Some people told me that this article was paywalled (I didn’t realize that lol), so here’s the entire article. Any part with an italics was part of an image caption:
Nets owner Joe Tsai admitted that managing NBA players, juggling various egos and alpha personalities, was “difficult.” Few owners in pro sports have ever learned that lesson as publicly or painfully as Tsai.
The Nets have been a crystal-clear example of that and a glaring cautionary tale.
Tsai’s dynasty that never was.
The Nets assiduously constructed a supposed superteam on paper, only to watch their three superstars — Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant — light that paper on fire.
Tsai had a wan smile when he made his comments during a speech at the BEYOND Expo 2023 opening ceremony in Macao, the e-commerce billionaire talking about how AI would revolutionize the entertainment industry. But his comments about juggling NBA personas were on-point.
“So we’re going to redefine digital entertainment,” said Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba. “I will take you through an example of filmmaking. In making a film, there are a lot of problems. What are the problems? OK, we have to decide who to pick. We have to decide the actors and actresses, right?
“And actors and actresses are human beings. They’re very, very difficult to manage. Believe me, I manage a basketball team, and the players are very difficult to manage. If you’re in Hollywood, it’s very, very difficult to manage people.”
*Nets owner Joe Tsai may wish he could use his AI entertainment plans to substitute for actual players after the drama he has tried to navigate over the past few years.*
Let’s put aside for a moment the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike — one that has temporarily shelved the shopping of a Ronny Chieng pilot about a Nets GM loosely based on Tsai. His comments — about how Alibaba’s AI can change digital entertainment — also apply to NBA players, as he learned the hard way. They weren’t as much controversial as confirming what Nets fans already knew.
Before 2019 free agency, The Post had reported that there was internal debate in Brooklyn over turning the team’s culture over to Irving if he didn’t come with another star. Turns out they were right to be worried, and apparently not worried enough, because even their Big Three wasn’t enough insurance.
General manager Sean Marks put together arguably the most potent offensive trio in league history, only to have all three demand trades within a one-year span.
Irving missed two-thirds of last season for refusing to adhere to New York City’s COVID-19 mandate, and that absence contributed to Harden demanding a move just days before the trade deadline.
Durant requested a trade last summer, as well as the firing of both Marks and then-coach Steve Nash. After Tsai temporarily convinced the former MVP to stay, Irving’s suspension this season and trade demand in February were the straws that broke Brooklyn’s back. Durant asked out again, and the Nets dealt them both within days, shutting their championship window.
**Superstars welcome?**
*Damian Lillard’s close connection to Mikal Bridges has put him on the Nets’ radar should the Trail Blazers star ask out of Portland.*
Difficult to manage? Yeah, that would be an understatement. But difficulty often comes attached to talent. Would the Nets be shy about trading for high-profile superstars again (read: Damian Lillard)? Would they have second thoughts?
Perhaps — as long as that thought is making sure they pick the right stars.
“It’s a great question and something that we’ve thought of a lot and will continue to think about as we go, involving all the people in those decisions,” Marks said.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t look back and say, ‘What if?’ Had we done this? Should we have done this? So it gives us a moment to reflect and say, ‘Well, did we have the right process in place? Were we really, really ready for that group? Was the borough of Brooklyn ready? Was the team ready? Was the surrounding ready when you bring in Kevin, Kai and James and that group?’ But at the same time, that era is gone, and we’re onto something new here.”
What people do is often more instructive than what they say. And in Brooklyn’s case, that something new is very telling.
After so much chaos and unavailability during their failed Big 3 experiment — Durant’s injuries, Irving’s suspensions and vaccine refusals, etc., etc. — the Nets have clearly taken great pains to rebuild with players they can trust and rely on.
They had years of history with Spencer Dinwiddie, and Dorian Finney-Smith is a noted glue guy. Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges are well-regarded as high-character types. The latter — who was the centerpiece of the Durant trade — hasn’t missed a game since his junior year in high school.
*The fact that Mikal Bridges hasn’t missed a game since high school promises the Nets the kind of reliability they rarely enjoyed with their Big 3.*
Privately, Brooklyn coaches and executives have talked about the reliability the newcomers have brought. They’ve dealt with difficult. Now they’re looking to do drama-free.
