“These days are never easy,” Marks said. “The trade deadline is one of those days that have an opportunity to acquire new players, tweak the team a little bit. I look forward to those opportunities, but at the same time it comes with people leaving your Nets family, and that’s never the easiest for anybody.”

The Nets first acquired Dennis Schröder and Thaddeus Young from the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie. Next, in a three-team deal with the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies, they acquired Keita Bates-Diop, Jordan Goodwin and second round draft picks in 2026, 2028 and 2029 in exchange for Royce O’Neale.

Both deals were completed by Thursday evening. Brooklyn waived Young and Harry Giles III. It will also waive Goodwin in the coming days, the Daily News confirmed, which leaves the team with one available roster spot as the regular season continues. Marks did not confirm whether the team will fill its vacant 15th roster spot.

“Like normal, we’ll canvas the league and see who else is out there,” he said. “We’re going to keep our options open for now, for sure.”

Schröder, 30, was averaging 13.7 points and 6.1 assists for Toronto this season, which signed him to a two-year, $26 million contract last summer. Marks said he is a player the team has “focused and followed” for years now.

“I was fortunate enough to be over and watch FIBA last offseason and saw him there as well,” Marks said. “It was great to see how he led Germany and what he did for that team. He brings a little toughness, grit, the things that we’re looking for. It’s going to be fun to get him amongst this locker room and help these guys compete and get out there.”

Schröder attended Thursday’s game at Barclays Center and had his introductory press conference afterward. He said the Raptors did not get in from Charlotte until early Thursday morning and his agent, Mark Bartlestein, woke him up from his sleep in the afternoon to inform him that he had been traded to Brooklyn. It took multiple attempts from Bartlestein until Schröder answered the phone. The news was obviously shocking.

“I mean, having a family, having three kids, a wife, it’s not easy,” Schröder said. “But at the end of the day, nothing really changed. Of course, I go to a new city, new situation; but at the end of the day, we play basketball for a living and really extremely grateful for it. And can’t wait to get to know everybody in the locker room, front office, everybody who is in this organization and get to work.”

Schröder said he ultimately does not care about the circumstances that brought him to Brooklyn. Now that he is here, his only concern is winning.

The Nets fell to 20-31 this season following Thursday’s loss. Schröder said he spent the first half back in the locker room completing his required physicals. He is expected to debut with Brooklyn on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs.

“I think in any team, when you put your egos to the side and it’s just about winning, I think that’s when you can reach your goals,” Schröder said. “At the end of the day, like I said, it’s my first day here, I knew a couple of guys already, but that’s what I’m about. You know, just being honest, honest conversations, and if you see something we can do better to help the team, we should do it… I think if we head into that direction, we will win a lot of games.”

Marks said creating future flexibility was the franchise’s priority on Thursday, perhaps to go star hunting in the summer for a player like Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists in his latest matchup against Brooklyn. The trades put the team about $11 million under the league’s luxury tax threshold.

“We’re looking way down the road here for us,” Marks said. “What’s fitting with our timetable, what’s fitting the group that we’re envisioning… So hopefully we accomplished some of those goals. I think we feel pretty good about it by adding the players we obviously added.

“We know we’re getting some immediate help with Dennis. We obviously like Keita Bates. We’re excited to bring Keita in here, have followed him since Ohio State, so we know the player well. But again, when you’re getting three future draft assets here, I couldn’t tell you how they’re going to be used. But that’s the opportunity for me, that’s the exciting thing for our group… With that said, we’re going to miss a player like Royce immensely. I think Phoenix knows exactly what they’re getting with him.”

Marks did not confirm what the Nets’ timetable will look like in this latest rebuild. He said right now the franchise is focused on player development, specifically guys on the younger end of the spectrum such as Mikal Bridges (27), Cam Thomas (22) and Nic Claxton (24).

“I don’t want to say we’re on a three, four-year timetable — it could be faster than that,” Marks said. “We’ve seen it move quicker in the past.”

Said Bridges, “Everybody just wants to get better and we got the guys to do it.”

