The Brooklyn Nets have always been among the mix of contenders to get to the NBA finals out of the East. That’s what happens when a team possesses arguably the best player in the game in the form of Kevin Durant.
However, it hasn’t been easy for the Nets. They have been dealing with a variety of issues from Kyrie Irving and the issues with the vaccine mandate in New York City to the injury issues, and most recently James Harden’s unhappiness.
The Nets fixed one of those issues as they sent Harden and Paul Millsap to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and two first-round picks. A lot of people believe the Nets made out on the deal due to the fit of Simmons and the shooting of Curry and one ESPN analyst believes so as well.
Former NBA guard JJ Redick hopped on ESPN’s “NBA Today” and he is all-in on the Nets winning the East:
And this is obviously health dependent, Kyrie availability dependent, but I said this when they made the trad. I think the fit with Ben Simmons is fantastic. Looking down the line to the playoffs who’s guarding Giannis (Antetokounmpo), who’s guarding Joel Embiid, that’s probably the biggest question mark in terms of having some interior size and Drummond is going to try to do the job, but historically, Joel has has eviscerated him, but look, I’m in on the Nets. I think it’s bizarre, by the way that they are currently sitting in eighth place, and yet have the highest odds along with the Bucks of winning the Eastern Conference. I don’t know think that has ever happened before they were on the other side of the All-Star break and they are still the favorites, betting-wise, in the Eastern Conference and they’re in eighth place.
The Nets may be sitting as the No. 8 seed at the moment, but there is hope that Durant will return soon as well as Simmons getting set to make his debut so there is a lot that the Nets can look forward to. On top of that, New York City could be phasing out the vaccine mandate which opens up the door for Irving to become a full-time player again.
This post originally appeared on Nets Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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