It would be an understatement to argue that the Nets continue to smart from the 2013 trade that gave them immediate prosperity and subsequent subsistence. They went for instant gratification at the expense of their horizon, getting two marquee names who had seen better days vice three first-round draft picks. And after netting on-the-downside Paul Pierce and The Player Formerly Known As Kevin Garnett, they managed to win one series in the 2014 Playoffs and go one and done off a losing record the next year. Since then, they’ve scraped the bottom of the barrel, the effects of the their poor choice in retrospect continuing to haunt them.
To be sure, the Nets are on the upswing. Under the steady hand of head coach Kenny Atkinson and a far more patient front office no longer operating under the unrealistic expectations of franchise owner Mikhail Prokhorov, they’re gaining respect and respectability, albeit slowly in light of their lack of youthful assets. Not coincidentally, their bitterness over the deal extends to the Celtics, who benefited the most out of it in dumping, with perfect timing, the cogs responsible for the 2008 championship. Which was why fans at the Barclays Center could not help but bask in the hosts’ rare triumph against their foils yesterday. It was the first against the green and white in three years and just the seventh in 22 meetings since the fateful deal went down.
In terms of numbers, the Nets’ 22nd victory against 23 setbacks has them seventh in the East standings, a remarkable slate at the halfway point of their 2018-19 campaign given their roster challenges. They’re just one game out of sixth and four behind — yes — the Celtics, who, in suffering a third straight setback, appear to be as out of sorts and disjointed as they are buoyed and united. If nothing else, their locker room exudes confidence and esprit de corps, as much a product of overachievement as of low expectations. Considering the top-heavy nature of the conference, they’re not likely to make waves in the postseason. However, getting there is, in and of itself, a stunning development that merits major props.
Admittedly, the Nets will need a few more seasons, not to mention a lot more astute moves, before escaping the shadow of their 2013 misstep. That said, they’ve rightly learned to no longer be defined by it. More importantly, they’re keen on making the here and now more a reflection of how far they can go rather than how far they’ve come. In short, they’re thinking the way winners do — lending cause to hope that, in the not too distant future, they’ll be being the way winners are.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
