On April 26, Beijing time, today's NBA playoffs have ended, the Celtics defeated the Nets 116-112, the total score swept the Nets out of the game 4-0, and they also became the first team this season to advance to the second round of the playoffs. At the beginning of the season, you can't imagine that the Nets, as the favorite to win the championship, will become the first team to be eliminated in the playoffs this season and be swept out, and this is also the first time that Durant and Irving have been swept in their entire careers. As a title favorite, how many fans have high hopes for the Nets, but to this day, how many people are asking the Nets: What about the talking championship? What about the good Black Seven?
With a 0-3 deficit, Simmons is ready to make a comeback in G4, which gives the Nets management and fans a glimmer of hope. But just before G4 started, Simmons suddenly reported that his back pain would return and would miss the game, and Simmons only went from the team's hoped "savior" to the season reimbursement for only a few hours, perhaps this also became the last straw that crushed the camel. The NBA star O'Neill, who learned of this news, forwarded a GIF of Ben Simmons running back to the bed to cover the quilt immediately after dunking with a thermometer at the first time, and wrote the content as: "Ben Simmons on game day", which can be said to be O'Neill's mockery of Simmons, and also O'Neill's disdain for Simmons's professional attitude.
Durant, who has been pulling his crotch for three consecutive games, finally ushered in an outbreak in this game, 39 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists and 1 steal is the data he handed over today, which shows his desire and effort to win, but such an outbreak is like making up for it as if it is too late. As the second leader of the team, Irving's performance does not need to say more than 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks, and the uneaten Irving scoring efficiency is not as good as that of role player Seth Curry. It can be said that after the Lakers, the Nets' lineup model of the Big Three + Mercenaries has also failed.
After the game, Durant was interviewed about the failure of the Big Three, and Durant said: "I don't regret it, the bad thing happened, after all, it is difficult to collect the water." It's an end that makes us progress and become better. Speaking about the changes to next year's squad, Durant said: "I'm not ready to talk about who will return next year. But then Durant said: "This summer is very, very important for the team, see where we go next year. ”
It's clear that Durant's words reveal a lot of information, summer is the most active time in the NBA trading market, and it is important to perform in the summer after the team is swept, which also implies that the team must be making a trade, and the Nets also have a lot of veteran contracts to expire. Salary expert Bobby Marks has listed the Nets' salary scale for next season: Durant's salary for the 2022-23 season is $44 million, ranking first in the team; Irving is a player option worth nearly $37 million (planning to stay in the team); and third is Ben Simmons with $35 million.
The Nets are guaranteed a salary of $156.6 million next season, while the league's salary cap for next season is $122 million and the luxury tax line is $147 million. After the salaries of the Big Three add up, the Nets have no room to operate, and the Nets' Big Three model has failed for two consecutive years, so what kind of changes do the Nets think the Nets will make this summer?