“I just think, yeah, it was different for them,” Bridges said. “Obviously, before the trade and stuff with everything that was probably going on around here it just probably felt like more than just basketball at that point.”
**All-in or not at all**
With a bevy of draft picks and glut of 3-and-D wings, Marks will surely be busy this summer. The Nets need to add size, rebounding and shot creation. But most of all, they need players who want to be Nets.
“It’s got to come authentically. It’s got to be real,” Marks said. “I mean, I think we’ve seen it before, not just here but around the league. You bring somebody in and it’s not authentic to who they are. We want to make sure people that want to come here want to be part of something special and being part of Brooklyn and part of this unique situation.
“Continuity is a big thing. It’s a team sport. It’s not about one or two players. You’re going to have to have player five, player seven, player nine be on the same page with the coach, on the same page as player one, two and three. So continuity is big; it’s something that’s not lost on us. …
“Do we build quick and expedite this thing, because a player comes around that we know, ‘Hey, this player would fit within a group and give us an opportunity to really get back in and be contenders again?’ That could happen, but at the same time, I don’t think we’re in any hurry.”
*Nets GM Sean Marks said he isn’t in a rush to build a roster that will be pieced together with an eye on continuity and chemistry.*
If Lillard became available, not at least gauging the asking price would be malfeasance, especially with the Portland superstar working out in the summers with Bridges and calling Bridges his favorite small forward in the league.
He also would fit the Nets’ new mission of swapping difficult for drama-free.
**Draft Watch**
Brooklyn will pick at No. 21 and No. 22 in the first round of the NBA Draft on June 22 at Barclays Center, though many throughout the league believe they could move one of those picks in a trade.
The Nets brought in North Carolina State’s Terquavion Smith for a private workout on May 10, according to an Instagram story from the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard.
Smith averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the Wolfpack, albeit on subpar 38 percent shooting.
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Can someone post the article?
Can’t read. Anyway around paywall
Some people told me that this article was paywalled (I didn’t realize that lol), so here’s the entire article. Any part with an italics was part of an image caption:
Nets owner Joe Tsai admitted that managing NBA players, juggling various egos and alpha personalities, was “difficult.” Few owners in pro sports have ever learned that lesson as publicly or painfully as Tsai.
The Nets have been a crystal-clear example of that and a glaring cautionary tale.
Tsai’s dynasty that never was.
The Nets assiduously constructed a supposed superteam on paper, only to watch their three superstars — Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant — light that paper on fire.
Tsai had a wan smile when he made his comments during a speech at the BEYOND Expo 2023 opening ceremony in Macao, the e-commerce billionaire talking about how AI would revolutionize the entertainment industry. But his comments about juggling NBA personas were on-point.
“So we’re going to redefine digital entertainment,” said Tsai, the co-founder of Alibaba. “I will take you through an example of filmmaking. In making a film, there are a lot of problems. What are the problems? OK, we have to decide who to pick. We have to decide the actors and actresses, right?
“And actors and actresses are human beings. They’re very, very difficult to manage. Believe me, I manage a basketball team, and the players are very difficult to manage. If you’re in Hollywood, it’s very, very difficult to manage people.”
*Nets owner Joe Tsai may wish he could use his AI entertainment plans to substitute for actual players after the drama he has tried to navigate over the past few years.*
Let’s put aside for a moment the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike — one that has temporarily shelved the shopping of a Ronny Chieng pilot about a Nets GM loosely based on Tsai. His comments — about how Alibaba’s AI can change digital entertainment — also apply to NBA players, as he learned the hard way. They weren’t as much controversial as confirming what Nets fans already knew.
Before 2019 free agency, The Post had reported that there was internal debate in Brooklyn over turning the team’s culture over to Irving if he didn’t come with another star. Turns out they were right to be worried, and apparently not worried enough, because even their Big Three wasn’t enough insurance.
General manager Sean Marks put together arguably the most potent offensive trio in league history, only to have all three demand trades within a one-year span.
