The Brooklyn Nets will face several franchise-altering decisions this offseason, the biggest of which will be whether to aggressively pursue win-now talent or sell veteran pieces and build around youth.
With the Portland Trail Blazers shopping the third pick in the 2023 NBA Draft in search of an elite small forward, Mikal Bridges' name has been at the forefront of that conversation. However, the Nets have remained adamant they have no interest in trading the rising star, and their latest coaching hire indicates they're serious about those assertions.
Brooklyn added former Phoenix Suns assistant Corey Vinson to the coaching staff, he announced on LinkedIn. During his time in Phoenix, Vinson worked closely with Bridges, who recently credited him for his transition to a high-usage role with Devin Booker and Chris Paul sidelined last season.
“I struggled for a while,” Bridges said on The Pivot Podcast. “But I had coaches that talked to me. Corey Vinson, he was one guy that I watched film with all the time. He would just sit there and we would just watch all the clips. I would play bad and we would lose and he's literally just like, ‘It's ok. This is part of the process, you're gonna have to go through this.'
“As time went on, I became more efficient and started to understand the game more and be in that position of handling the ball more, making reads, and doing all the little things. It just became natural.”
The Nets just hired Corey Vinson as an assistant coach. He previously worked with Mikal Bridges in Phoenix.
Here's Bridges talking about how Vinson helped him transition to a high-usage role with Devin Booker and Chris Paul out.
(Via @thepivot) pic.twitter.com/HQLldgspb2
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) June 9, 2023
Vinson's hire continues an overhaul of Brooklyn's coaching staff that began with the departures of Igor Kokoskov, Brian Keefe and Tiago Splitter. He becomes the seventh assistant on Jacque Vaughn’s staff, joining newcomers Kevin Ollie, Jay Hernandez and Ronnie Burrell, along with incumbents Adam Caporn, Ryan Forehan-Kelly and Trevor Hendry.
A 2022 video from Whistle Sports documented Bridges' workouts with Vinson, who praised the forward's work ethic and buy-in to his role with the Suns.
“When you see Mikal Bridges on the court, you know that he understands what his job is each and every night,” Vinson said. “He's just young and hungry. He wants to grow. He wants to get better every day. He's expected to guard guys like LeBron (James) and Steph (Curry). He puts a lot of work in on and off the court… He's focused, he has goals, and he works every day to accomplish them.
“If I had to vote for a Defensive Player of the Year, it's Mikal Bridges.”
Here's a 2022 video documenting Mikal Bridges' workouts with new Nets assistant Corey Vinson.
Vinson praises Bridges' work ethic and emergence as a leader in PHX's locker room. Also speaks about Bridges' improvent as a ball handler and calls him the DPOY.
(Via @WhistleSports) pic.twitter.com/nGlK4Pe5AK
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) June 9, 2023
After joining the Nets at the deadline, Bridges emerged as one of the league's most productive two-way players, averaging 27.7 points on 47/38/89 shooting splits. General manager Sean Marks now seems intent to build around the 26-year-old as the team transitions into a new era.
Rumors of a trade for Damian Lillard, whom Bridges is close friends with, have steadily gained momentum following the Portland star's appearance at Barclays Center during Brooklyn's first-round series against Philadelphia. Lillard recently called the Nets an “obvious” trade destination.
Brooklyn has no shortage of draft capital to swing for a star this summer. Following the trades of Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, the Nets have 11 first-round picks over the next seven years, the fourth-most in the NBA.
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