Nets re-emerge as title contenders after Kevin Durant’s decision to stay

With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving remaining with the Brooklyn Nets for the 2022/23 season, the franchise has re-emerged as a legit title contender.

Following the team’s offseason moves and Durant’s decision to rescind his trade request, the Nets have their best chance of reaching the NBA Finals and competing for the title.

In 2021, Brooklyn came a step away from the Eastern Conference Finals, but got eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7. In 2022, they got swept by the Boston Celtics in the opening round, while Boston went on to play in the NBA Finals.

With James Harden leaving the team in February, Brooklyn has now built its roster around the Irving/Durant superstar duo.

This time, though, they have a mix of elite offense and defense, which will be crucial for their success. Ben Simmons is expected to make his long-awaited return and be 100%, having recovered from a back surgery and the mental issues he was dealing with.

The Nets also re-signed elite shooter Patty Mills and kept Seth Curry to the roster, while they expect Joe Harris (season-ending ankle surgery in March) to be fully healthy by the start of the season.

This trio of elite shooters has the quality of taking some of the pressure off Durant’s, Simmons’ and Irving’s shoulders.

Royce O’Neal and TJ Warren are also expected to have a significant role coming off the bench, while Nic Claxton offers Brooklyn a decent solution inside the paint.

At the same time, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have the championship experience that the franchise as a whole needs and understand that the window for a ring for the Nets could be closing. The superstar duo has only played in 45 games together in three years.

As a result, expect both of them to come out and play with a sense of urgency, aiming to prove doubters wrong as well. Kyrie averaged 27.4 points, 5.8 assists and 4.4 rebounds last season, while Durant had 29.9 points, a career-high 6.4 assists and 7.4 boards.

After Durant’s decision to return to the squad, and with Irving picking up his player option, Brooklyn’s current roster for the upcoming season is as follows:

Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Joe Harris, Nic Claxton, Ben Simmons, Royce O’Neale, TJ Warren, Cam Thomas, Seth Curry and Patty Mills.

If the Nets work on their chemistry and distribute the roles the best way possible, they will certainly be among the favorites to come out of the East and compete in the NBA Finals.

The Nets are running it back:

Kyrie
Harris
Durant
Simmons
Claxton

Bench:
Mills
Curry
O’Neal
Thomas
Warren

A top ___ seed in the East. pic.twitter.com/khNSfoec0c

— StatMuse (@statmuse) August 23, 2022