Nets are not a title team, says ex-Knick Jalen
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 doesn’t believe a championship was 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 first-year 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 prime time 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-to-back championships the following 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 its 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 their 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 five-year, supermax contract. They will move heaven and Earth to get him the help he needs to win a championship.
“If and when (the Nets) lose in the playoffs in the second round, in the conference finals in a seven-game series, it ain’t like it’s gonna be time to break up KD and Kyrie,” Rose said. “But for Philly, they’ve been at it a few years and it’s still processing. If they don’t make it to the Finals, then they’re gonna try to make a big move after adding Doc Rivers and adding Daryl Morey. It’s the same now with Milwaukee. It’s great that Giannis re-signed. So now that you know you’ve got Giannis locked-in, if they’re not able to jump over the hump, then they’re gonna be trying to make moves. I don’t think the Nets have that expectation this year.”
The only thing that Rose expects of the Nets this season is high-level basketball, which New York City hasn’t seen at this level since Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire became a Knicks duo in 2011. That high-level play was on display in the season-opener against the Warriors, where Kyrie Irving went for 26, including a bomb from just inside the halfcourt line to end the first half.
“I’m really happy for New York fans that they get to see some elite-level basketball, and two of the best scorers and isolation players in the game on the same team,” Rose said. “So it’s gonna be crazy to try to guard, like with Kyrie catching in the left corner, go in his bag, go middle, spin back baseline, go back in his bag and hit it in the middle. Or when KD does the trademark hesi and pull-up for 3. The crazy thing is how they were making contested shots. It’s gonna get tougher.”