Ex-Net Temple thinks Brooklyn trio can thrive
The Bulls have dealt with superteams before, losing in the playoffs to both Boston's Big Three and Miami's Power Trio in postseasons past.
Next up is Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden in Brooklyn after the blockbuster trade sending Harden from the Rockets on Thursday.
Bulls guard Garrett Temple played for Brooklyn last season. He got to see Irving and Durant up close, although Durant missed the full season with an Achilles injury and Irving played in just 20 games.
"I think it's going to be interesting," Temple said Friday. "Brooklyn has a lot of firepower, man, a lot of firepower now. So it's going to be interesting how (coach) Steve (Nash) is able to get those guys to mesh and see how they use the guys around them. It's an interesting trade and the basketball world, we'll all see what happens."
The Nets gave up a bunch of future draft picks, along with three rotation players. Caris Levert ended up in Indiana, while Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince went to Cleveland.
The general rule when NBA stars have gathered on the same team is they usually find a way to make it work. Boston won a championship in its first year with Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
It took Miami two seasons to win a title with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. That group might be more similar to the Brooklyn trio. What the Heat usually did was just take turns running plays for James and Wade, while Bosh served mostly as a spot-up shooter.
"I think the Miami one is a little more like this one where you've got two ball-dominant guys," Temple said. "Then, in my opinion, the best guy on the team, KD, the best scorer maybe ever to put on basketball shoes, is the guy that doesn't really need the ball to still be able to get his shots up.
"So that's going to be interesting, but you saw it worked in Houston when James and Chris (Paul) were together, they had a really good run. Like I said, they're basketball players. They played together on teams before in the Olympics, so I think they'll find a way to make it work, especially on the offensive end."
Brooklyn's three players actually didn't play in the Olympics together, but all three combinations of two players were USA Basketball teammates, between the 2012 and '16 Olympic teams and 2014 FIBA World Cup squad.
Temple suffered a sprained ankle late in last Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and is questionable for Friday's game in Oklahoma City.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls