The Kyrie Irving trade request from the Brooklyn Nets in early February had the potential to change the whole landscape of the NBA. 

And it did just that.

Just days after Irving’s departure to the Dallas Mavericks, superstar running mate Kevin Durant also wanted out. The Brooklyn Nets received a sizeable package in return for their superstar sniper, who many regard as the best player in the world. 

In addition to significant draft considerations, Brooklyn acquired a lockdown defender in Mikal Bridges, a proven 3-and-D wing in Cam Johnson and Spencer Dinwiddie from Dallas. Dinwiddie, a proven professional, provides lockerroom leadership to an otherwise young core. Many around Brooklyn are equally excited about Dorian Finney-Smith, a 6’7″ defensive-minded forward/near double-digit scorer.

Nets’ fans were justified in their disappointment at losing two superstars with fears of a stringent rebuild.

Not so fast!

The Irving-Durant duo may be gone, but the Nets have a young, energetic, versatile core of two-way players. Bridges has carried the offensive load, and with his background from a winning culture at Villanova (four years under Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright, capturing two National Championships), he’s been more than up to the task at 26.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game on an efficient 53 percent from the field. In so doing, Bridges became the first player in NBA history to average at least 25 points while shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three, and 90 percent from the free throw line in his first ten games with a new franchise. He is putting the league on notice and proving he is more than a lockdown defender. Is Mikal Bridges able to be the number-one scoring option on a formidable playoff team? Time will tell.

Johnson has been another positive, putting up 17.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 29 minutes since joining the Nets. The team’s starting five includes Spencer Dinwiddie at the point, Johnson and Bridges on the wings, Finney-Smith at the power forward, and Nic Claxton at the center. This group can impose their will on the defensive end by utilizing their length and quickness to switch positions two through five. 

The Nets rank seventh in the league in blocks per game since the two blockbuster trades at 5.6. And the squad stays on track when it turns to its bench. Sharpshooters Seth Curry and Joe Harris help spread the floor. The Nets rank ninth in the league in three-point field goals made at 13.6 per game and sixth in three-point attempts at 39.3 per game.

And we can’t forget that former All-Star Ben Simmons can come in at the point-forward role to take some pressure off the first unit. Though he has tremendous upside, many are skeptical about his durability deep into the season and whether he can sink free throws and stay on the floor in close playoff games. 

The depth and defensive prowess make the Nets well-equipped for the playoffs. In a conference featuring dominant big men like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, and Bam Adebayo, Nic Claxton and Ben Simmons can provide resistance to try to limit them in a seven-game series.  

Look for the Nets to land the fifth seed and upset the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in an intense seven-game series. A second-round playoff berth? Sounds like a success for a team that traded away two future Hall of Famers at the deadline. 

In the city that never sleeps, let’s not sleep on those Brooklyn Nets as a playoff dark horse in the East.