The NBA’s restart at Disney World is going to have a much different vibe than anything the league’s ever done before. Whether it’s the long layoff, the lack of other U.S. professional sports being played, the schedule or the bubble itself, this experience will be unique for players, as well as the fans watching at home.
On top of all that, the Brooklyn Nets are walking into the bubble with a much different team, having lost seven players — which led to them adding two individuals to their roster that NBA fans are quite familiar with: Michael Beasley and Jamal Crawford.
This provides the veterans not only a chance to play NBA basketball again, but also an opportunity to prove they might be able to help a team next season. Crawford’s only is on the here and now, not what this opportunity could lead to, which he expressed to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson on the Scoop B Radio podcast. Given his signing with Brooklyn was a rapid development, he can’t fixate on to much on what-if when he has so much on his plate at the moment.
Things happened kind of fast. I mean, we had, had dialogue with them just like we had other teams throughout the course of the year, but nothing translated at that time. Maybe it wasn’t the right time. But then, with everything happening now, things kinda happened fast. … It accelerated really, really fast and it worked out. Very thankful for it.
It’s imperative Crawford maintains that focus throughout the bubble. He’s about to play alongside a lot of young guys who are trying to avoid a possible play-in round before the postseason — which the guard thinks Brooklyn is more than capable of doing:
Keep pushing toward the playoffs. I feel like, I like our chances; a young healthy group full of energy. Obviously, people on the outside aren’t expecting too much from us, and that’s cool. The game still has to be played. I’ll make sure to keep that in our minds and we’ll take it one game at a time. In this situation, it really works to our favor, it’s not an 82-game season. We really a chance get to lock-in to these eight games and take it one at a time.
[The Nets are] young, they’re exciting, they’re a team that has vets, obviously, but their vets, not all of them are playing down here in Orlando. But, they’re intriguing from the standpoint [that] they’re gonna be fun now — we’re going to be fun. I’m part of the team; we’re going to be fun now. Obviously, everybody’s pumped for next year, the future, the groundwork is already in place.
Robinson did ask Crawford if he has spoken to Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving about joining the Nets. He has not, but he expects that will happen at some point:
Both of those guys are brothers, so I’m sure we will talk in time, no doubt about it.