Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau cannot comment specifically on the Nets’ new Big 3 because their trade for James Harden is not official. Three superstar scorers on the track will always ‘have to sacrifice’. ‘
But one Eastern Conference NBA scout told The Post that it’s easier said than done with the freshly bearded trio of Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving of the Nets who formed Wednesday and turned the NBA on its ears.
The explorer is particularly concerned with chemistry between Harden and Irving.
“It’s going to be a job,” the NBA scout said. ‘You literally and statistically have two of the five ball-dominant guys in the league. I watched Houston with John Wall and Harden, and maybe it’s because of the problems, but it did not seem to Harden like a comfortable environment, with Wall dominating the ball. Then you have Durant which I would not say is ball-dominating but definitely needs a lot of touches. ‘
Harden and Durant at least played together in Oklahoma City. But that was before Harden became the league’s leading scorer, scoring at least 29 points in five seasons in Houston.
“The dynamics between Harden and Irving are key,” the scout added. Durant can adjust. By Golden State, [Klay] Thompson was not a man who needed the ball. Less touch was needed for the big three. Defensively, they got worse. Harden does not watch. And they lose [Jarrett] Allen. ‘
Another NBA talent evaluator wondered if the Brooklyn Dream Team would work as fluidly as the Miami Dream Team of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh
“In Miami you had a hierarchy – LeBron, Wade, then Bosh,” he said. “Who takes the shot with the game at stake?”
Thibodeau was an assistant coach in the 2008 Celtics title team that hosted his own Big 3 series.
“It’s in the sense that the challenge is the same,” Thibodeau said. ‘I know in Boston when we had Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, that was the big question. I think big players always figure out how to play with each other. They also make other players much better. So I guess it is not as difficult as people want it to be. I think the biggest challenge is the willingness for everyone to sacrifice. If this usually happens, the result is very good. ‘
The Nets took advantage of their future and gave up several first-ranked players and selected swaps, but the goal in each of the next three seasons is to win the first NBA title in the history of the franchise. Maybe two titles – even without Allen and Caris LeVert.
“They gave up a lot of players, but they have so much depth in the roster,” the first NBA scout said. “They got three superstars and still got a lot of role players. They’re worse than losing Allen. But [Jeff] Green, [Landry] Shamet, [Joe] Harris, TLC [Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot], [DeAndre] Jordan, it’s still a pretty supportive cast. ‘
Of course, no one can be sure whether Irving will return soon, which could make the problem of matching the three superstars together difficult.
“You can’t count on Kyrie at this point,” said an NBA human resources director. ‘But Harden and KD will be fine. But it will take a minute before everything starts working. ‘
Or explode. As former Wizards and Hawks scout Bryan Oringher told The Post: “It goes up in flames, or they win several titles.”
“Harden is a pretty good insurance policy for Irving,” the Eastern Conference scout added.
One player agent can see that the Nets are turning into the basketball version of the Yankees ‘Bronx Zoo’ – except in a different city.
“There is just as much potential for this to go wrong as to go right,” the agent said. ‘You have Kyrie, who could be a loose cannon. You got Harden, who just called out his team and teammates. And you have KD who looks very passive at first glance, but he likes to cultivate a lot of things and talk about them like in Golden State. ”
Adding ‘The Beard’ to KD and Kyrie is even sexier than a Knicks band that suddenly became the low profile team in town without one star – let alone three.
“For us, we have to concentrate on ourselves and the players we have,” Thibodeau said before facing the undermining Nets on Wednesday. ‘Just focus on our improvement and just do the things that are needed to get better. We are not worried about them. They are worried about themselves and we need to worry. Our section is loaded. We know that. We know the composition of each roster and we know we have a lot of work to do and we look forward to the challenge. ”