The NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching. Teams have only two more weeks to tinker with their roster and add or subtract to it before the offseason. One team that could be looking to make a major addition to their roster is the Houston Rockets. The Rockets and head coach Ime Udoka are firmly set on making the postseason this season, and according to Shams Charania, Sam Amick, and Kelly Iko of The Athletic, that could include making a trade for a star. One star Houston could potentially aim for is the Brooklyn Nets' Mikal Bridges.
The Rockets and Nets have met at the bargaining table once regarding a trade for a star. That was back in 2020 when they agreed on a blockbuster trade involving James Harden. After that, the Nets instantly became a title contender while the Rockets hit the eject button to embark on a rebuild.
But after Brooklyn's superteam dissolved and Houston racked up lottery pick after lottery pick, the two have begun to meet in the middle again. The Rockets are 22-25 on the season, while the Nets are 19-28.
Could Brooklyn trade Bridges, the headliner of their trade of Kevin Durant a year ago? The Athletic reported that the Nets have no interest in trading Bridges. But do the Rockets have a trade package that could really entice Brooklyn? What would that package look like? Is it enough to get a deal done?
The Mikal Bridges trade
The Houston Rockets trades Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, Jeff Green, and three future first-round picks (via Brooklyn) to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges
Why the Nets do it
The most valuable currency in the NBA is draft picks. Draft picks open the doors for every team to give themselves a chance to make a franchise-altering decision for the better. That could come in the form of making a selection with that draft pick or a trade for a star.
But it's most important for a team to have their own draft picks. It avoids the worst-case scenario of a team falling to the bottom of the standings only for another team to get a top-flight draft pick.
The Nets recouped plenty of draft picks from the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks in their trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving last year. They still have the flexibility of using those picks in a trade and could get rewarded if either of those teams fall to the bottom. But they don't have any of their draft picks at their disposal until 2028 as a result of the James Harden trade. Houston does.
Those picks are very valuable to the Nets. They have the flexibility to tear down and go back to a rebuild if they so desire and not risk another team drafting stars like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum with their picks again. And they get a couple of very intriguing young players with plenty of potential in Amen Thompson and Tari Eason who would fit very well with players like Cam Thomas and Cam Johnson.
The Nets should surely want Jalen Green, but his skillset overlaps with Thomas, and the Rockets may not want to move on from him this soon.
Houston can move on from Thompson with Fred Vanvleet playing as well as he is. If the Nets truly make Bridges available, this might be the best haul they can get for him.
Why the Rockets do it
The Rockets would get another wing who can defend multiple positions and create off the dribble. Jalen Green and Fred Vanvleet already provides some of that at guard, while wings like Cam Whitmore, Jabari Smith Jr., and Dillon Brooks give them plenty of versatility and flexibility defensively to help Alperen Sengun.
Mikal Bridges would fit that ethos like a glove. He upped his playmaking and creation towards the end of his tenure in Phoenix and has done so even more in Brooklyn.
But Bridges also shined initially in Phoenix playing and moving off of the ball. He can do that in spades next to Alperen Sengun and won't have to shoulder the creation burden he has right now in Brooklyn. He'd be a great fit next to this Rockets core. If Houston wants to make a move for the postseason now, Bridges would be a superb get.
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