Several teams in the Eastern Conference are beefing up their rosters in order to compete with the surging Miami Heat. The Brooklyn Nets made several offseason moves including the blockbuster trade to acquire Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry from the Boston Celtics. Paired alongside new head coach Jason Kidd, can the Nets really knock off the two-time defending champs next season? Kidd certainly thinks so.
"They put that team together to try to win championships, and they've had a lot of success. So if you want to compete with them, you've got to have the horses. And I think we have that," Kidd said.
Speaking for the first time since the trade was announced, Kidd truly believes Brooklyn has the kind of roster that will compete for a top spot in the Eastern Conference. With a lineup featuring, Garnett, Pierce, Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez, the new team has a lot of experience against Miami. Terry was part of the Dallas Mavericks team that defeated the Heat in 2011. Pierce and Garnett have had their success against the Heat along with an NBA title as well. The Nets now have the title-or-bust attitude with expectations to fulfill.
"It's harder when you're supposed to win," Kidd said. "When you're talking about the best players and the best teams in the world, when you talk about the Heat, you can ask them, it's not easy. We're going to have our hands full."
Kidd stresses that Brooklyn is not the Miami Heat, but will compete at a very high level. Brooklyn's starting lineup has 35 All-Star appearances combined. It is that maturity and experience that Kidd knows is the best way to challenge other teams. He is already making plans on how to handle veteran player's minutes and how to utilize bench players to give rest.
Jason Kidd is not the only one confident the Nets are going to challenge the top teams in the league. Former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal recently said that he would pick the Nets over plenty of teams, especially the New York Knicks.
"I'm going with the Nets right now, over the Knicks-all day, every day. Kidd's a great guy, he's a great leader. I'm anxious to see when things get tough how the guys are going to respond," O'Neal said.
Heat president Pat Riley is also keeping a close eye on the Nets, but is not letting any other team's moves dictate what the Heat do in the offseason. Riley is the one that will enter into 2013 with the newest championship rings, but that process did not happen overnight and Kidd is taking the same attitude with the Nets.
