The Nets have a lot of things happening in the team recently, the most notable of which is the issue of Irving's contract extension, Irving wants to get a maximum salary extension, but the team owner is reluctant to give him a maximum salary contract, this is because he has missed a lot of games in the Nets' three years, and the reason for the absence is not because of injury, which makes the team's management very angry, so Irving also applied for a trade, but the owners of other teams also know what type of player Irving is, and his transaction value is very low. So eventually Irving executed the player option to stay in the team. According to NBA reporter Shams, Owen plans to sign a 2-year salary cap, but he wants player options, and the Nets management is reluctant to give, so Irving tried to leave the team, but the result is also seen, Irving is not popular with other teams now. Durant didn't intervene in the matter, but always stood by Owen's side.
In the playoffs, the Nets were swept out by the Celtics 0-4 in the first round of the series, in this series, Nash used Griffin again, although he only played two games, but it was obvious that his defense could still help the team, but why Nash used Griffin before, has also become a hot issue. The Nets have failed for two consecutive seasons, the players need to take part of the responsibility, and the head coach Nash also needs to take responsibility, he has a big problem with the use of players, his only tactic is to let Durant and Irving play longer, and as long as there is a little bit of bad performance of the role players, they will be put on the bench, which also leads to Frequent Injuries to Durant. Griffin's annual salary this season is only about 2.6 million, he gave up a lot of salary to join the Nets, but did not meet a good manager, Griffin has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction on his social media accounts.
When the Nets were out of the playoffs, Griffin praised the rumors of returning to the Clippers, which meant that Griffin announced that he was leaving the Nets, after all, his purpose of joining the Nets was for the championship, the result was thankless, plus the Nets are now in a messy locker room, it is difficult for players to unite, and joining other championship teams is the right choice. At present, there are four teams that have paid attention to Griffin, including the Bulls, Heat, Celtics and Lakers, these four teams will compete in the free market, from the strength of the team, the Heat and Celtics are more likely, but the Lakers may still become Griffin's next home, because the Lakers are very short of forward players, Griffin can get more playing time, and the Celtics have too many forward players, which can not guarantee Griffin's playing schedule.
Griffin, 33, is currently at the Nets this season, averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in the regular season, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and averaging 4 points and 2 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Nash also gave the reason for his abandonment of Griffin at the time, that is, there was a problem with his shooting, and the Nets needed players with scoring ability on the court, but his defense was still online, which is why Nash eventually used Griffin in key games. The Nets may have a number of role players left, in addition to Griffin, there are Aldridge, Mills, Dragic and Drummond and others, these players are now clear that they do not want to stay with the Nets, after all, the team has too many problems. In the free market, the Nets' competitiveness has also dropped a lot, and those quality role players who want to compete for the championship will definitely prefer teams like the Warriors, Clippers, Heat and Celtics.
In fact, there is a team that is very suitable for Griffin, that is, the Warriors who won the championship this season, as a frontal player, Griffin's injury lesions in the past two years have been much less, his height is an advantage, and he has completed the role transformation, the Management of the Warriors has also revealed that he will sign some basic salary veterans in the free market, and Griffin's role is very suitable for the Warriors, and it is even possible to restore the shooting level, Porter came to the Warriors, and also played a very good season. But in the end it depends on his own choice, his age is not very big, if it were not for the Pistons with an injury in the playoffs, Griffin would not have been reduced to a basic salary player, of course, his investment on the field is very successful, similar to Iguodala, now playing is just a hobby of his, and his goal is definitely the championship.
The Management of the Nets is now also in a dilemma, because in order to get Harden, sent away a lot of first-round picks, and Irving often missed the game, which made Harden apply for a trade again, and trade Harden to the 76ers, the Nets did not get too much, after all, the 76ers' first-round picks are basically the end of the first round. At present, Ben Simmons has also begun to train, and Durant often appears in front of the media, the Warriors won the championship, Durant may be a little uncomfortable, if he did not leave Curry, then he may now be the winner of three championships, and even still be able to get such an honor as FMVP. Irving had some problems with the Celtics, but the Celtics' management was more decisive, choosing to build a team with Brown and Tatum, and eventually the team also reached the Finals, which was much more successful than the Nets.
In the offseason, the Nets did not change the head coach, whether it is the Nets owner or Durant, are very supportive of Nash to continue to coach, which is also a hidden danger for the Nets. In the NBA, some stars have tried to coach after retiring, but ultimately failed, Nash is a point guard with a very high ball quotient, but he still lacks a lot of experience in coaching, he needs to be an assistant coach around some excellent head coaches, and then slowly become a head coach, which is the most reasonable choice. Next season's Competition in the East is fierce, many teams have started to strengthen, the Heat and the 76ers have been more active recently, although the Nets also want to sign some defensive tough guys, but the team's luxury tax is too high, plus Joe Harris has not yet sent it. Durant is likely to be a Nets player next season, Irving will also usher in a year to prove himself, hoping that Durant can lead the team to win the championship, but also to bless veterans like Griffin to find a suitable home.