Irving missed two-thirds of last season for refusing to adhere to New York City’s COVID-19 mandate, and that absence contributed to Harden demanding a move just days before the trade deadline.
Durant requested a trade last summer, as well as the firing of both Marks and then-coach Steve Nash. After Tsai temporarily convinced the former MVP to stay, Irving’s suspension this season and trade demand in February were the straws that broke Brooklyn’s back. Durant asked out again, and the Nets dealt them both within days, shutting their championship window.
**Superstars welcome?**
*Damian Lillard’s close connection to Mikal Bridges has put him on the Nets’ radar should the Trail Blazers star ask out of Portland.*
Difficult to manage? Yeah, that would be an understatement. But difficulty often comes attached to talent. Would the Nets be shy about trading for high-profile superstars again (read: Damian Lillard)? Would they have second thoughts?
Perhaps — as long as that thought is making sure they pick the right stars.
“It’s a great question and something that we’ve thought of a lot and will continue to think about as we go, involving all the people in those decisions,” Marks said.
“That doesn’t mean we don’t look back and say, ‘What if?’ Had we done this? Should we have done this? So it gives us a moment to reflect and say, ‘Well, did we have the right process in place? Were we really, really ready for that group? Was the borough of Brooklyn ready? Was the team ready? Was the surrounding ready when you bring in Kevin, Kai and James and that group?’ But at the same time, that era is gone, and we’re onto something new here.”
What people do is often more instructive than what they say. And in Brooklyn’s case, that something new is very telling.
After so much chaos and unavailability during their failed Big 3 experiment — Durant’s injuries, Irving’s suspensions and vaccine refusals, etc., etc. — the Nets have clearly taken great pains to rebuild with players they can trust and rely on.
They had years of history with Spencer Dinwiddie, and Dorian Finney-Smith is a noted glue guy. Cam Johnson and Mikal Bridges are well-regarded as high-character types. The latter — who was the centerpiece of the Durant trade — hasn’t missed a game since his junior year in high school.
*The fact that Mikal Bridges hasn’t missed a game since high school promises the Nets the kind of reliability they rarely enjoyed with their Big 3.*
Privately, Brooklyn coaches and executives have talked about the reliability the newcomers have brought. They’ve dealt with difficult. Now they’re looking to do drama-free.
“I just think, yeah, it was different for them,” Bridges said. “Obviously, before the trade and stuff with everything that was probably going on around here it just probably felt like more than just basketball at that point.”
**All-in or not at all**
With a bevy of draft picks and glut of 3-and-D wings, Marks will surely be busy this summer. The Nets need to add size, rebounding and shot creation. But most of all, they need players who want to be Nets.
“It’s got to come authentically. It’s got to be real,” Marks said. “I mean, I think we’ve seen it before, not just here but around the league. You bring somebody in and it’s not authentic to who they are. We want to make sure people that want to come here want to be part of something special and being part of Brooklyn and part of this unique situation.
“Continuity is a big thing. It’s a team sport. It’s not about one or two players. You’re going to have to have player five, player seven, player nine be on the same page with the coach, on the same page as player one, two and three. So continuity is big; it’s something that’s not lost on us. …
“Do we build quick and expedite this thing, because a player comes around that we know, ‘Hey, this player would fit within a group and give us an opportunity to really get back in and be contenders again?’ That could happen, but at the same time, I don’t think we’re in any hurry.”
*Nets GM Sean Marks said he isn’t in a rush to build a roster that will be pieced together with an eye on continuity and chemistry.*
If Lillard became available, not at least gauging the asking price would be malfeasance, especially with the Portland superstar working out in the summers with Bridges and calling Bridges his favorite small forward in the league.
He also would fit the Nets’ new mission of swapping difficult for drama-free.
**Draft Watch**
Brooklyn will pick at No. 21 and No. 22 in the first round of the NBA Draft on June 22 at Barclays Center, though many throughout the league believe they could move one of those picks in a trade.
The Nets brought in North Carolina State’s Terquavion Smith for a private workout on May 10, according to an Instagram story from the 6-foot-4 sophomore guard.
Smith averaged 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the Wolfpack, albeit on subpar 38 percent shooting.