NETS CAMP TIPS OFF NEW ERA
With new marquee names, Nets have high expectations — even with Durant out for the season
After the Nets overachieved their way into a surprising playoff berth last season, they’ve raised their talent level — and the bar.
Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan were added in one surreal swoop on June 30, giving a yeoman’s team sudden star power. But if they plan to win — and with this roster, that’s the mandate — they’re going to have to make sure they don’t forsake Brooklyn grit for Brooklyn glitz.
“Definitely with Kyrie and Kevin, there will be a different fan base — there will be a growing fan base. But that’s hopefully going to be a product of what we put on the court, how our guys play together, how our guys compete,” said general manager Sean Marks, saying they’ll have to win over demanding New Yorkers with their level of their play, not their names.
“Nothing’s c hanged j ust because you have star-level talent. Nothing’s changed in this city. If you don’t compete, if you don’t play at a high level, it’s just probably not going to work. … What [coach] Kenny [ Atkinson] and I have said from Day 1 is we’re pretty demanding of the guys, the expectations, and these guys demand that of each other.”
That star-level talent Marks alluded to brings three titles, 14 All-NBA honors and the burden of great expectations.
And some serious questions as the Nets open training camp on Friday.
With Durant, those are injury concerns, with Marks cautioning that he expects the two-time Finals MVP to miss the season due to his ruptured Achilles tendon. But — despite the facial fracture Irving suffered Tuesday, which is not expected to cost him significant time — the questions regarding both Irving and Jordan are not primarily about their health.
In the case of Irving, it’s how he’ll impact Brooklyn’s chemistry after many accused him of torpedoing Boston’s. Notably, the Nets all gushed over his leadership for organizing their player-driven workouts in Los Angeles.
After Jordan’s declining work rate was cited last season, Atkinson admitted in July he wasn’t sure what the center’s motivation level was with the Knicks after they acquired him from Dallas. But Marks went out of his way to praise Jordan on Tuesday.
“Culture’s definitely a buzzword. You’ve probably heard me say it ad nauseam, but it’s important. It’s no less important now than it ever has been,” Marks said. “This is now a challenge for everybody here. Everybody’s been around and has been driving this culture together. This is not one or two guys, it’s an army.
“Everybody’s culture should be evolving. To be quite frank if you’re not, you’re probably staying stagnant. Everybody else is going to be passing you by. So it’s going to be important how we implement a little bit of a new culture, how we implement the new guys, new coaching staff from all around … and how they start driving it and what they add.”
They’ll add buzz and talent, Durant, Irving and Jordan bringing 257 combined games worth of playoff experience to an alreadysolid base.
Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, Jarrett Allen and Joe Harris were all among t he NBA’s top-100 players, according to ESPN and Sports Illustrated. It’s a deep enough roster the Nets aren’t managing expectations.
“Their expectations are — my guess would be — pretty high. I don’t know that all the guys we signed in the offseason are coming here for mediocrity,” Marks said. “This is why we went in. That’s why ownership showed the ability to get behind us, and support the vision we’ve outlined.”
And the vision is simple, if not easy, with new majority owner Joe Tsai boiling it down in an offseason conversation with The Post.
“We want to win,” Tsai said.