And for fans who are unsure of the Nets’ current direction, Marks tried to address their concerns, too.

“I have the utmost faith in this group, this group of players and this staff to go out there and put a sustainable product on the floor,” he said. “That’s going to be a goal here, to compete night in and night out — something that the fans can get behind. The right brand of basketball. We’ve talked about the “Brooklyn grit” all the time. That’s what it takes to survive in this borough. That’s the brand that we’re going to have to play out there and that’s behind some of the acquisitions and trades that we’ve made over the course of the last 24 hours.”

The 30-year-old was traded to the Toronto Raptors earlier in the afternoon in exchange for Dennis Schröder and Thaddeus Young. Dinwiddie and Young were later released and will test the buyout market. Schröder will join the Nets in the coming days.

“I want everyone to have success in this league,” Vaughn said. “I appreciate Spencer for being a part of our group and want nothing but success for him moving forward.”

Schröder has one year left on his current deal worth $13 million. He averaged 13.7 points and 6.1 assists across 51 games for Toronto this season. Vaughn shared his thoughts on what he thinks the 30-year-old will bring to the Nets’ backcourt.

“I’ll look at it from a coaching perspective and what Dennis brings, I can give you that: A guy that is going to compete on a nightly basis, has the ability to get to the paint, thinks like a point guard where it’s sharing the basketball, getting the group set, getting downhill,” Vaughn said. “But a guy who’s won on a high level, whether that’s with his national team, and had commanded respect from that team and that coaching staff. So a guy that I look forward to coaching because of the competitive nature that he’ll bring to our locker room.”

INJURY UPDATES

Lonnie Walker IV, who missed his second straight game on Thursday because of left hamstring tightness, will likely return to the court on Saturday against the San Antonio Spurs. Meanwhile, Cam Johnson, who also missed his second straight game on Thursday, has already been ruled out for Saturday.

“That’s about as updated as I can give you,” Vaughn said. “We’ll see what Cam Johnson looks like next week, but Lonnie has the ability to possibly play on Saturday.”

Vaughn added that Day’Ron Sharpe, who has not played since Jan. 7 because of a hyperextended left knee, has yet to advance to contact work. He likely will not return to action until after the All-Star break.

No updates were provided for Dorian-Finney Smith, who missed his sixth straight game on Thursday.

SHORT-HANDED AGAIN

Perhaps the NBA should consider not playing games on trade deadline day at some point in the future, because already injured teams like the Nets who decide to shake up the roster become even more short-handed.

Brooklyn had just nine active players against Cleveland: Mikal Bridges, Cam Thomas, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Dennis Smith Jr., Trendon Watford, Jalen Wilson, Noah Clowney and Keon Johnson.

Wilson, a rookie forward out of Kansas, received his first NBA start in light of the Nets’ absences. Simmons started consecutive games for the first time since November. Bridges, Thomas and Claxton rounded out the first five on Thursday.

Young won’t stay on the Nets’ roster since the team intends to waive the veteran.

Dinwiddie began his second NBA stint with the Nets last season after the Dallas Mavericks traded him, Dorian Finney-Smith and future picks to Brooklyn as part of the Kyrie Irving deal. The 30-year-old started 48 games this season, averaging 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists on abysmal 39.1/32.0/78.1 splits.

Some drew conclusions throughout this season that Dinwiddie did not want to be a Net, citing different examples of poor body language and, at times, uninspired play. If Brooklyn was unable to trade Dinwiddie by the deadline, there was a rumor floating around social media on Wednesday night that he would be bought out. However, Dinwiddie debunked those rumors himself, saying that they were not true.

And while Dinwiddie was in the social media spotlight, he also said he has “never been a quitter” and everyone within the Nets’ locker room wanted to win.

The Athletic reported that Dinwiddie will be waived by Toronto to avoid paying a $1.5 million bonus in his contract for games played, so the buyout market is ultimately where he landed.

