![]() Murray for the NY PostĪnd while Brooklyn doesn’t have to worry about Irving’s free agency, they still have a number of calls to make on that front, too, starting with Johnson. They’ll field a host of offers this summer, and will have to decide who to move to balance out their needs at guard and center.Ĭam Johnson’s skills on the wing are some of the most prized attributes in the NBA, a reality that is expected to prompt Johnson to seek a new contract worth at least $18 million per season. In a wing’s league, the Nets not only start three - Bridges, Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith - but have Harris, Royce O’Neale, Yuta Watanabe (and Ben Simmons) coming off their bench. And the Nets must keep developing him into a player who can come into next season with a legitimate chance at being an All-Star. must continue to find the best ways to maximize Bridges. But he always makes the right play, too if he’s not getting the bucket for himself, he’s making a play for somebody else.” “Offensively, he can definitely carry the load for us. “They don’t use this term for basketball, but is a five-tool type of basketball player, where he does just a little bit of everything,” Joe Harris said. He’s seen his usage rate skyrocket, and Brooklyn has even used him as a primary ballhandler, letting him play-make along with point guard Spencer Dinwiddie. Murray for the NY Postīridges was averaging 25.5 points on white-hot 52.6/48.1/92.2 shooting splits entering Thursday’s Milwaukee tilt, the first player in NBA history to score 25 points on 50/40/90 shooting splits through his first 10 games with a new team. The Nets have been surprised at how expansive Mikal Bridges’ offensive game is, and have added some sets for him that they previously ran for Kevin Durant. But the way he’s leveled up his offense is the most encouraging sign for what he can be for the Nets.Īs Vaughn and the coaching staff have learned what Bridges can do, they’ve baked in some mid-range looks at the elbow for him the same way they did for Durant, analytics be damned. That, plus his infectious personality, makes him a building block. He’s also an ironman, having not missed a single game since his junior season - in high school. Sources have said the Nets are “pleasantly surprised” with how Bridges has elevated his game. It’s really been a joy to be around him and learn him as an individual.” ![]() He gives of his time, of his knowledge in the locker room, during the games. “He’s the ultimate competitor,” Vaughn said. The non-negotiable centerpiece of the Durant trade - the one the Suns refused to budge on last summer - was Mikal Bridges. The Nets are assuredly not making all those draft selections themselves, but would they use picks, the trade exception, current players, etc., to get back in the market for a star as soon as this summer? Building Bridges Though he no longer has two of the NBA’s biggest superstars to build around, Nets GM Sean Marks does have 11 future first-round picks between now and 2029. The rest of this season should inform exactly what they need, the cost of getting it and the timeline for acquiring it. How will the Nets use all of those assets? ![]() Unlike the first time Marks rebuilt - bereft of draft picks - now the Nets are armed with the fourth-most draft capital from 2023-29: a total of 11 first-round picks and eight second-rounders, as well as a team-record $18.1 million trade exception, currently the biggest in the league. Asset allocationĪ source described Marks and Nets team owner Joe Tsai as being “in lockstep.” Another told The Post that “ownership has full confidence in that front office to build for the future.” With 15 games left in the regular season - and an undetermined amount in the postseason - Brooklyn will be weighing how to attack that future. That’s what they’ll spend the rest of this season and into the offseason doing. Now comes the rest: Filling in the rest of the picture. The Nets have made all their big decisions, trading Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, then extending coach Jacque Vaughn and keeping GM Sean Marks.
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