From Drama To NBA Title Aspirations Again, The Nets Are Hard To Predict

On paper, the Brooklyn Nets are as talented as any team in the NBA. The problem with this though, as we've seen time and time again, talent isn't enough to get you a title in the NBA.

If the Nets want to finally reach the expectations created years ago when Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving came to town, chemistry will be as important, if not more, than that talent alone.

Now with the third-shortest odds to win the NBA title at +700 (FanDuel), the offseason for this organization has been all over the place. Believe it or not, right around that Aug. 24 timeframe, when the trade request from Durant was made public, they fell as far as 40-to-1 at some books to win it all. At that point, the whole roster was in flux, with rumors of not only Durant, but Irving, Ben Simmons, and anyone else on that roster floating around NBA Twitter as a possible trade chip.

Now, we know who they are, at least on paper.

Brooklyn has the talent to win a title, sure, but as we've seen over the years in the NBA, you need everyone to have some sort of rhythm on the court to go along with that talent. We haven't seen that consistently from Durant and Kyrie Irving as it is, let alone what it will mean when they throw Simmons into the mix.

This team has been a mess since they tried their original Big 3, and James Harden wanted out almost as soon as he walked in the door. Having stars is a must in the NBA, but those stars still have to see the bigger picture if you want to make this work.

Oh, and let's not forget we still have no idea whether or not Steve Nash can actually coach since his roster has been a revolving door since he got there.

This is the NBA today. You start with the aggressive push for stars, then hope the rest falls into place. For the Nets, that talent is there, but it all comes down to how they mesh if you want to hit any of those expectations this coming season.