Dinwiddie will be replaced in Brooklyn’s rotation by Schröder, an 11-year NBA veteran who was the MVP of the FIBA World Cup last summer as Germany went undefeated and won gold. He has one year left on his current deal worth $13 million. He started 33 games for the Raptors this season, averaging 13.7 points and 6.1 assists on 44.2/35.0/85.2 splits.

Young, 35, was on an $8 million expiring deal and was slated to be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He was traded to Toronto two seasons ago and has also had stints in Philadelphia, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Indiana, Chicago and San Antonio. The 6-8 forward has appeared in just 23 games this season.

Shortly after the Dinwiddie-Schröder swap was announced, The News confirmed forward Royce O’Neale would be heading to the Phoenix Suns as part of a three-team deal with the Memphis Grizzlies.

O’Neale, who was traded from the Utah Jazz to Brooklyn last season, averaged 7.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists across 49 games this season, primarily as a reserve.

The full details of the trade are still murky, but as the Nets now look to open up roster spots with the Suns reportedly sending out three players on minimum salaries, Harry Giles III was the first casualty.

Giles, who returned to the NBA this season after missing the previous two, has been waived by Brooklyn. He appeared in just 16 games this season and has not been playing meaningful minutes in recent weeks, even with Finney-Smith and Day’Ron Sharpe injured.

Bridges’ name had been synonymous with winning everywhere he had been. The vibes he brought to the locker room were immaculate. His three-and-D skill set made him a perfect fit on just about any team. The tenacity he played with at both ends of the court is what made him a valued commodity in the NBA. So much so that when Kevin Durant wanted out of Brooklyn last season, the Nets swapped him for Bridges and Cam Johnson in a heartbeat.

Bridges’ initial arrival in Brooklyn was just about as good as it could get. Head coach Jacque Vaughn asked him to do more offensively than he ever had before. Suddenly he was averaging a career-best 26.1 points per game on 47.5/37.6/89.4 splits. Despite trading away Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, Bridges was still able to lead Brooklyn to a sixth seed in the playoffs last season.

Even though the team was ultimately swept by Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Bridges, it still overachieved and got there. The vibes were still immaculate — until they weren’t.

This season has been a different story for Bridges and company. One of disappointment. One of regression. The Nets are 10 games under .500 with the NBA trade deadline a day away and Bridges — who has started all 50 games for Brooklyn this season — has been forced to carry more than his fair share. On most nights he is asked to be the team’s top scorer, its top wing defender, all while trying to conjure the same infectious energy that made him such a valuable piece early in his NBA career.

Bridges has not been on a team 10 games under .500 since his second season with the Suns. Brooklyn’s postseason hopes appear to be slipping further away each game. He has not shown much life in the locker room or at the podium in recent weeks. That is because there has not been much for him to smile about.

“Obviously we’re not where we want to be right now but there’s still a shot,” Bridges said.

The over-usage is beginning to take its toll on his production. And the physiological shock of being shipped out of Phoenix in exchange for Durant last season — a place where he probably thought he would spend the rest of his NBA career — is probably taking a toll on his mind, too, in some way.

While Bridges is still averaging a healthy 21.9 points through his first 50 appearances, his scoring is certainly down from the 26.1 points he averaged over his first 27 games in a Brooklyn uniform. His effective field goal percentage (.528) is the lowest since his rookie season (.523), although he is attempting more shots than he has at any point in his career (16.9).

But that is the point. Bridges is not a volume scorer. He is not a No. 1 option, though he is talented enough to go off on heaters from time to time. The adjustments Bridges has made to his game in Brooklyn have been out of necessity for the situation he currently finds himself in. The player you see today is not necessarily who he is. Brooklyn also cannot afford to keep him off the court in long stretches, which is part of why he is averaging a career-high 35.3 minutes a night.

Bridges will never say it himself, but to be asked to do so much, and that effort not being reflected in the Nets’ success, must be exhausting. The 27-year-old needs help. Consistent. Reliable. Help. And with the trade deadline Thursday, the Nets still do not have a clear direction. Until Brooklyn gets Bridges some real support beyond Cam Thomas’ scoring, it will undoubtedly continue to stretch him thin.

