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A decade-old tweet found new life over the weekend thanks to LaMarcus Aldridge. The big man inked a contract with the Brooklyn Nets after reaching a buyout agreement, rejecting serious advances from the Miami Heat.
The aftermath had NBA fans racing to Twitter to unearth a gem from Kevin Durant, Aldridge’s new teammate in Brooklyn. Durant lashed out against the creation of “super teams” on July 16, 2010, when he called out star players for only wanting to join the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. Ten years later, the tables have turned dramatically as players are rushing to join Durant’s new “super team” in Brooklyn. Save those receipts.
The Lakers added veterans Steve Blake, Theo Ratliff, Matt Barnes in 2010 en route to their 16th championship. Remember, the team already had Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol on the roster. Meanwhile, the Heat traded for LeBron James that year while signing Mike Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Juwan Howard, Jerry Stackhouse in free agency. Miami would win back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. Fast forward to 2021 and the Nets have a Big Three consisting of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant. They also added Blake Griffin as a free agent.
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Goran Dragic Praises Serbian Addition
The Heat was very active at the trade deadline and added Victor Oladipo and Nemanja Bjelica to the roster. Bjelica was seen as a deadly perimeter player who could solve their three-point shooting woes (34.6%, fourth-worst in the league).
But the 32-year-old Serbian forward brings more than just a jumper to the table, according to Goran Dragic. The two were one-time teammates in Spain during the 2011 NBA lockout.
“He’s a great shooter,” Dragic said of Bjelica, via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. “He’s going to play a huge role in the spacing for our attackers to get inside the paint, but he’s so much more, though.”
Bjelica returned the compliment by calling Dragic one of the “most underrated players in the league.” He also praised Heat star Jimmy Butler for being a great teammate since the two overlapped on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Heat Tried to Deal for Larry Nance Jr.
Miami was one of five teams “desperately” trying to acquire Larry Nance Jr. from the Cleveland Cavaliers at the deadline. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, the Cavaliers turned down one offer that featured multiple late first-round picks. The other teams were New Orleans, Dallas, Boston, Philadelphia.
That offer couldn’t have come from Miami due to their lack of first-round picks, but it’s interesting to hear they will in on the 6-foot-7 big man. Nance is averaging 10.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists while holding a 48.7% field-goal percentage. The Cavaliers see the 28-year-old as an invaluable asset to their young team.
“Larry passes the ball, he rebounds, blocks shots, dunks. Larry does it all,” Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton told Fedor. “Whenever you look at the stat sheet you always see him playing a full, complete game, touching everything. That’s Larry Nance. We can count on him anytime it’s time to put that jersey on.”
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