The past few years, the Nets’ motivation was winning a ’chip. Now it’s from the chip on their collective shoulders.
And with their championship window slammed shut, Brooklyn GM Sean Marks has had to pivot and cobble together a team with an underdog mentality and players with something to prove.“A lot of guys have a chip on their shoulder. Everybody wants to prove something this year,” Simmons said. “We got guys play hard, play team basketball which is going to be exciting and fun. It’s a fresh start.”
With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving long gone, Brooklyn’s best chance of winning this season — getting into even the play-in, much less the playoffs — rests on Simmons and Mikal Bridges, the former returning to his form as an All-Star and the latter making his debut as one.The Nets have a couple of players looking for rookie extensions, more on expiring deals and some looking to earn their place in the league.
. Or Nic Claxton eyeing his own big payday, Cam Thomas and Day’Ron Sharpe seeking rookie extensions, or about a half-dozen players on expiring contracts. In some cases, it’ll be proving they can lead the Nets through this rebuild. In others, it’s showing they should be around if and when it happens.“I hope our group is comprised of guys who really want to prove things. Whether that’s their existence in the league, whether that’s being able to garner more attention in the league,” Vaughn said. “We tried to put a group that was extremely competitive.
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