Bridges has two years left on his current deal and will earn below $25 million each year. Numerous teams around the league have reportedly offered the Nets multiple first-round picks for him. So far all of those offers have been rejected.

Amid Irving’s 36-point performance at Barclays Center on Tuesday, a fan sitting near the court asked the Dallas Mavericks point guard why he didn’t play as well during his time with the Nets.

“Thank Mayor Adams for that, bro,” Irving replied, as seen in footage posted on X by the account @Courtsidenets.

His response referred to New York City’s former COVID-19 vaccine mandate, under which Irving was not eligible to play home games throughout much of the 2021-22 season because he declined to get vaccinated. The Nets kept Irving out of road games, too, during that season’s first two months.

Irving didn’t make his Barclays Center debut that season until the Nets’ 75th game after Adams exempted athletes from the mandate. Irving appeared in only 29 games that season, which was his third with Brooklyn.

I asked @KyrieIrving why he didn’t play like this when he was in the @BrooklynNets ? He told me to thank @NYCMayor for that #netsworld pic.twitter.com/RtG33m7fUR

— Courtside Nets (@Courtsidenets) February 7, 2024

The Nets granted Irving’s trade request last February and sent him to the Mavericks, ending a tumultuous three-and-a-half-year tenure in which he, Kevin Durant and James Harden only won one playoff series.

“Obviously, I fell short in terms of the championship aspirations but, for me, I think it was bigger than a championship here,” Irving said Tuesday after his Mavericks beat the Nets, 119-107.

Kyrie Irving doesn’t get tribute video from Nets, scores 36 points amid boos in return to Brooklyn

“I had to really take some moral stances that propelled me into a place in my life that I had to become accustomed to,” Irving continued. “There were some political things that were going on here as well that I couldn’t control, that I was responsible for. There were some things that I did on my own accord that I look back on, and they were mistakes, and I have to be accountable for those things. I’m not perfect, but one thing I can say is I’ve been able to learn from things.”

A representative for Adams declined comment Wednesday. The Mayor previously weighed in last February on Irving’s trade to Dallas, telling NY1’s Pat Kiernan he, too, would trade away a disgruntled employee if such deals existed in City Hall.

“No matter how much talent you have, your ability to interact with your colleagues is more important,” Adams said. “One player can bring down the synergy of the team, so I would send him to the team that beats us the most so we can start winning better.”

Pointing that out was not meant to be a slight toward sharpshooting forward. That is just not his role on this team. He averaged just 6.4 attempts per game entering the night. And when he is forced to jack up a ton of shots, as he did in the first half against Dallas, it is rarely a good omen for the Nets’ offense.

So it was not much of a surprise to see the Nets, who shot 38.3% as a team in the first half, trailing by 18 points at the break. Another cold shooting half, and a poor defensive effort through three quarters, were two factors that contributed to their 119-107 defeat.

But the outstanding play of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic were the deciding factors, as they combined for 71 points on 28-of-51 shooting.

“It’s difficult,” Bridges said. “Both [are] lethal scorers and willing to find other guys as well, so you see what they did tonight. But what they do when they’re both playing is tough to do. You just have to try to get as many stops as you can and play really good ball.”

Irving, who finished with a game-high 36 points, did not get a tribute video in his return to Barclays Center. Neither did James Harden last season. Kevin Durant got one when the Phoenix Suns visited Brooklyn last Wednesday. But Irving’s off-balance jumpers and spectacular drives to the rim were nationally televised on TNT for all to see. And the Nets, who allowed the Mavericks to shoot 50.5% from the field, did little to slow him down.

Bridges finished with a team-high 28 points for Brooklyn in the loss. Doncic, the NBA’s leading scorer, had 35 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists.

“We don’t have KD, [Kyrie], guys like that now,” Ben Simmons said. “So it’s more of a collective effort offensively and defensively. But it starts on defense.

Simmons had nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists in his first NBA start since Nov. 6. He believes his body is ready to return to the Nets’ starting lineup full time. He played 20 minutes against Dallas.

