Though the offseason drama for the Brooklyn Nets is a thing of the past now that Kevin Durant has indeed committed to continuing to play with the team, that does not mean that the pressure valve has let up at all in Brooklyn.
In fact, now that it appears certain that both Durant and Kyrie Irving will continue playing with the team, sports pundit Jay Williams believes that the pressure is higher than it’s ever been for the franchise.
.@RealJayWilliams tells you how much pressure is on the Nets this season 😳
"I've never seen pressure like this before in ANY sport." pic.twitter.com/K41wjlHg3x
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 24, 2022
Of course, the pressure is on for the Nets to succeed now for a number of reasons.
While the superstar duo will return to the Nets, it appears as though Williams still believes that if this season for the Nets is a failure, then questions will pop up again next summer, if not earlier.
With that in mind, it is interesting to ponder what would actually be considered a positive season for the Nets given all the drama that took place last season and this offseason. Would a journey deep into the playoffs be a success? Would anything short of an NBA championship in 2023 be something to celebrate?
Only time will tell, but it will certainly be crucial for fans to keep an eye on how the team seems to be performing early on in the season.
As fans across the NBA know well, the 2021-22 campaign for the Nets was a downright disaster. Irving missed more than half the season due to his unwillingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Former Nets star James Harden was traded a little over a year after joining the team, and Ben Simmons, the star that the Nets received in that trade, didn’t suit up once in the regular season or playoffs.
As for the playoffs, the Nets just barely got into the bracket and had to win in the play-in tournament to earn their spot. Once they got into the playoffs, they were mercilessly bounced by the Boston Celtics in a first-round sweep.
If that kind of history repeats itself in the upcoming season, fans can absolutely expect a high level of drama to haunt the Nets next summer.
