Heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, the Brooklyn Nets roster as presently constructed doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. But if you can point to one thing that they need to improve upon immediately it would be having some consistency at the big man position. Even before the trade that landed the Nets nine-time All-Star James Harden, there was no consistency at the center position. Nets head coach Steve Nash would often struggle with the minutes distribution between DeAndre Jordan and former Nets’ center Jarrett Allen.
Last season when the Nets shocked everybody and signed All-Star center LaMarcus Aldridge off waivers it appeared that they had corrected their big man deficiencies. Unfortunately for Aldridge and the Nets, the star center was forced to retire early due to a heart condition.
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Nets & Warriors Showing Interest in Signing Paul Millsap
So the Nets are now back to square one in terms of finding a legit big man that can run with Harden, Kevin Durant, and Kyrie Irving in key minutes. Help many be on the way in the form of four-time All-Star forward/ center Paul Millsap.
According to Mike Singer of the Denver Post, the Nets and the Golden State Warriors are showing interest in signing the former Denver Nuggets star as both teams are looking to fill out their rosters in hopes for a run at the title this season. Last season Millsap averaged 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game for the Nuggets in 56 games played.
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James Harden Speaks on Nets Tumultuous 2020 Season
Last year the Nets were considered the favorites to win the title but ultimately fell short of their goal after being eliminated by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round. While their Game 7 loss at Barclays Center is largely considered an upset, it really should come as no surprise that Brooklyn lost.
In the 2020-21 season the Nets had to revamp their roster on the fly after the Harden trade, had to deal with long-term injuries to many of their star players in a condensed season, and ultimately those same injuries came back to haunt them in the playoffs. While last season was a disappointment, Harden knows that the Nets are just scratching the surface of building something special in Brooklyn.
“It was pretty good, considering all the adversity we had to deal with, whether it’s me getting traded midseason, [Durant] missing damn near three months of the season, the COVID protocols, [Irving] missing a chunk of the season as well,” Harden said of the Nets 2020-21 season to Michael Shapiro of Sports Illustrated. “And with all that said, we were a step away from the Eastern Conference finals. Now we’ll get a full year to regroup and get this thing going where we want it to.”
With the NBA offseason winding down and the countdown to opening week approaching, the Nets are looking to fill their roster with more pieces that will ultimately aid them in what they hope is a championship run. Brooklyn was a play or two away from beating the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs last year. With a full offseason to prepare the sky is the limit for what they can accomplish this season.
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