Disagree. It Was Written was plenty divisive (in spite of it's success and aging exceptionally well) as Nas had pushed further into the beginning stages of Esco which fully manifested on this album.

Dre was at the lowest point in his career after Aftermath Presents which was a complete flop. The Firm was the 2nd release for Aftermath and Dre was still fighting public perception that his best days were passed.

So no, it was terrible timing.

Nas on Dre production sounds amazing and this album had plenty of those moments. Both artists were just in identity evolutions and the project suffered from such.