All of New York was celebrating this summer as the party for the New York Knicks winning the title never seemed to stop…
Well, not everyone. Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai was not thrilled, he told NetsDaily.
“Every year, some team is going to win a championship. So it happens that this year that team is in the same city. It doesn’t make us feel very good. It irritates our fan base and it is embarrassing but in business or in competition, in sports, or in anything, you shouldn’t let the embarrassment factor affect how you perform.”
Or, in the case of the Brooklyn Nets, change their rebuilding trajectory.
“[We] had a plan and we’re rebuilding and I think right now we are on a positive trajectory. So it doesn’t change my thinking at all.”
Brooklyn went 20-62 last season, the third-worst record in the league, which ended up giving them the No. 6 pick, where they selected point guard Mikal Brown. Then, at Summer League, their No. 8 pick of a year ago, Egor Dёmin, looked like a player ready to make a leap next season. That’s a positive place to start.
The Nets also acquired power forward Julius Randle from Minnesota as part of the four-team trade that sent LaMelo Ball to the Timberwolves. Randle is a rock-solid 20+ a game scorer (21,1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 5 assists per game last year) who will step in and make this team better. He raises the floor, even in a deeper East.
It’s still a rebuilding project in Brooklyn, but Tsai is right in that they shouldn’t be comparing themselves to that team over the bridge in Manhattan.
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