In the NBA, things don’t change quickly. They change at warp speed.
Exactly two years ago, the Nets were flying high. They had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, the second-best record in the league and legitimate championship aspirations. No, make that championship expectations.
Then on Jan. 8, 2023 in Miami, Durant limped off the floor — and never came back in a Nets uniform. The next month, he left Brooklyn, and took its title hopes with him.
Since then, the league has gone topsy-turvy. The Nets have plunged into a rebuild, saddled with the seventh-worst record in the NBA. Oklahoma City, Houston and Orlando — all terrible at the time of Durant’s injury — are now contenders.
