In a quick five-game set, a season that started with so much promise ended abruptly. Truthfully, the series was closer than the final outcome indicates. The Nets had a chance to win both Games Four and Five, but tensed up down the stretch, and the Heat never quit.
But that is how it goes in a game of runs. The Nets just never had its at the right time.
And now the team is left with an offseason of questions, the answers of which will be affecting the franchise for years to come.
What happens to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett?
The two guys brought in to add some veteran leadership — some snarl — and, most importantly, be the winning ingredient to beating the Heat, ultimately fell short. Come the start of the 2014–15 season, they’ll have one more year of mileage on those old legs. Pierce looks like he has a couple seasons left in him, but Garnett looks like he should have called his Hall-of-Fame career quits before arriving in Brooklyn. For KG, when it went, it went all at once.
All that was guaranteed to Brooklyn with their acquisition was one year of the two aging superstars. Pierce is not under contract and may look to explore playing on another contender in his final years. The Nets will be able to pay him more than any other team, but it is not yet clear if that is what he wants.
Garnett has one year remaining on his contract, but may opt to retire. Though the Nets defensive and vocal leader, it is clear the Big Ticket has lost a step or three. He simply doesn’t have the same impact on the game that he used to.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see both of them gone next year.
And if that is the case, and you’re keeping track at home, that is three first-round draft picks plus a 2017 pick swap in exchange for one first round playoff victory. Hindsight is 20-20, but this trade looked suspect from the start.
What about Brook Lopez?
The Nets flourished after Lopez’s injury forced them to adopt small ball, which gave most opponents fits. Will Lopez be able to return to form next year after yet another foot injury? And, how will he fit in with the Nets’ small-ball? When healthy, Lopez is one of the best centers in the NBA. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been healthy enough to really cement his place in that discussion. With a big contract and injury concerns, there’s not much the Nets could do to move him. It will be interesting to see how he works in Kidd’s system next season.
And what of Deron Williams, the franchise cornerstone?
He isn’t holding up his end of the bargain. And with three years and $63 million remaining on his contract, like Lopez, there isn’t much general manager Billy King can do to get his team out from under Williams’ mammoth contract. Since arriving to the Nets, Williams has been plagued by ankle injuries. Though he has been able to play through them for the most part, they have clearly hampered his abilities, as he is not the same player he was in Utah. This postseason alone he averaged 14.5 points per game on a dismal 39 percent from the field. Simply put, for the Nets to succeed in any capacity, he needs to be better. Much better.
Tom Lafe is a 6-foot-5 sports-world insider with a middling high school basketball career who believes the Nets will be driven by the success of the team’s big men.