“I think I’m more useful starting than coming off the bench,” Simmons said.

The Nets (20-30) were without Cam Johnson (left adductor tightness), Lonnie Walker IV (left hamstring tightness), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension) on Tuesday, which prompted G League call-ups for Keon Johnson and rookies Jalen Wilson and Noah Clowney.

Head coach Jacque Vaughn went with a 10-man rotation to keep fresh bodies on the court at all times and it did not do the team any favors early. They had no rhythm on offense and offered little defensive resistance.

“It’s tough for them, tough for us,” Bridges said. “We don’t have that much time together. We don’t have practice with them or they don’t play in the games. So the continuity is… knowing what we’re doing offensively and defensively is tough. But the [G League] guys did a good job coming in, playing hard and playing the right way.”

However, trailing by 18 points entering the fourth quarter, the Nets made a final stand. They knocked down five of seven 3-point attempts to start the final frame and cut Dallas’ lead nine with 7:54 left. Then a 3-point play from Spencer Dinwiddie made it a six-point game with 5:20 left.

“Extremely pleased that our guys showed some resilience and some fight,” Vaughn said.

But there would be no comeback on Irving’s watch. The eight-time All-Star responded with his fifth and sixth treys of the night to push Dallas’ lead back to 12 with 4:23 left — and those clutch shots proved to be the daggers.

Clowney played just four minutes on Tuesday, finishing with a dunk and a rebound. But Wilson played 18 minutes, including seven in the fourth quarter, and contributed 10 points, four rebounds and two assists in his first NBA appearance since Jan. 3.

“I just thought overall, his energy, we needed it,” Vaughn said of Wilson. “I felt it out there on the floor. I thought he had a great pace about him, whether it was going after a rebound, whether it was shooting an open 3, whether it was trying to defend with physicality, he checked all those boxes.”

The Nets will continue their homestand on Thursday against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Instead, the Nets issued a brief, grouped-together “welcome back” to Irving, Seth Curry and Markieff Morris as their Dallas Mavericks visited Barclays Center on Tuesday.

That was invitation enough for Nets fans to boo their former superstar.

A filling-in crowd jeered Irving as he took the court to warm up, then grew louder when the “welcome back” message emerged on the jumbotron. Fans grew louder yet during Irving’s introduction as a Mavericks starter and, once the game began, continued to boo the polarizing point guard every time he touched the ball.

But Irving didn’t need a tribute video to remind Nets fans of what they’re missing. As he did so many times as a member of the Nets, Irving delivered a dominant display at Barclays Center, exploding for a game-high 36 points on 15-of-24 shooting in Dallas’ 119-107 win.

“Obviously, it was emotional,” Irving said afterward. “You could see my emotions running out there, but after that, just pretty much focused on winning the basketball game.”

Irving began the game in attack mode, scoring nine of the Mavericks’ first 14 points. His 3-pointer at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter prompted a Nets timeout. A pair of contested 3-pointers in the second quarter earned groans from the home crowd, as did his one-handed alley-oop dunk shortly after halftime. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Irving with under five minutes left in the game served as the daggers.

Tuesday marked one year to the day that the Nets granted Irving’s trade request, sending him to Dallas for a package that included Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith.

The deal ended a tumultuous three-and-a-half year tenure in which Irving dazzled on the court but repeatedly made headlines off of it. He missed much of the 2021-2022 campaign after declining to meet New York City’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, then served a team-imposed eight-game suspension last season after sharing a link to a documentary that critics slammed as anti-Semitic.

“Conversations that needed to be had weren’t had before the trade deadline,” Irving said Tuesday. “I don’t know if anything needed to be salvaged. I just think it was time to get my own peace of mind and go somewhere where I was able to thrive and be in a situation where I didn’t have to worry about behind-the-back talk or the media talk or not knowing how to able to handle real-life circumstances that [have] nothing to do with the game of basketball.”

No pregame tribute video for Kyrie Irving like the one Kevin Durant received in his first game back at Barclays Center last week.

