to make each other better. I think that’s the beauty, that they actually fit really well together, but it may take time.

“But out of the gates, they’re still three great basketball players who I think are excited to play together and will make things happen immediately. But let’s hope that there’s a constant growth as well.”