 Here's how the nets rose to become NBA title contenders. It all starts, of course, with Sean Marks, who was hired as their general manager, on February 18, 2016. Soon thereafter, a Long Island native Kenny Atkinson was named head coach, bringing his knack for player development to the organization. The 2016 draft marked the first major stride for Brooklyn, as they swung a deal with Indiana to acquire 20th overall pick, Karis Levert, in a trade that sent veteran Thaddeus Young to the Pacers. A few weeks after that, the nets gave a two-year deal to Joe Harris, who grew into a core piece of their roster and became one of the best sharpshooters in basketball. In December 2016, Spencer Dinwitte was plucked from the Bulls G-League team, and he flourished with the nets as the floor general for their second unit. He eventually played an instrumental role in attracting Kyrie Irving to Brooklyn, but we'll get there in a second. Later that season, the nets obtained three assets from Washington in a deal for Bojan Bogdanovich and Chris McCullough. One of them was a 2017 first-round draft pick, which they used to select Jarrett Allen, 22nd overall. On the same night they drafted Allen, the nets brought an era to a close, sending all-time franchise leading scorer Brooke Lopez to the Lakers in a four-player deal. The key piece returning to Brooklyn was a dynamic guard drafted second overall just two years earlier in D'Angelo Russell. The rebuilding nets missed the playoffs for a third straight season in 2017-18, but the following year, they returned as the sixth seed in the East, thanks in large part to an all-star season from Russell. In the summer that followed, the nets added veteran Senator DeAndre Jordan and worked out a crucial trade with Atlanta. Forward Torian Prince joined Brooklyn, but more importantly, the nets cleared enough cap space for its magnum opus moves, signing Kyrie Irving in free agency and acquiring Kevin Durant in a sign-and-trade with the Warriors. D'Angelo Russell was part of the package that went to Golden State in return and Katie agreed to a max deal with Brooklyn, cementing the nets as one of the league's most fearsome superpowers. But wait, there's more. The story continues with the appointment of Steve Nash as the team's new head coach on September 3, 2020. That November, the nets fortified their depth in a three-team trade with the Pistons and Clippers, in which more than a dozen players in draft picks changed hand along with cash. One of them was Bruce Brown, who quickly became a reliable part of Brooklyn's rotation. Then on January 14, 2021, the nets added yet another all-world superstar with the arrival of James Harden in a blockbusting 14-megadial that included the Cavaliers and Pacers along with Harden's previous squad, the Rockets. Once the dust settled, Karis Levert wound up with the same Pacers squad that officially drafted him before trading him. Jared Allen was sent to Cleveland. The Rockets received Victor Oladipo, along with a number of first-round picks and pick swaps in the deal with Brooklyn, as Houston now looks to build toward a new future. Even with their big three in tow, the nets didn't stop adding brand-name players there. Blake Griffin, Lamarcus Aldridge and Paul Milsap, a trio with the combined 17 career all-star appearances, have brought their veteran skill sets to Brooklyn for the 2021 season, making the nets one of the deepest and most experienced teams assembled in the league. What might the future hold for Brooklyn's star-studded group? Only time will tell.