Mock trade has Nets trading Mikal Bridges and picks for Trae Young
The Brooklyn Nets had a successful 2022-23 season given the circumstances that the organization dealt with over the course of the campaign. The franchise had to deal with a coaching transition from Steve Nash to Jacque Vaughn, controversy with Kyrie Irving, and eventually ended up trading Kevin Durant and Irving.
After the trades of Durant and Irving, Brooklyn went from a title contender to a team scrapping to avoid the play-in scenario and make the playoffs outright. The Nets achieved that as they finished with the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference before getting swept in the first round by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Since the trade deadline, while one could argue that while Brooklyn was deeper in terms of players that can contribute, the team lacked a superstar-level guys despite the awesome play of wing Mikal Bridges. In this mock trade suggested by Vincent Frank of Sportsnaut.com, the Nets get their superstar to pair with Bridges and give themselves a better chance of being a title contender in the East:
The Mock Trade:
Brooklyn Nets receive: Trae Young
Atlanta Hawks receive: Mikal Bridges, Joe Harris, and two 1st-round picks
Should the Nets do this trade?
If Brooklyn is looking to be as competitive as possible in the postseason, they have to acquire another star-caliber player to pair with Bridges. While Bridges showed that he has the potential to be a star one day, the playoffs showed that the Nets needed someone to step up when Bridges struggled shooting the ball.
Young is an offensive superstar as he has one of the best combinations of scoring and facilitating in the league. Young is the type of player that can set the table for guys like Bridges and also maximize Nic Claxton as a lob threat within the offense.
Ultimately, this hypothetical trade involves the Nets trading Bridges for Young and that would be a less-than-ideal situation for Brooklyn. The Nets would then have an issue over having a player who can definitely be the second-scoring option on a title contender and it’s worth wondering if Spencer Dinwiddie or Cam Johnson can fill that role at this point of their careers.
Verdict: No, the Nets should not do this trade.
What Sportsnaut thinks of the trade
“We can envision a scenario where general manager Sean Marks goes big-game hunting in order to find another star. The Nets were surprising following the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in February. However, they didn’t have that star power to go up against the big boys back east. Being swept by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs was a primary example of this.
Young brings that star power. He’s still not in his prime. He has an ability to be a 30-point per game scorer. The New York market might also be attractive to the guard. A move of this ilk would create an initial starting five of Trae Young, Cam Thomas, Cameron Johnson, Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton in Brooklyn. Not too shabby with other assets to potentially be able to move off Simmons.”
