As if not having KD for a full season wasn’t enough, the Brooklyn Nets lost seven other players coming into the “bubble” because of COVID and injuries. Players like Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, even Michael Beasley to name a few.
Missing out on these players is no big deal or anything. Right? Well, of course it was —and is— and because of that long line of absences, they were seen as a laughing stock — or a subject of pity — around the league. Prior to the return-to-play, people joked relentlessly about them.