The Brooklyn Nets introduced Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson Sunday just an hour ahead of the pairing's first game in Brooklyn. It had been a tumultuous three days for the beloved Phoenix Suns duo. Both were traded, along with Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and a pick swap, in a blockbuster deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix.
The Suns were Durant's preferred destination when he requested a trade last summer, and he told the Nets early in the week he wanted a trade to Phoenix. The former MVP had formed a close personal relationship with star guard Devin Booker when the two were teammates during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Bridges and Johnson heard the rumors loud and clear. Both were aware, should Phoenix pull the trigger on a deal, they'd likely be sent packing.
At approximately 1:05 a.m. ET the morning before the trade deadline, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski sent the NBA world into a frenzy with the click of a button. Bridges and Johnson were in the Suns' Buckhead hotel ahead of a matchup with the Hawks when both of their phones began ringing non-stop.
“I was just chilling on my iPad. Damion Lee called me and he was upset, you could tell,” Bridges said. “He was just like, ‘Bro I’m sorry.' I was so confused, like. ‘What are you talking about?' He said, ‘You just got traded for KD.'”
Bridges was in disbelief. He checked Twitter and there it was.
“Right after I got off the phone I called Cam,” he said. “I asked, ‘Where are you? What room are you in? I’m coming up there.'”
Trades are a harsh reality in the NBA. Both Bridges and Johnson said when a superstar like Durant has his sights set on your team, you can't help but have your guard up.
“We kinda knew,” Bridges said. ‘There were a lot of jokes, especially in the summer when KD wanted to come here and we knew the pieces who might be the ones that were gonna go. And us two were the main two.”
“We always joked around and said at least we got us. And it happened, and still to this day, it’s like, at least I got my twin with me. That’s how it goes.”
Bridges calling Johnson “his twin” is far more than poking fun at being traded to the Nets alongside the forward. It's a nickname that dates back to his second year in the NBA. Phoenix selected Bridges (10th) and Johnson (11th) in back-to-back drafts in 2018 and 2019. After the latter was picked by the Suns, he joined Bridges in Las Vegas for the summer to work out. A close friendship was quickly fostered.
“From that point on, basically everything we did, we kind of did together,” Johnson said. “We worked out together, we chilled off the court together, we ate, watched film, whatever it may be.”
Their teammates took notice and the duo was assigned a nickname: The Twins.
“A couple of months into that season, our teammate – our old teammate – Deandre Ayton gave us the nickname,” Johnson said. “Because we do everything together. And three and a half years later, we’re stuck with it.”
Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson on their nickname "The Twins":
"Everything we did, we did together. We worked out together, we chilled, ate, watched film… Deandre Ayton gave us that nickname cause we do everything together, and three and a half years later we're stuck with it." pic.twitter.com/5owXzkKeM5
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 11, 2023
The pairing became a fan favorite during four seasons in Phoenix. Bridges emerged as one of the league's top defenders. The wing stopper is also averaging a career-high 17.2 points per game this season. Johnson grew into an elite floor spacer, shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range on 5.9 attempts per game over his last two seasons, as well as a high-energy defender.
Thank you to the Twins as we affectionately called them! Mikal and Cam we are going to miss you. The business of basketball is a brutal part of this life, but @Suns fans will never forget the Joy and professionalism you two brought us! 🙏🏿 we will be watching! pic.twitter.com/fuV2baTTAe
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) February 9, 2023
The duo now joins another pair of teammates traded to Brooklyn at the deadline: Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith. All four will start for the Nets alongside breakout center Nic Claxton, forming one of the more formidable defensive lineups in the league. And The Twins said they're ready to bring the same flash that made them fan favorites in The Valley to The Kings Borough.
“I just want to say, the feeling that I’ve gotten, the excitement, it indicates that we’re all in,” Johnson said. “We’re all in on being a part of this organization and a part of this city and taking the same things that we’re known for around Phoenix and bringing them here.”
“On and off the court, just bringing that love and excitement,” Bridges said. “If you kinda follow me just a little bit, I’m always high energy, having fun, and I’m the same way off the court. So just tryna show this city just who I am.”
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