The additions of Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford are significant to the Brooklyn Nets’ success in the bubble in more ways than one.
On the simplest level, the Nets needed bodies after losing seven players to injury, illness or opt-outs — which is where signing Donta Hall also helps.
Beasley and Crawford are also seasoned veterans. The Nets were already young to begin with, but Garrett Temple (nine years) and Joe Harris (five) were the only players on Brooklyn’s bubble roster with more than three full years of NBA experience under their belt.
But with Kevin Durant (right Achilles), Kyrie Irving (right shoulder) and Spencer Dinwiddie (team decided to hold him out after second positive COVID-19 test) all out, the Nets lacked play-making scorers. Crawford is more than capable of taking on that role, and he told Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast Beasley can do the same:
Beas, has always been one of the more talented guys in the league. A walking bucket. You don’t need to run plays for him, just get him the ball and he makes it happen. That’s the luxury of having a guy like that on the team; a guy that’s a dog, a guy who you could go to war with. We’ve always been playing, but we never played together, so for the immediate future, that should be a lot of fun.