Wouldn't we as Celtics fans have cheered if we would have signed Durant in free agency in 2016 (which would probably have happened without that ridiculous cap increase)?
A well led but average team (Thomas, Bradley, Smart, Crowder, Olynyk, Johnson) going nowhere propelled by two big free agent signings in one summer (Durant and Horford), how would that have looked?
My issues with the Nets:
- Kyrie, Harden, and Blake all quit on their teams before going to Brooklyn; Blake is probably the most egregious because he looked totally washed up and received a buyout, now he looks good again.
- They barely played together at all the whole year, and they never played a single minute of solid defense during the regular season
These are things that feel they like they should matter. I want to believe that winning meaningful games in the NBA requires continuity, familiarity, effort, and discipline, especially on defense. I don't like seeing guys get rewarded for quitting on one team so that they can end up on another.
That's all aside from how the Nets were able to acquire these guys in large part because of where they are located combined with their willingness to basically clear the deck and invite a couple of stars to take over the running of the franchise for however long those guys want to be there.
I worry that the Nets are a model for future contending teams in the NBA, and that worries me a lot because I don't think that would be a very fun league to watch.
