The Brooklyn Nets are in a position to give New York City their first championship since the New York Giants won the Super Bowl in 2011. With the best record in the Eastern Conference, plenty of depth, and the superstar trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, the future is looking bright for Brooklyn.
The Nets have become so attractive that veteran studs like Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge left a ton of money on the table in order to join Brooklyn after being bought out.
The Nets have had to overcome the fact that they may not overtake the rival New York Knicks in terms of in-city popularity, but they could win over several undecided fans by taking home the first title in franchise history.
Despite what has been a masterful display of team-building by Sean Marks and the front office, some writers seem to think that Brooklyn getting a ring wouldn’t mean much in the long run.
Newsday’s Neil Best went off on a bizarre rant in which he claimed that he didn’t want the Nets to be the team that breaks New York’s championship drought, citing some nebulous claims that don’t hold up upon scrutiny.
"Look, it could be exciting to watch a deep playoff run, and perhaps by then arenas will be full of fans, and those fans will get a chance to bond with these vagabonds." #Nets https://t.co/8OeUcMtVOT
— Neil Best (@sportswatch) April 2, 2021
Brooklyn Nets: Neil Best’s column makes no sense
The two main cruxes of Best’s argument are the Nets’ lack of “homegrown” players and the fact that Brooklyn has added so many superstars, which in his mind wouldn’t make the title “as good a story.”
Glossing over the fact that the lack of “homegrown” talent doesn’t hold up, as Irving grew up a Nets fan in New Jersey and players like Joe Harris, Nicolas Claxton, and Spencer Dinwiddie were developed by Brooklyn, who cares what method the Nets use to win?
This team hasn’t won a title before and has to compete for fans and viewers with the rival Knicks. Isn’t the goal of team building to craft a winner, however that comes about?
The Knicks acquired Dave DeBusschere and Earl Monroe in their most recent title runs (yes, “most recent” sounds laughable here). The Islanders did the same in their early ’80s dominance. The Yankees and Mets, both of whom are gearing up for championship pursuits, added Gerrit Cole and Francisco Lindor. But no, the Nets need to win more organically for it to be a cool story.
Five years ago, the Nets were the worst team in the league and had traded most of their future draft picks to one of their biggest rivals. In that span, they’ve become the must-see attraction in the sport, adding superstars and convincing veterans to sacrifice a ton of cash to join their title pursuit. That isn’t a cool story?
The Nets are finally good and noteworthy enough to receive the classic New York media treatment. When you lose, you get mocked relentlessly. When you win, you get criticized for not winning “the right way,” whatever that means. A championship would be a great moment for the city, despite what Best and other like-minded writers believe.
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