The Brooklyn Nets have continuously signaled that they intend to keep Mikal Bridges past the February 8th trade deadline. With a stockpile of draft picks after trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the team hopes to acquire a star to pair with Bridges in the near future, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
“They are telling everybody no on Mikal Bridges,” Wojnarowski said on The Woj Pod. “From the day they got Mikal Bridges, they’ve been offered a ton: four [first-round] picks, five [first-round] picks. There’s nowhere he doesn’t fit, but they love Bridges there, they wanna bring in the next big player. Everybody wants to play with Mikal Bridges, and so you hope that they want to do it in Brooklyn.”
The Nets have notably been unwilling to entertain offers for Bridges from the Rockets, who are prepared to return several of Brooklyn's draft picks from the James Harden trade. While the move would allow the Nets to reset and enter a proper rebuild, the team reportedly has no interest in doing so at this time.
General manager Sean Marks has seven tradable first-round picks, including three distant unprotected firsts from Phoenix (2027, 2029) and Dallas (2029), which should be highly coveted. With that in mind, the Nets appear intent on waiting for a marquee name to join Bridges, who has averaged 23.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists on 46/37/85 shooting splits since joining the team.
But with no stars on the markets at the deadline, the question remains: who will that player be?
What star could the Nets be targeting?
Donovan Mitchell has been linked to Brooklyn over the last year. The Cavaliers star has shown well-documented interest in returning to play in his hometown. Mitchell is entering the final year of his contract next season and has been unwilling to sign an extension with Cleveland thus far.
Beyond that, it's unclear who the Nets could target in the coming year. Joel Embiid was considered a flight risk in Philadelphia at the start of this season, with James Harden forcing his way out. However, Tyrese Maxey's emergence stabilized the situation, and Embiid suffered a meniscus injury that has cast uncertainty on his NBA future.
Giannis Antetokounmpo appeared to be another star candidate to enter the trade market in the coming year. However, the Milwaukee Bucks responded to public pressure from the two-time MVP this summer, trading for Damian Lillard, after which Antetokounmpo signed a three-year max extension.
The quiet trade deadline market will leave the Nets in wait-and-see mode. The team is listening to offers on veterans Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O'Neale and Spencer Dinwiddie ahead of Thursday. However, Bridges appears to be safe. The 27-year-old is under contract through 2025-25 at $24 million annually, presenting Brooklyn the opportunity to re-evaluate his market in the coming year.
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