Allen, LeVert feel for Nets as Dream Team falls apart
Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert were packaged together in the deal that brought James Harden to the Nets, ushering in a super-team era that came to an end at the Feb. 9 trade deadline, when the front office traded Kevin Durant to the Suns.
Allen and LeVert were also a package deal in the Cavaliers’ 115-109 victory over the Nets on Tuesday, combining for 30 points and 16 rebounds to hand the Nets their fourth straight loss — with an encore matchup at Barclays Center tonight.
LeVert and
Allen both expressed gratitude to a Nets organization that laid the foundation for each to blossom into star players before the 2021 deal that sent Allen to Cleveland and LeVert to the Pacers.
The pair of ex-Nets also each felt empathy for a Sean Marks-led front office that went all-in on star power, only to come out on the other side with more drama than playoff series victories.
“It was something. I didn’t expect it to end how it did,” Allen said. “I think everything has a deadline like how Caris and I had a deadline, but it’s always tough to see. I’m good people with the front office, so just tough to see them go through that. It’s not an easy situation making that difficult decision.”
“It’s just weird. I just kinda feel for people in the front office because they tried to build it a different way, and it kind of went a different way,” LeVert added. “It didn’t work out the way that everyone wanted it to, but that’s sports. That’s professional sports. You try to put a team together. It may not work. It may work. You never know.”
The trio of Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden played only 16 games together in what amounted to less than one full season of the Big Three. The Nets went 13-3 in those games and made an appearance in the second round of the 2021 Eastern Conference playoffs against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. Harden suffered a hamstring injury one minute into Game 1, Irving landed on Antetokounmpo’s ankle in Game 4 and didn’t play for the rest of the series, and Durant hit one of the most incredible buzzer-beating shots in playoff history in Game 7 — only for it to be ruled a toeon-the-line two that sent the Nets to overtime, not the conference finals.
The Bucks won in overtime, went on to beat the Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals, then defeated the Suns to become 2021 NBA Champions.
Allen said the superstar era brought a different energy to the borough.
“What they did: They brought hope to the city,” he said. “The Big 3 didn’t get to play a lot of games together, but it still brought a new vibe to the city.”
The Nets traded Harden at last season’s deadline for Ben Simmons, who didn’t play at all last season as the Nets were swept out of the first round by the Celtics, who also went on to make an NBA Finals appearance. After failing to reach a contract extension agreement with Irving over the summer, the star guard surprised to organization with a trade request just days before the deadline.
The Nets obliged and sent him to the Mavericks for Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith and a pair of first-round picks. They then sent Durant to his preferred trade destination — the Suns — in a deal that landed Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson and four first-round picks.
All four players the Nets received in the deal start under coach Jacque Vaughn. LeVert said he felt like the Nets front office preferred a calmer vibe.
“I feel like they have a good team now,” he said, “and they’re building the right way.”