With the Nets (19-27) mired in mediocrity or worse for a full calendar year, many around the NBA have wondered if Brooklyn might engage the Rockets on a potential trade to reacquire some of the draft capital lost in the January 2021 James Harden trade. As it stands, Houston controls Brooklyn’s first-round assets through 2027.
But if the Nets have interest in such an arrangement, it isn’t strong enough for them to give up 27-year-old wing Mikal Bridges. That’s who Brooklyn acquired in February 2023 as part of the blockbuster trade that sent a disgruntled Kevin Durant to Phoenix.
NBA insider Michael Scotto of HoopsHype has more:
Despite Brooklyn’s recent slide, which has put the Nets on the bubble of the final Play-In Tournament spot with the Hawks, the Nets have continued to tell teams Mikal Bridges is not available, league sources told HoopsHype.
Recently, the Houston Rockets were among the teams to register trade interest in Bridges, league sources told HoopsHype. Houston was prepared to send back several of Brooklyn’s unused remaining draft picks from the James Harden trade, but talks never got to that stage because the Nets declined to entertain anything for Bridges when Houston inquired.
Per @MikeAScotto, the Rockets tried to trade for Mikal Bridges.
"Houston was prepared to send back several of Brooklyn’s unused remaining draft picks from the James Harden trade, but talks never got to that stage because the Nets declined to entertain anything for Bridges when… https://t.co/H4wnzYK78w
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) January 31, 2024
Bridges, 27, is averaging 21.9 points (45.6% FG, 36.4% on 3-pointers), 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season. The 6-foot-6 wing is among Brooklyn’s top defensive players.
Bridges is under contract through the 2025-26 season at a relatively modest price of less than $25 million annually, which could make him a useful bridge as Brooklyn transitions to the post-Durant era.
Of course, another option for the Nets is to bottom out and attempt to acquire elite young talent through high draft picks, which could be possible if Brooklyn re-acquired some of its first-round assets from Houston. As of now, it doesn’t appear they’re willing to go down that road, or at least not at any cost.
The 2023-24 in-season trade deadline is Thursday, Feb. 8.
