Will the Nets regret not trading Mikal Bridges?
The Brooklyn Nets have been in an interesting spot in the NBA ever since they traded away James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant within a year of each other. From that point on, Brooklyn has been where they chose their present over their future with one of the best players.
Mikal Bridges, acquired in the Durant trade, has been regarded as the best player on the team since his arrival in Brooklyn and the franchise has leaned into that as well. However, with all of the reports regarding how many rival teams were willing to offer to acquire Bridges, specifically the Houston Rockets, some have argued that going into a full rebuild was better than keeping Bridges.
For example, when the Nets first acquired Bridges, the Memphis Grizzlies offered Brooklyn four first-round picks for the chance to bring Bridges to Memphis, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype shortly following the trade last season.
Bridges’ trade value seemed to be at an all-time high during the trade deadline as even the Rockets considered offering most of Brooklyn’s first-round picks that they received in the James Harden trade, along with ascending, young guard Jalen Green, for the opportunity to bring in Bridges earlier this season.
What makes the conversation surrounding Bridges complicated is the same reasons that others have offered to trade him could be the same reasons to keep him. For example, Bridges is on one of the most valuable contracts in the NBA as he will be making $48.2 million over the next two seasons despite being one of the better wings in the league.
This past season was a disappointment for plenty of people who believed that Bridges could have been an All-Star based on how he ended the 2022-23 season averaging 26.1 points per game as the definitive primary scoring option.
Despite coming off a 2023-24 season where Bridges’ offense and defense dropped off significantly, there are still plenty of league personnel who regard Bridges as a valuable player in the NBA and that could be a reasons to trade him or keep him, depending on what Brooklyn is thinking at any point in time.
