Are the Brooklyn Nets set up for success?

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Iowa City, Iowa (PSF)– It’s the end of an era in Brooklyn, but is it for the better?

It was a rollercoaster of four seasons in Brooklyn, New York, as the Nets went from a franchise that would get laughed at by its neighbor, the New York Knicks, who would get made fun of by the rest of the league.

Acquiring Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in free agency in 2019 changed the culture in Brooklyn. Expectations became at an all-time high, going from just trying to make the playoffs to becoming title contenders because you have a top-three player in Kevin Durant and a top-15 in Irving.

Fast forward four seasons, and now they are all gone, including James Harden, who was there only a season and a half and requested a trade from Houston to Brooklyn and then from Brooklyn to Philadelphia.

Irving first broke the news that he wanted out after having issues with the front office ever since the vaccine mandate in New York City was in effect during the pandemic and was eventually traded to the Dallas Mavericks.

Afterward, Durant followed suit and was traded to the Phoenix Suns for four first-round picks, Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges.

Now that all the drama is behind the Nets. They can continue building a future championship contender.

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The future first-round picks will come to good use, allowing Sean Marks to make moves with those picks if he doesn’t decide to use them in the draft.

Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are young players who are becoming really good players in the league. Bridges is already considered one of the best defenders in the league.

Spencer Dinwiddie, who was moved from Dallas in the trade involving Irving, is another asset that the Nets could either build with or move and acquire more pieces.

The Nets post-Irving and Durant trades have gone 2-4 in the six-game stretch so far, dropping to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Could the Nets drop out of the playoffs with Durant and Irving? There’s a possibility, but I believe the Nets are now looking toward the future and next season.