NEW YORK — Three months ago, the Brooklyn Nets were swept out of the Orlando bubble.
The long road from pretending to contending begins now.
The doors are ajar at the HSS Training Facility in Industry City, where the Nets have kicked off their socially distant 2020 training camp.
The Nets hope camp means camaraderie and continuity. Make no mistake — it unequivocally means competition.
There are 21 players vying for 20 training camp invitations, which will be whittled down to 17 total players for the 2020-21 season: 15 guaranteed contracts plus two additional players on two-way hybrid G-League deals, to be exact.
In Brooklyn, it boils down to the facts: There are not enough seats for everyone to ride — and Nets GM Sean Marks is unsure whether his pieces fit the NBA's championship puzzle.
"We're going to have to be fluid with our roster," Marks told reporters in a conference call on Tuesday. "I look forward to getting with the coaches and with our front office and really debating as we go through training camp and see where we need to make changes — whether it's on the periphery of the roster, or we make some bigger moves."
Welcome to Hard Knocks: Brooklyn — and the Nets have decisions to make.
Two (rehabbed) superstars, a rookie head coach, a risk-taking general manager, and a hodge-podge roster of ill-fitting, yet talented players. Oh, James Harden, where art thou?
Therein lies the question of the hour, the day, the season, the three-year championship window to build a contender around Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
If The Beard isn't euro-stepping through those open HSS doors, who is? The Nets can't just add "a piece," even if the need is glaring.
