The Brooklyn Nets started the 2020-21 season among the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals, led by All-Star duo Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, backed by a strong supporting cast of talented players . After acquiring another All-NBA player in James Harden of the Houston Rockets, expectations for the Nets to win the championship only increased.
As Stephen A. Smith said on ESPN’s Get Up, ‘this is the NBA Finals or a bust’ now for the Nets.
Before the trade, the Nets trailed the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers with BetMGM’s NBA championship shots. Now, with Harden, the Nets are only the Lakers as the No. 2 team.
LeBron James, who regularly gets credit for launching the super-team era after leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers free agency in 2010 to team up with fellow All-Stars Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach, has been asked to to shed his mind on the trade.
James did not have much to say, and admitted that he focused mainly on what was happening to the Lakers.
“It’s clear that trade and things happen every year, and for me my main focus is on what we do here and how we can continue to get better, and that was the case today,” James told reporters. “The trade took place today, but I could not allow myself to know that we have a team we have to play tonight, and my main focus was the Thunder.”
LeBron and the Lakers will meet the new look of Nets on Feb. 18 for the first time at Staples Center.