Despite sweep, Nets can build quickly after Durant, Irving deals

NEW YORK (AP)— The Brooklyn Nets finished the same way without Kevin Durant andKyrie Irving as they did with them.

The Netsweresweptout the playoffs, the first team sent home for the summer forthe second straight year.

The team thattook the floor against the Philadelphia 76ers struggled to score,couldn’t rebound and is miles away from title contention. But thatteam probably won’t be around next season.

Brooklyn gotback plenty of draft picks in the trades of Durant, Irving andJames Harden, and will have options to quickly get to a betterplace than they are now — or were with their superstars.

“There’s notmany teams, many organizations I think have ever blown up asuperstar-studded group that possibly was in championshipcontention in one year and have the possibility of championshipcontention again the very next season,” guard Spencer Dinwiddiesaid Sunday.

Only threeteams own more first-round picks than the Nets between now and2030, general manager Sean Marks said, giving them flexibility todraft players or package picks in a trade for an established star.He wouldn’t predict a quick rise in the standings, but it can’t beruled out.

“We have ayoung group here that is wanting to compete, so we’re going to begoing after it every year,” Marks said.

It wasn’tlike this last summer, and Marks said the Nets have “a brightpathway.”

The Nets wereas high as second in the Eastern Conference before Durant gothurtinearly January. AfterDurantandIrvingweretraded within days of each other in February, Brooklyn hung on tofinish sixth.

With four newstarters who were together only two months, the Nets knew they werefighting inexperience and a tough veteran team like Philadelphia inthe postseason.

“I think it’spart of the business and I think situations like we were put inthis year prepare us for anything that can come up this summer, nomatter what it is,” said Cam Johnson, who will be a restricted freeagent.

Dinwiddie wason the Nets team that lost to the 76ers in the first round in 2019,then watched as Brooklyn looked to rebuild by signing Durant andIrving. He came back to the organization from Dallas in February inthe deal for Irving, just days before Durant was dealt to Phoenixin the deal that brought back Johnson and Mikal Bridges.

“I thinkyou’re looking at a team that kind of mirrors a Milwaukee withoutGiannis. So if you think you can go get a Giannis, then are youprobably a very, very good team at that point? Likely,” Dinwiddiesaid of the current Nets structure. “If you don’t, you do have abevy of draft picks and probably several guys that can net you moredraft picks. So, I mean, really, they can go either route. And Imean, shoot they could also choose to stand pat and roll thedice.”

Bridges, lastyear’s runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, showed starpotential as the No. 1 scoring option in Brooklyn. Center NicClaxton had by far his best season. Johnson looked like a keeper inhis first season as a starter. Marks said Ben Simmons, shut downearly again because of back problems, is expected to be ready bySeptember.

They willcertainly be joined by newcomers. After that, Claxton hopes theNets can be stable for a time and let the next group findsuccess.

“Especiallygoing into a playoff series, I mean teams have been together,they’ve been in the trenches together for maybe five-plus years,and then you throw in a whole new team,” Claxton said. “But, notmaking no excuses, just it would be nice going forward if we couldmaybe just start to build something here.”