Under the Harvest Moon: Why Nets rebuild hits different after Knicks title

We're calling it a new era in Nets basketball after an offseason filled with noise — both good and bad. We've said that plenty of times before, but this one is different and here's why…

The Knicks won the NBA Finals and in less than a month will raise a banner or two (they won the Emirates Cup as well.). It broke a cycle for Nets fans that might've been necessary in order for the organization to move on. Maybe not. I'll get to that shortly.

Brooklyn's offseason began inauspiously with the NBA lottery. You may not want to remember it, but afterwards, Joe Tsai's son was seen hugging his dad, consoling him. But then they used the sixth pick to take Mikel Brown Jr. already a fan favorite after the Summer League. Days earlier, they traded Nicolas Claxton and the No. 33 pick for three-time All-Star Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick which became Joshua Jefferson .