The dysfunctional Nets have on...

Steve Nash was dismissed, Sean Marks was disheveled and Kyrie Irving has his fingerprints on dismantling yet another team with championship aspirations. That’s three, if you’re keeping count. This is why Kevin Durant understood this dysfunction wasn’t gonna change, that this powder keg of bad ingredients was always due to explode and he tried to get ahead of the posse in asking out of Brooklyn. If Durant backed down from his summer trade demand only because he had to, what has occurred over the first two weeks of this season would give him hope that his worst fears aren’t reality?If nothing else, players know when they’re in a burning house, even if they don’t publicly admit it. And Durant has been in the penthouse many times over to know this has no chance of turning around. Trading him isn’t something the Nets appear to be considering, but Marks should revisit it if he truly wants to operate in the best interests of the organization. Perhaps foolishly, Marks believes Ime Udoka can rescue his franchise — the same way Marks is rescuing Udoka from the shame of misconduct in Boston. “We’re looking for somebody to have poise, charisma, accountability,” Marks said. “We’re not a finished product. We’re not playing up to our expectations or where we should be, so you hope this new coach can come in here and put this group in the best possible place to succeed.” In some way, it’s a perfect match of two sides, promising beginnings but internally flawed. Udoka and his brand of brutal honesty and connection with the underachieving Boston Celtics helped turn them around after Jan. 1, resulting in a trip to the NBA Finals. Does anyone see an NBA Finals roster with these Brooklyn Nets? Nash walked the plank, perhaps too inexperienced and too in over his head to handle all of the drama in his short time. But there’s hardly any coach who can take this roster through a stacked Eastern Conference, even if Durant is still at the top tier of individual players, alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Stephen Curry. The Nets made Durant acquiesce over the summer, especially after Utah’s Danny Ainge got the farm for Rudy Gobert, driving up the expected return for Durant. No team was willing to pay the freight considering how bad things looked. They look worse, but Durant could be rejuvenated in a new zip code and perhaps thankful he escaped from the NBA’s Arkham Asylum and its version of Two-Face. He’s still productive, but he and Irving are as bad a match on the floor as they are off it, it seems. Irving is a great soloist, but he can’t maximize Durant and Durant shouldn’t have to be in a position to be a connector — that was the beauty of James Harden when he was right (man, how long ago was that?). Irving can’t be bargained with, won’t blend in or back down because he sees it as weakness and will set afire everything he touches. Then he’ll walk away smoking a cigarette while it burns, Angela Bassett-style. And while on the subject, Marks has to own plenty of this, even though Irving is providing a decent bit of cover. The Nets are awash with 6-foot-3 guards but lack athleticism on the wings and legit size and girth at the rim. The Harden disaster was compounded by trading for a player in Ben Simmons who can very well be broken — having shown none of the flashes of an impact player, no growth and now possibly, no health. Now, it feels like a necessity for a much older man who now has to look to the remaining years of his prime and how to preserve them. Durant could very well be equally blessed and cursed. He looks like the stable one in the face of chaos, but when there’s too much stability and minimal drama, he has to create some noise. Right now, it’s time for a boom box and a bullhorn before Durant is wasted one more night.