Instead, the #Nets issue a brief “welcome back” to Irving, Seth Curry and Markieff Morris pic.twitter.com/Wrahjo7s6z

— Peter Sblendorio (@petersblendorio) February 7, 2024

Irving’s return brought a buzz to the sold-out Barclays Center. Amid his offensive outburst, a fan asked Irving why he didn’t play as well with Brooklyn, as seen in footage posted on social media by the account @Courtsidenets. Irving replied, “Thank Mayor Adams for that,” in a clear reference to the city’s former vaccine requirement.

“His emotions are as good as they come,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said of Irving. “He uses the crowd. He uses his teammates. He did a great job of that tonight. … As a vet, as a superstar, there’s never a panic in his game. He just uses the forces around him.”

Irving – who grew up in West Orange, N.J., as a Nets fan – and Durant joined the team before the 2019-20 season, bringing with them championship aspirations. Those sky-high expectations rose even higher when Brooklyn added another superstar, James Harden, midway through the 2020-21 season.

Injuries limited Irving to 20 games in his first season with Brooklyn. The next year, a sprained ankle cost Irving the last three games of an Eastern Conference Semifinals that the Nets lost in seven games to the eventual NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.

In the end, Irving averaged 27.1 points per game over 143 games with Brooklyn but won only one playoff series. His trade to Dallas came a year after the Nets sent Harden to Philadelphia, and three days before they shipped Durant to Phoenix.

“I have no idea what’s going to happen, what’s going to be said out there,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said before Tuesday’s game. “What I do know from my time with Kai is a tremendous amount of respect that he and I have for each other. It was a joy for me to coach him. He is an unbelievable basketball player and we had some success together.”

In October, before the Nets faced the Mavericks in Dallas in their first meeting since the trade, Irving said asking out of Brooklyn was the “best decision” of his career. He scored 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting in that first matchup, which the Mavericks won, 125-120.

Irving is averaging 25.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists for the Mavericks, who improved to 28-23 with Tuesday’s win. Their backcourt pairing of Irving and Luka Doncic – who erupted Tuesday for 35 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists – represent one the NBA’s most dynamic duos.

“He’s an amazing guy,” Doncic said of Irving, reflecting on the one-year anniversary of his running mate’s arrival. “Obviously, an amazing player. We have a great relationship.”

Irving’s return came six days after Durant played his first game at Barclays Center since being sent to the Suns. Durant received a 30-second tribute video, during which a sold-out crowd mostly cheered for him. Nets fans then booed Durant every time he touched the ball, but he, too, dominated his former team, scoring a game-high 33 points in Phoenix’s 136-120 win.

The Nets, still searching for their identity without Irving and Durant, fell Tuesday to 20-30 and remain outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Irving says he’s at peace with what transpired in Brooklyn.

“If I didn’t get injured versus the Bucks, do I still ask for a trade?” Irving said. “If [Durant’s] foot wasn’t on the 3-point line [in a Game 7 loss to Milwaukee], are we talking about a different legacy here? If James doesn’t ask for a trade. All of the woulda, coulda, shoulda, wouldas, hopefully, after this night we can just put that to rest and just move forward.”

Brooklyn was without Cam Johnson (left adductor tightness), Lonnie Walker IV (left hamstring tightness), Dorian Finney-Smith (left ankle sprain) and Day’Ron Sharpe (left knee hyperextension) against the Dallas Mavericks, which left the team with eight active players signed to standard NBA deals.

“We’re just standing in the tightness bucket right now,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said before Tuesday’s game.

Ben Simmons returned from his latest one-game absence at an ideal time. He sat out the front end of Brooklyn’s back-to-back, Monday’s 109-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors, for precautionary reasons.

Vaughn said Johnson and Walker both underwent MRI exams on Tuesday to assess the severity of their injuries. An update on their status will be provided in the coming days.

Johnson finished with 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists in two blocks against the Warriors on Monday. He left the game with 10:51 left in regulation and did not return. Walker, who missed 17 straight games earlier in the season because of a left hamstring strain, played just five minutes in the first quarter.

