The NBA has some of the greatest rivalries in sports history. From the classic Lakers-Celtics clashes to the most recent Cavaliers-Warriors battles. These rivalries usually surface as a result of stars leading their respective teams through merging playoff paths. This can happen from one season to another and the quarrels can persist for years. The Nets and Celtics have shown hints of a new duel that could develop over the next couple of seasons.
Nets vs. Celtics
The Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets battled it out today in a game that was supposed to be highlighted by the return of Kyrie Irving to the team that many fans consider he gave up on last season. Irving was not in the building. The Boston Celtics are sitting at 13-4 after tonight. They are looking like a strong candidate to come out of the Eastern Conference. More importantly, they are led by a core of young talent that should keep the team relevant for years to come.
The Nets are in a slightly different boat. They are not likely to make much noise this season. They are, however, poised to compete in the coming years with a core of young and talented players anchored by superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Starting as early as 2021, the Eastern Conference final could very well find a home between the TD Garden and Barclays Center. The relationship between these two teams and how they got here dates back to June of 2014. On draft day, the the two sides struck a deal that would shape the teams that were on the court in Boston this evening.
The Celtics and Nets Trade
Boston’s General Manager, Danny Ainge, understood that he had squeezed all the juice he could out of the trio that brought the Celtics a 16th championship in 2008. The Nets, wanting to make a big splash after moving to Brooklyn just two years before and feeling that they were ready to contend, mortgaged their future for the promise of competing immediately. In short, Boston sent Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Jason Terry to Brooklyn in exchange for the expiring contracts of five role players and their unprotected first-round picks in 2014, 2016, and 2018 as well as the rights to a pick-swap in 2017.
The paths of both teams took drastically different turns after that day. The Nets succeeded in making the playoffs, but never made it past the second round. The stars that they traded for soon moved on either to retirement or to play for other teams. Brooklyn was left to be spectators during the first round of every draft until 2019. The Celtics, considered by many as losers of that trade in 2014, used their picks to acquire Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. They also packaged the third first rounder acquired from the Nets to trade for Kyrie Irving in 2018. Tatum and Brown served as cornerstones for a team that was one win away from defeating LeBron James’ Cavaliers in 2018 and representing the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.
Where are we now?
All things considered, no clear winner of that trade has been determined. Since that night in 2014, neither team has been able to lift the Larry O’Brien trophy in June. That story could very well change in the next few years. Kyrie Irving spent the past two seasons in Boston playing sporadically and awkwardly alongside a core of young talent that bonded during their 2018 playoff run in his absence. The Celtics did not need him in order to contend. It was clear by the summer of 2019 that the two parties were no longer a good match.
Here is where the Nets once again come in the picture. Irving initially wanted out of Cleveland because he wanted to lead his own team. He was not able to play when his new team in Boston needed him. The unit instead found leadership in the examples of players like Al Horford and Marcus Smart. Entering this season, Brown and Tatum have taken on those leadership roles. Kyrie needed a new home. This would come in the form of a move from Boston to Brooklyn.
Last summer, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving agreed to take their talents to Brooklyn. In doing so, the next chapter in the relationship between the Nets and Celtics has begun. The move was a win-win for both teams. The Celtics did not need an alpha because of the unity of their young core. The addition of Kemba Walker serves to supplement Kyrie’s playing ability without hampering the natural chemistry amongst the young stars. The Nets won because they acquired two superstars that can rely on each other to work with role players.
Where are we headed?
Most importantly, NBA fans came out of this latest chapter as winners. We can all look forward to the playoff matchups between a Nets team anchored by Irving and Durant and a Celtics club that is getting wiser and better every day. The Eastern Conference is not deep. If healthy, both teams should see enough of each other in the playoffs.
On that draft day in 2014, the Nets won the popular vote regarding the trade. Five years later, after an early season win by the Celtics over the Irving-less Nets in Boston tonight, the opposite could be said. Two seasons from now, the final decision might be made by whoever is hitting the buzzer-beater in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Finals. Let the Brooklyn-Boston feud begin.
