Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks saw an opportunity to build a war chest of draft capital and took it.
By trading star wing Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks — a deal that was finalized on Sunday — the Nets went from a bare cupboard of draft picks to a surplus, acquiring five future first-round picks, a future first-round pick swap, and a future second-rounder along with Bojan Bogdanovic, Shake Milton, and Mamadi Diakite.
“I think it’s numerous factors when you’re weighing the situation we find ourselves in as a team,” Marks said (h/t SNY). “It’s a difficult decision because Mikal was a focal point of this organization. When you have an offer like we did from New York, that sets us up on a very, very clear pathway to continue to build this team.”
The Nets are in desperate need of an overhaul after a second failed “Big 3” experiment in the last decade, this time featuring Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden, fizzled out to nothing.
Rather than trying to buy their way toward contention after a 32-50 2023-24 season, Brooklyn appears to be attempting to build its ranks through the draft. Bridges was undoubtedly their top player, averaging 19.6 points per game while shooting 37.2% from three-point range in 82 games.
His skill set as a 3-and-D option from the shooting-guard position was too good for the Knicks to pass up as they continue their search for the final piece that could make them legitimate championship contenders. Jalen Brunson has established himself as an All-Star and re-signing OG Anunoby to a five-year deal last week ensures their identity as a hard-nosed, defensive team stays very much intact.
Bridges can adopt that role with front-line-worthy numbers, thus allowing the Knicks’ depth to grow with the likes of Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart manning the reserve ranks. A team that reached the Eastern Conference semifinals this season just got a whole lot better, hence why Knicks president Leon Rose was so willing to part with so much of his draft capital.
“Leon and I talked for a couple days and it moved very very quickly,” Marks said. ‘You could tell how interested they were in adding Mikal to their group which had been talked bout for a variety of different reasons. Mikal didn’t know until I called him and said ‘Hey, look, we’re getting down here.'”
Bridges now reunites with Brunson, DiVincenzo, and Hart — all four of whom were members of Villanova’s 2016 national championship-winning squad. While the former college teammates often stayed in touch, Marks felt the need to set the record straight in clarifying that Bridges never asked out of Brooklyn.
“I think it’s been reported that Mikal wanted to leave or requested a trade,” Marks said. “That could not be further from the truth. That’s just not in Mikal’s character. That’s not who he is.”
