Mikal Bridges Understands Suns Trading Him to Nets at Deadline: 'It's KD. I Get It'
Being traded away from a team for a player they prefer, and having your life uprooted in the process—especially in the middle of the season—can't be easy for NBA players.
But Mikal Bridges hardly blamed the Phoenix Suns for packaging him in the deal that landed them Kevin Durant.
"It's KD," Bridges told reporters. "I get it."
Bridges and the four unprotected first-round picks (2023, 2025, 2027 and 2029) were the main assets the Nets received from the Suns in return for Durant. Brooklyn also got back Cam Johnson and a 2028 first-round pick swap, while the Suns received T.J. Warren alongside Durant.
It was a huge package for the Nets, who also brought back Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, an unprotected 2029 first-rounder and two second-rounders (2027, 2029) in exchange for Kyrie Irving and Markieff Morris.
The deals officially put an end to the short-lived and ill-fated superteam that Durant and Irving had attempted to create when orchestrating moves to Brooklyn and left the Nets with a deep but star-deprived roster of excellent role players.
Alongside the aforementioned players, Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, Joe Harris, Seth Curry, Cam Thomas and Royce O'Neale remain in Brooklyn. Dinwiddie, Claxton and Bridges are safe bets to regularly start, while players like Johnson, Harris and Curry will battle for the other starting spot on the wing and Finney-Smith, Simmons, Crowder and O'Neale all are possible starters at the 4.
Given Simmons' shooting woes and his poor fit next to a fellow non-shooter in Claxton, he's likely to remain on the bench as the backup point guard.
The Nets could also go hyper-small with the backup unit, utilizing Simmons as a hybrid point guard on offense and center on defense.
On Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets went with a starting 5 of Dinwiddie, Johnson, Bridges, Finney-Smith and Claxton.
Bridges, 26, is one of the game's best young two-way, 3-and-D wings, averaging 17.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 38.7 percent from three.
He'll likely have an even bigger role still in Brooklyn, without a clear star on the roster. Changing destinations may not be easy, but when a superstar and future Hall of Famer like Durant is going the other way—and you still land on a team pushing for a playoff spot—it's an easier transition to embrace.
