Katz: Brooklyn Nets continue to resist offers for Mikal Bridges who they see as a ‘co-star’
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It is the never ending story and we ain’t talking about the 1984 fantasy film. Instead it’s whether the Nets will accept the prospect of rebuilding and trade Mikal Bridges. It’s hardly news ... if it’s news at all. The Nets are not interested in trading Mikal Bridges, not to the Houston Rockets, certainly not to the New York Knicks. They remain committed to the 27-year-old. As The Athletic’s Fred Katz wrote Friday in his admittedly speculative off-season appraisal of the Knicks, the Nets see Bridges as a “co-star” to whatever superstar they might acquire.
According to league sources, Brooklyn’s front office has told teams it views Bridges as a co-star to whichever big name it can trade for down the line. That’s the organization’s long-term plan — though all it takes for the blueprint to change is one hint from Bridges that he wouldn’t re-sign in a couple of seasons.
For the record, Bridges contract, universally seen as one of the best in the NBA, is eligible for a three-year, $113 million extension in short window between October 1 and October 22. Alternately, he can wait till his current deal ends in 2026, bet on himself and get a bigger contract.
At this point though, Sean Marks & co. keep saying no — “No” to the No. 3 pick in this year’s draft; “No” to the return of “several” of their remaining draft assets held by the Rockets; “No” to Houston’s Jaylen Green plus picks; “No” to offers of up to five first rounders per Woj. “Hoards of first rounders,” as Katz describes the offers.
It is literally a bet-the-franchise risk for Marks and Joe Tsai. Virtually every pundit believes the Nets should use whatever assets they can get for Bridges and execute a tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild. Yossi Gozlan of CapSheets.com added his voice to the mix on Friday as well, with aa comprehensive look as you will find on the Nets future...
As Gozlan argues, the Nets current plan of using Bridges etc. to lure a bigger star should be viewed with a lot of skepticism.
“When weighing the downside,” he notes, “I just feel that I would strongly getting my picks back for Bridges, if that opportunity is still available. It’s totally possible by the time an All-Star does become available and does want to go to Brooklyn. enough time would have passed that they may have been better off spending this next year or two rebuilding through the draft and accumulating more assets and developing guys.”
And as Katz writes, GMs see Bridges as a valuable keystone if not a super star. He describes how he’d fit into the Knicks where, as every fan in the city knows, he’d be playing with three former Villanova championship teammates (two of whom dissed the Nets a couple of days ago.)
He’s a defensive stopper who could slot into massive lineups alongside Anunoby, Julius Randle and a center. He could slide down a spot and play forward next to Anunoby with DiVincenzo and Brunson at guard. He’s not a No. 1 option, but Bridges can run a pick-and-roll, score off the dribble and is a highly efficient shooter when he’s around other creators.
Beyond that, there’s his durability, his popularity among NBA stars and his winning ways. Since 2016, Bridges has won two NCAA championships and been part of an NBA Finals team.
Katz even suggests a Bridges trade of his own.
If the Nets were to break it down, the Knicks could present an enticing offer: Lots of unprotected first-round picks, protected ones from other teams, first-round swaps and Bojan Bogdanović to make the money-matching work.
Of course, as Katz admits, the Nets and Knicks don’t do trades (unless you count the Tsais’ straight-up theft of the New York Liberty five years ago.) The last proper trade between the two clubs took place 41 years and five Nets ownership groups ago. Per Bobby Marks it was Len Elmore for a second rounder.
The Nets don’t want to give up the better player and then get clowned for handing the Knicks their first title in five decades.
Also, it would appear the optimum time for a Bridges trade has passed. He struggled after the deadline and one of the Rockets big asset, the Nets pick in this year’s draft got a lot more valuable in the lottery, jumping from No. 9 to No. 3 overall. That doesn’t seem to bother the front office. They’re committed to Mikal Bridges for better or worse.
Like we said, not much news here.
Meanwhile, Brian Lewis takes a look at the Nets more pressing situtation, finding a starting point guard. particularly now with Dennis Schroder’s plea for a new deal and Ben Simmons’ uncertain rehab from his second back surgery. Bottom line: Lewis thinks that there’s a good chance that Schroder gets traded for more draft capital that in turn could be used to acquire someone like Tyus Jones, the 28-year-old Wizards point guard.
So the Nets still find themselves with question marks at the important position.
It should be noted that Nets general manager Sean Marks usually makes a move within a day or two of the draft, the first round of which takes place June 26 at Barclays Center.
Do they move Schroder to add draft capital?
If so, who would they target as a starter? Some league personnel have suggested unrestricted free agent Tyus Jones.
But is the 28-year-old Jones that much better than the 30-year-old Schroder? Their stats last season were virtually identical and Schroder is a free agent while Jones would require a long term deal, perhaps the three-year MLE starting at $12.9 million. That’s $166,000 less than what Schroder will make this year but giving Jones anything more than a one year deal would cut into the Nets available cap space in 2025 ... and that, more than anything else, remains the Nets bottom line.
Paul George? KAT? Which stars could the Knicks target and how would they fit? ($) - Fred Katz - The Athletic
Dennis Schroder reiterates desire to remain a Net: ‘Stick around for the long haul’ - Brian Lewis - New York Post
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