To make up for the lack of healthy bodies, Jalen Wilson, Noah Clowney and Keon Johnson were called up from the G League. The last time all three appeared in the same NBA game was Dec. 27 against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“That’s all we got,” Vaughn said.

Wilson (17 points, 16 rebounds), Clowney (15 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks) and Johnson (19 points) all played well in Long Island’s 118-116 over Raptors 905 on Monday night. Tuesday’s game with the big club offered another opportunity for growth, no matter how many minutes they ultimately received.

“That part’s been really cool for me to see, because I get a chance to see them on video and all of them from Keon, Jalen, Noah,” Vaughn said. “And so I get a chance to see those dudes and see the progress… When we started changing our defense with the Nets, so did Long Island, and so there’s a synergy between us that we’re always communicating with each other.”

SIMMONS STARTS

The Nets’ plan was to ease Simmons back into action after he missed 38 straight games because of a pinched nerve in his lower back. However, given the team’s frontcourt situation on Tuesday, Vaughn was forced to start Simmons for the first time since Nov. 6, which was Simmons’ last game before his inactive streak began.

However, Vaughn did not outright tell reporters that Simmons was starting ahead of the game. He preferred to keep them guessing.

“The last time y’all asked me about starting, I got backlash for that, too,” Vaughn said. “Not one person… Who’s coaching the All-Star game? [Chris] Finch and Doc Rivers? None of them have said this is my starting unit for the rest of the year. I guarantee that. No coach does. I’m going to ask coach Van Gundy when he comes in. Did he say 50 games in, these are my starters for the rest of the year? No, that’s not how it works. You deal with the terrain you have and the hand that you’re dealt. We’ve had injuries and my objective is always to put a unit out there that’s going to compete and fit with the second unit around it.”

Simmons started the game with Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Cam Thomas and Nic Claxton. It was the first time Brooklyn had used that starting lineup this season.

CREDIT IS DUE

Dennis Smith Jr. had another terrific game off the bench in Monday’s loss to Golden State, finishing with 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists, two blocks and two steals in 31 minutes. It was just another example of just how far he’s come as a player since being drafted ninth overall by Dallas in 2017.

While the 26-year-old has been a journeyman throughout his career, he continues to play some of his best basketball this season in Brooklyn. And his impact, especially on defense, has been beyond that of players who are typically signed to one-year, veteran minimum deals.

“I love seeing the growth of guys,” Vaughn said. “And seeing where he started in the league and where he is now, his journey is different from the next dude in the locker room. He is a guy that we use his voice in the locker room. And his defensive intensity even the other night. The ability to climb into the basket and create when needed is something we miss when he isn’t playing. And so, we will need it tonight whether he is picking up Luka [Doncic], whether he is guarding Ky, all the above. He has the ability to do so.”

Both teams will be playing in the second game of a back-to-back set.

Irving’s return comes six days after Kevin Durant played his first game back in Brooklyn, a 136-120 win for the Phoenix Suns in which Durant finished with a game-high 33 points. Luka Doncic, the NBA’s second-leading scorer who averages 34.5 points per game, is listed as questionable entering the day because of a nasal contusion.

It will be Kyrie’s show if Doncic cannot go. So Irving, assuming he plays, could be poised for a big night in front of a Barclays Center crowd that will undoubtedly be hostile in nature, given Irving’s messy departure from Brooklyn.

The Nets (20-29) are coming off a 109-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Monday night, while Dallas collected its 27th win of the season on Monday against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center.

“Yeah, it’s the next game for us,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said. “I want our group to be concerned about playing the Dallas Mavericks. That’s all I’m really concerned about, for us to turn the page and try to get a win [today].”

Durant received a tribute video about 24 seconds in length in his return to Barclays Center last Wednesday despite explicitly stating he did not want one. James Harden, another member of the Nets’ failed Big 3 experiment, did not get one when he returned to Brooklyn for the first time as a member of the 76ers on Feb. 11 of last season. However, Harden ultimately got the last laugh by sweeping his former team last postseason.

