Mock trade has Nets sending Mikal Bridges to Trail Blazers for 3rd overall pick
The Brooklyn Nets and the Portland Trail Blazers have been linked to each other for the past couple of months ever since Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard showed up to Barclays Center to watch Game 3 of Brooklyn first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers in person. There have been rumors coming out the woodworks about the Nets pulling off a trade for Lillard especially since Portland seems poised for a rebuild that Lillard wants no parts of.
With the notion that Brooklyn could be leaning towards trying to win rather than rebuild, given the fact that they do not control their draft picks for the next few seasons, the Nets have been linked to various teams regarding players that can help Brooklyn win now. More to the point, most mock trades involving Brooklyn and Portland have been centered around some type of deal where the Nets get Lillard for a package involving draft picks and a promising young player or two like Mikal Bridges and/or Nic Claxton.
This recent mock trade by Bleacher Report is interesting as the hypothetical deal is between the Nets and the Trail Blazers, but Lillard is not part of the deal. Is something like that even worth considering for Brooklyn?
The mock trade
Brooklyn Nets receive: Nassir Little, Shaedon Sharpe, No. 3 pick, No. 23 pick
Portland Trail Blazers receive: Mikal Bridges, Nicolas Claxton
Should the Nets do this trade?
This deal is interesting. For one, Lillard not being part of the deal seems like a letdown. However, getting two players who can be important parts of a rotation (in addition to Sharpe’s upside) and two draft picks that could net future stars could be something worth considering if Brooklyn is unable to pull off deals for players like Lillard and Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae Young. Brooklyn already has the 21st and 22nd overall picks in this year’s draft so getting the 23rd overall pick could ensure that they control the draft outside of the lottery or could give them leverage to entice a team who needs multiple young players right away.
Verdict: No, the Nets should not do this trade, but it is interesting to say the least
What B/R thinks of the trade
“The Houston Rockets control the Nets’ next four first-rounders after this year, with outright ownership in 2024 and 2026, and then unprotected swap rights in 2025 and 2027. That gives Brooklyn plenty of incentive to avoid hitting reset.
This jibes with recent reporting. The Nets aren’t looking to move Bridges, and the combination of No. 3 and Shaedon Sharpe won’t change their mind according to The Athletic’s Alex Schiffer.
This feels extreme. The third overall pick gets the Nets Scoot Henderson or Brandon Miller. Sharpe was drafted seventh overall last year and doesn’t turn 20 until May 30. Getting both for Bridges is worth consideration. He may be a rising star on one of the league’s best contracts (three years, $69.9 million), but he’ll celebrate his 27th birthday in August. Graduating into top-20-player territory would be one of the all-time developmental anomalies.
If Brooklyn is really turning down a pair of top-seven prospects for Bridges, it better plan to acquire a marquee name of its own. Slow-building around him, without many of your own firsts, is a ticket to the middle.”
