For the second consecutive year, the Brooklyn Nets are entering an offseason of uncertainty. Last summer centered on trade requests from superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. With both out the door, the questions now surround which direction the Nets take with their younger, yet still experienced core.
Do they push their chips in and pursue a top option such as Damian Lillard? Do they sell high on their budding young starters and reset the timeline completely? Or do they stay the course and give the roster a full season with upgrades around the margins?
The answer will revolve around their decision on breakout forward Mikal Bridges. The 26-year-old drew leaguewide recognition following a midseason trade to Brooklyn, averaging 27.7 points on 47/38/89 shooting splits while maintaining his elite defense. However, with reports that the Trail Blazers and Rockets will shop the third and fourth picks in this year's draft in return for win-now talent, Bridges' name has emerged in trade speculation.
Despite the outside noise, Bridges appears happy where he stands. The former lottery pick spoke glowingly about Nets owner Joe Tsai, as well as Tsai's wife, Clara Wu, in a recent interview with HoopHerald.
“Joe Tsai’s a nice guy. His family’s sweet. I love his wife [Clara Wu Tsai]. His kids are really cool. They’re great people, man,” Bridges said. “They love the city of Brooklyn and they just want to do whatever it takes for the fans. They’re just great. They welcomed me with open arms and it’s been literally ever since.”
Bridges also retweeted a video last week of Clara Wu speaking about investing in the borough of Brooklyn and the New York Liberty with the note, “She's literally one of my favs.”
Shes literally one of my favs😭 https://t.co/9ZvMTbXKrL
— Mikal Bridges (@mikal_bridges) May 12, 2023
General manager Sean Marks has been under fire from Nets fans following the collapse of Brooklyn's big three of Durant, Irving, and James Harden. However, Bridges was confused by the criticism, instead also offering high praise for Marks.
“Sean Marks is a really good dude. I like him a lot,” he said. “I don’t know, you hear the whole thing about what’s going on in Brooklyn and how people don’t like this and that. But I’m just like, these people are great. They’re great people.”
Marks and head coach Jacque Vaughn have raved about Bridges' leadership and professionalism since his acquisition at the trade deadline. The general manager said he feels the Villanova product has significant room to grow following his breakout 2022-23 campaign:
“I think he’s proven to a lot of people that his role can continue to get better and better and bigger and bigger. So I think I would be pretty silly to be up here and limit him and say he cannot be something,” Marks said of Bridges. “But now that when the ball’s in his hands in those key crucial moments of games, can he step up? Can he be that guy that we can rely on in big moments? I think we saw it a little bit in Phoenix when Devin Booker was out, he carried a considerable load for them. And then we saw this year where he came in and immediately was a crowd favorite.
“You could get behind him. It’s just the way he played, how he played and he didn’t shy away from those moments either. So I would definitely not limit him and say he could only be this for us.”
Mikal Bridges dropped 42 PTS in the Brooklyn W 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hYecncLVb5
— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2023
If the Nets opt to hold onto Bridges and build around him moving forward, they will reap the benefits of his team-friendly contract. The former Sun is owed just $23.3 million annually for the next three seasons. With the new CBA making it far more difficult to build rosters with three stars, Bridges' contract, and untapped potential make him one of the league's top assets, something both Marks and Tsai seem to recognize as they determine the franchise's direction this offseason.
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