THE Brooklyn Nets have been accused of buying a championship with their already star-studded roster receiving more reinforcement with the addition of LaMarcus Aldridge.
The Nets, who as of this writing sport a 31-15 record that is good for second in the Eastern Conference and third best overall in the National Basketball Association (NBA) behind the Utah Jazz and the Philadelphia 76ers.
They have an All-Star wing of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Blake Griffin, James Harden, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan. Word is that Andre Drummond, waived by Cleveland, is also headed to Brooklyn.
Obviously, it has spawned all these hate diatribes. While one can argue Brooklyn went into overdrive, this has happened so many times in the past. So please stop with the pleas for parity (we’ve been hearing that since Red Auerbach mastered the art of fleecing teams of solid players to become the NBA’s greatest dynasty).
Remember when the Los Angeles Lakers added Karl Malone and Gary Payton to the tandem of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant during the 2003-2004 season that ended in a 4-1 NBA Finals loss to Detroit? Remember they had brought in Horace Grant who was an All-Star with Chicago and O’Neal’s teammate in Orlando and who had won titles with the Chicago Bulls? Byron Russell, who was a starter for the Utah Jazz with Malone also came in. They had solid players in Rick Fox and Derek Fisher who had won three titles with LA.
How about the time when the Lakers reeled in Memphis’s Pau Gasol? They had Bryant, former Los Angeles Clippers and Miami Heat star Lamar Odom and young star center Andrew Bynum. They won two NBA titles.
Before they won it, the Boston Celtics of 2007-2008 brought in Kevin Garnett from Minnesota and Ray Allen from Seattle. They won a title.
And there are the Miami Heat squads of Dwyane Wade where he helped recruit LeBron James and Chris Bosh along with some key role players.
And didn’t the Golden State Warriors add Durant during the 2016 season to a team with already three All-Stars?
Oh, wait…didn’t the Lakers of 2019-20 bring in LeBron James, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, Danny Green, and Anthony Davis to end their title drought?
Howard not his old self? Well, is Blake Griffin his old self with Brooklyn?
Of the teams I mentioned it was only the Lakers squad of 2003-2004 that did not win a title.
You know, we can also go back to the acquisition of Dennis Rodman by the Chicago Bulls during the summer of 1995. Although I must say that no one knew how Rodman would mesh with Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson because he had been disruptive towards the end of his stint with Detroit and with the San Antonio Spurs. That they kicked major butt and won three more titles says something. Then again, the Bulls won three titles with Jordan and Pippen as the best duo in the NBA.
Am I unhappy with these super teams being put up?
I think I have been numbed to it since the 2003-04 Lakers. In the Philippine Basketball Association, well, it happens a lot as well.
Whether you believe they are here to win it all now or to unseat LeBron James is beside the point. The fact is, it’s legal. I don’t like it, but it is legal.
Didn’t we just watch the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win a Super Bowl by bringing in three former New England Patriots in the G.O.A.T. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and Antonio Brown (who made a name for himself outside his stint in New England)?
We all know that all-star teams do not always win. Check out Real Madrid’s Galacticos. Whether the addition of Aldridge brings a title to Brooklyn remains to be seen.
I’ll say this though, I am not hating on them. I think I am excited to see this super power race. It’s like having this kaiju monster mash with Godzilla throwing down with Rodan, Mechagodzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah.
Let’s get it on.