Ex-Knick Rose doesn’t think Nets will win a championship this season
NEW YORK — The new-look Nets came out firing in Game 1, hanging 125 points in a convincing win over the Golden State Warriors.
It was a performance that put the rest of the league on notice: The Nets are as good as advertised, if not better.
But are they good enough to win a championship? Former Knicks and Pacers wing and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose admitted they have the talent, but he doesn’t believe a championship is in the cards this season.
“I don’t have championship-or-bust expectations for them this year because [Kevin Durant] is coming off of injury,” Rose told The Daily News in a phone interview. “They got a firstyear coach [Steve Nash]. You’ve got to put together the rest of the roster.
“But they look really good, and it’s actually good to have either team in New York relevant to where they can be featured in primetime games.”
Rose further explained that when LeBron James, Dywane Wade and Chris Bosh became a super team in Miami, it took one year for them to jell as a unit. That unit lost to Dirk Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals before winning back-toback championships the following two seasons.
The same happened in Los Angeles last season, when the Clippers, led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs.
Rose believed the Nets, like contenders in years past, need a year to answer some questions about their roster. Mainly: Do the Nets keep their depth or consolidate it by trading for a star?
“I fell victim to it,” Rose said. “You get Kawhi, you get Paul George. We’re gonna just win it in the first year. So I believe this year becomes [the Nets’] growth period to see who they want to still play with those guys. Are they keeping Caris LeVert? Are they keeping Spencer Dinwiddie? Are they gonna try to add James Harden? So they still have a year for that.”
Rose also noted there is less urgency for the Nets to win a championship than some of their other Eastern Conference competitors. The 76ers’ young duo of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons is under scrutiny and entering a pivotal year that could determine whether it’s feasible to keep that group together.
The Milwaukee Bucks also re-signed Giannis Antetokounmpo to a fiveyear, supermax contract. They will move heaven and Earth to get him the help he needs to win a title.