Unlike our personal lives, change in the NBA is often planned in the NBA. It’s the result of necessity, mostly welcomed and even anticipated. Whether it’s the “new voice” cliché when an underperforming team makes a coaching change or an “infusion of energy” at the trade deadline, change is a basketball propellant, not a roadblock.
The Brooklyn Nets entered Saturday's contest against the San Antonio Spurs sitting at 20-31, with seemingly little to get excited about. Except, they had just swung a couple trades. Nothing major on the surface, just a point-guard swap — the disgruntled Spencer Dinwiddie for Dennis Schröder — and Royce O’Neale out for draft capital and fringe-rotation player Keita Bates-Diop.