Whether Irving gets a tribute video on Tuesday night remains to be seen. He probably does not care either way. He made it clear on Monday night that he believes return games should be normalized instead of hyped.

“Obviously there’s some history there,” Irving told Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News following Monday’s game. “There’s a competitive edge that you have going into each game when you play against your former team. It’s not like, uncommon. It’s been happening for years in the league… But I was just saying that to say, let’s just normalize the emotions that go into those games, playing against your former team instead of making it such a big deal of, ‘are you ready for it?’”

Cam Thomas, for one, is excited to face off against his former teammate mentor.

“It’s good to have the competition. They’re the moments I live for,” Thomas said. “I always want to play against guys at my position like that. At the end of the day he’s still my brother, but I still have to go at him no matter what. So it will definitely be good, him playing here.”

“That’s just a part of our world,” head coach Jacque Vaughn said. “It’s on me to get our group to adapt whether that’s different lineups, different substitution patterns, when he’s in, when he’s out.”

Buckets were hard to come by for both teams Monday night — especially from distance. The Nets held Golden State to 38.3% shooting in the first half and went into the locker room with a 49-43 advantage. But the Warriors, led by Jonathan Kuminga and Stephen Curry, quickly became the aggressors in the second half, outscoring Brooklyn 32-21 in the third quarter to take a five-point lead into the final frame.

The Nets’ largest lead in the first half was nine points. Golden State made just two 3-pointers in the first half, both from Curry, and turned the ball over 10 times.

Royce O’Neale did his best to keep the Nets in it down the stretch. He knocked down three 3-pointers in just over a minute to cut the Warriors’ lead to four with 7:37 left in regulation. But Curry responded with five straight points and suddenly the Warriors were getting to the rim just about whenever it wanted. A Brandin Podziemski layup put Golden State up 11 with 5:41 to play.

The Nets’ frustration boiled over with 4:59 left, when Nic Claxton slammed Podziemski onto the hardwood while trying to prevent him from grabbing another offensive rebound.

The play was reviewed. Referees found Claxton’s actions aggressive and unnecessary. He was ejected soon after, which spoiled a night where he tied a career-high with six blocks. Claxton was also Brooklyn’s most efficient scorer on Monday, converting on 7-of-9 attempts.

“I did sense and feel his frustration because we’re asking him to do a ton and he needs his teammates to cover his back when he’s guarding guys and blocking shots,” Vaughn said. “They have to come back and help him rebound.”

The Warriors went 13-for-22 in the fourth quarter (59.1%) and outscored Brooklyn 34-28. Curry, who finished with a game-high 29 points, poured in 12 in the final frame. Golden State outrebounded them 60-38, including 10 on the offensive glass. The absences of Simmons, Day’Ron Sharpe and Dorian Finney-Smith were felt.

“Just have to be better,” Cam Thomas said. “We rebounded well last game, had a setback today, but we just have to be better. Part of it [was] going small.”

Kumina added 28 points on 9-of-18 shooting for the Warriors. Cam Thomas led the Nets with 18 points but did it on a 4-of-21 clip (10-of-11 from the free throw line. Thomas, O’Neale, Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie shot a combined 17-for-60 from the field. It was ugly.

The Nets (20-29) had won three of four games entering Monday night.

“Last game we made [shots]. This game we missed them. It goes up and down,” O’Neale said.

The Nets (20-29) had won three of their last four games entering Monday night.

Lonnie Walker IV left the game with 1:20 left in the first quarter and did not return. Left hamstring tightness was the initial diagnosis. He had missed 17 straight games earlier in the season because of a left hamstring strain.

Vaughn stuck with a seven-man rotation after Walker went down. Trendon Watford and Harry Giles III did not play.

“I thought that [seven-man] group, I was going to ride those guys tonight,” Vaughn said.

It will be a quick turnaround for the Nets, who return to action on Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks. It will be Kyrie Irving’s first game back at Barclays Center since last season’s trade, assuming he plays.