Nothin' But Nets
Fansided

Stop measuring Brooklyn Nets through prism of LeBron James

By Adam Weinrib

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 18: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets guards LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Staples Center on February 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 18: James Harden #13 of the Brooklyn Nets guards LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter at Staples Center on February 18, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) /
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Not sure if you heard, but there’s a new Beast of the East, and it’s your Brooklyn Nets.

Big 3? Check, even though James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant have largely operated independently.

Ring-chasers? We got ’em; Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge picked our borough.

But if you turn on any number of exceedingly loud NBA talking head depositories on ESPN, FS1 and the like, you won’t hear about the Nets’ strengths. You won’t hear about their improving defensive metrics, or the emergence of Nicolas Claxton. You won’t be fed any nuggets about whether Irving is their best crunch-time option, or factoids about DeAndre Jordan’s new role.

You’ll only see the Nets being used as a prop to rehash the same conversation we’ve had 1,000 times before about LeBron James, who’s no longer in the conference — and isn’t exactly active in the West at the moment, either.

Stop evaluating the Brooklyn Nets only as LeBron James’ foil.

This is the kind of conversation pilfered by sports networks that know what pays the bills. If LeBron James can be woven into a narrative, he will be. If a potential challenger for the throne of Best Player Alive is emerging, he’ll be dragged into the Bron Muck, just like King James himself was in the Michael Jordan conversation the second he palmed an NBA basketball.

We understand the landscape. But we don’t have to like it.

If LeBron’s Lakers and the Nets were on a clear and present collision course, sure. That sounds like an intriguing Finals matchup to pontificate on. As such, though, we’re months away from anything resembling that, and neither team can even be called the clear favorite in their conference.

The Nets will have to contend with a 76ers team that’s run roughshod over former rivals like the Boston Celtics this season, and seems retooled and toughened up in Doc Rivers’ image. Should Brooklyn’s fully healthy Big 3 be victorious in a potential matchup? Sure. There’s no way to know if we see that, though, and there’s no way to be certain enough to start crafting LeBron angles.

https://twitter.com/NetsWaleed/status/1363194282958594053?s=20

As for King James’ own crew? He’s more likely to be spotted sipping vino these days than participating in shootaround, and the same goes for his partner in crime, Anthony Davis. We all trust the Lakers to get it right … but the picture right now features all their ancillary bench pieces slipping to fifth in the West.

If LeBron James beats the Big 3 this summer, that sounds like a crowning achievement. But if Michael Jordan put on a Nuggets jersey and went to work carving through the Western Conference, that would be impressive, too.

For now, it’s far too early to view the East’s dominant success story only as a means to an end for a superstar they may never encounter.