Nets 'were always prepared for a rebuild' before Mikal Bridges trade
Though Marks said the Bridges final deal came together quickly — technically true since Bojan Bogdanovic and Shake Milton weren’t even Knicks until Feb. 8 and March 5 — a second source told The Post the broad strokes had been offered as early as the Feb. 8 trade deadline. That likely means the five first-round picks and a swap. “We were always prepared for a rebuild. It wasn’t like, oh, let’s wait to be lucky to find the star that’s coming into free agency. We were always prepared to pivot in the other direction if we could see the right opportunity to do that,” a source said. “And who would’ve thought we could trade Mikal Bridges for five first-round draft picks? And who would’ve thought we were able to find that window of opportunity to get Houston to agree to get our picks back?
Source: New York Post
Source: New York Post
What’s the buzz on Twitter?
Brian Lewis @NYPost_Lewis
Column: #Nets were ‘prepared for a rebuild’ with right Mikal Bridges offer nypost.com/2024/07/18/spo… – 8:42 PM
Column: #Nets were ‘prepared for a rebuild’ with right Mikal Bridges offer nypost.com/2024/07/18/spo… – 8:42 PM
Michael Scotto @MikeAScotto
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas discussed the Mikal Bridges trade, his contract extension talks, the tanking narrative, the return of Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, and more on @hoopshype.
“We’re not going to treat this as a rebuild as people say we’re doing.” hoopshype.com/lists/cam-thom… – 10:37 AM
Brooklyn Nets guard Cam Thomas discussed the Mikal Bridges trade, his contract extension talks, the tanking narrative, the return of Ben Simmons, Nic Claxton, and more on @hoopshype.
“We’re not going to treat this as a rebuild as people say we’re doing.” hoopshype.com/lists/cam-thom… – 10:37 AM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Mikal Bridges likely to take team-friendly deal with Knicks, per report, but what would that look like?
(By @SamQuinnCBS)
cbssports.com/nba/news/mikal… – 9:13 AM
Mikal Bridges likely to take team-friendly deal with Knicks, per report, but what would that look like?
(By @SamQuinnCBS)
cbssports.com/nba/news/mikal… – 9:13 AM
Ian Begley @IanBegley
This week’s Mailbag has a few questions on Julius Randle, who believes this NYK team can be special with Mikal Bridges. Randle’s shoulder rehab is going very well. On an extension, discussions about new deal are not at forefront for either NYK or Randle: sny.tv/articles/knick… – 8:18 AM
This week’s Mailbag has a few questions on Julius Randle, who believes this NYK team can be special with Mikal Bridges. Randle’s shoulder rehab is going very well. On an extension, discussions about new deal are not at forefront for either NYK or Randle: sny.tv/articles/knick… – 8:18 AM
Ian Begley @IanBegley
This week’s Mailbag has a few questions on Julius Randle, who looks forward to being back healthy w/this NYK team. Randle thinks group can be special w/Mikal Bridges. On the extension, talks about a new deal are not at forefront for either NYK or Randle: sny.tv/articles/knick… – 5:12 PM
This week’s Mailbag has a few questions on Julius Randle, who looks forward to being back healthy w/this NYK team. Randle thinks group can be special w/Mikal Bridges. On the extension, talks about a new deal are not at forefront for either NYK or Randle: sny.tv/articles/knick… – 5:12 PM
Erik Slater @erikslater_
Game 3: Nets-Knicks
There’s a rumor going around that Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are gonna play one-on-one at halftime… pic.twitter.com/BV2tsJ75sR – 4:19 PM
Game 3: Nets-Knicks
There’s a rumor going around that Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson are gonna play one-on-one at halftime… pic.twitter.com/BV2tsJ75sR – 4:19 PM
Evan Sidery @esidery
The Knicks’ current projected rotation entering next season:
Starters = Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson
Second Unit = Miles McBride, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart
It’s officially time to finally call New York a championship contender. pic.twitter.com/Wz9sAWfr8x – 12:44 PM
The Knicks’ current projected rotation entering next season:
Starters = Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson
Second Unit = Miles McBride, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart
It’s officially time to finally call New York a championship contender. pic.twitter.com/Wz9sAWfr8x – 12:44 PM
Erik Slater @erikslater_
Nets: Dorian Finney-Smith reveals reaction to being with Mikal Bridges when Knicks trade broke
clutchpoints.com/nets-news-dori… – 12:13 PM
Nets: Dorian Finney-Smith reveals reaction to being with Mikal Bridges when Knicks trade broke
clutchpoints.com/nets-news-dori… – 12:13 PM
Erik Slater @erikslater_
Nets: Cam Johnson has honest reaction to losing Mikal Bridges to Knicks
clutchpoints.com/nets-news-cam-… – 12:12 PM
Nets: Cam Johnson has honest reaction to losing Mikal Bridges to Knicks
clutchpoints.com/nets-news-cam-… – 12:12 PM
Tommy Beer @TommyBeer
fyi for those interested:
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are hosting a live recording of their podcast, The Roommates Show, on Saturday September 7th in Central Park – featuring Jon Stewart, Mikal Bridges, and a musical performance by Action Bronson pic.twitter.com/Fvwvg7DlNw – 10:03 AM
fyi for those interested:
Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are hosting a live recording of their podcast, The Roommates Show, on Saturday September 7th in Central Park – featuring Jon Stewart, Mikal Bridges, and a musical performance by Action Bronson pic.twitter.com/Fvwvg7DlNw – 10:03 AM
Stefan Bondy @SBondyNYDN
Cool event alert for Knicks fans:
The Roommates Show is recording live in Central Park on Sept. 7. Guests include Mikal Bridges and Jon Stewart. Tickets on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Roommateslive.com pic.twitter.com/i1lX8Urelo – 9:59 AM
Cool event alert for Knicks fans:
The Roommates Show is recording live in Central Park on Sept. 7. Guests include Mikal Bridges and Jon Stewart. Tickets on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at Roommateslive.com pic.twitter.com/i1lX8Urelo – 9:59 AM
More on this storyline
Through that point, Brooklyn had leaned toward trying to add an All-Star running mate for Bridges, but their underachieving season forced a hard look in the mirror. “Is this the right time to go and chase a big star to get us into the top three seeds in the Eastern Conference? It’s just a matter of opportunity,” the source told The Post. “When we see that our team last year performed below expectations — and it’s something that everybody was just disappointed in — then we asked ourselves can we add pieces that will make us much better? The answer was, well, it’ll just depend on what happens, who’s available.” -via New York Post / July 19, 2024
Nets GM Sean Marks has only spoken publicly once since the team traded Mikal Bridges, and team owner Joe Tsai not at all. But multiple highly placed sources peeled the curtain back on Brooklyn’s thinking, explaining its heel turn from chasing stars to embracing a rebuild as all part of game theory. “[The view had been] that if you’re in New York City, you can’t be a bad team, because the fan base is not going to support you. It’s such a big media market, if you’re a terrible team, everything gets very bad,” one source told The Post of the organization’s initial aversion to a rebuild. “But you also have to think about the long term. You cannot be a mediocre team for a long time. So you have to set yourself up to either be really good, and if you only see a path to be just mediocre in the near term, then you have to consider an option that can take you to a rebuild.” -via New York Post / July 19, 2024
You’ve seen James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Mikal Bridges traded within less than three seasons. What has it been like adjusting on the fly through all these transactions? Thomas: “I’m kinda used to it at this point, all this crazy stuff that’s been going on my first three years. It’s been crazy, but it’s just part of the business, like everybody says. You can’t really put your feelings into it or dwell on it. This is where [general manager] Sean [Marks] thinks we should go, so we gotta follow his lead and try to put the best product on the floor. We’re gonna try to do that.” -via Clutch Points / July 16, 2024