Exit Survey: 3 thoughts on the disposed Brooklyn Nets

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – APRIL 17: Brooklyn Nets head coach Steve Nash looks on during the first quarter of Round 1 Game 1 of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at TD Garden on April 17, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Put your hands up if you thought the Brooklyn Nets would exit the postseason before the New Orleans Pelicans. That’s right, in an amazing turn of events, Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and co. were the first team booted out of contention, as they got swept by the Boston Celtics. A truly remarkable ending to one of the stranger years for a franchise in league history.

Now that they are staring into a long offseason, the Nets have several large questions to answer about their future. Is first-time head coach Steve Nash the man to lead them on a deeper run in the coming years? How exactly are they meant to improve the roster, outside of restored draft picks from the Ben Simmons trade, with the inflexibility they currently possess.

There are problems that run deep with the Brooklyn Nets, and with Kevin Durant turning 34 before the start of the next regular season, the organization has less time than they would like.

But when you’ve got two future Hall of Fame players, as well as whatever Simmons could end up being (although it is not looking good at all right now), you still have a chance. The Nets are also not the New York Knicks, but they do benefit from playing in a big market. The media might have them as second fiddle to the Knicks, but players will always want to live in New York.

So although this season was nothing short of a disaster, there is still hope that the Nets can turn this whole thing around over the next couple of years. Here are three thoughts on the franchise now that they are sitting on the couch for the rest of the playoffs, watching on just like the rest of us.