Brooklyn Nets 'Always Prepared For a Rebuild' Says New York Post

The jarring trade of Mikal Bridges had been a potential route for some time.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

As little has been heard from Brooklyn Nets' leadership since the trade of Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks, anonymous "highly placed" source inside the organization broke down how the deal came to fruition in an article published by the New York Post.

“[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,” the source told The Post.

"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.”

The pressure of winning in New York has always been hefty. Citizens deservedly expect greatness, and last season Brooklyn was far from that. The Post's source continued to potentially allude to the Donovan Mitchell saga, as the Nets were linked as major suitors for the five-time All-Star.

"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.”

After whiffing on Mitchell, the organization shifted gears to the full-fledged rebuild they find themselves in the midst of now.

"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. 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?"

While unfortunate that fans have to rely on anonymous sources to provide in-depth context to a blockbuster deal, it is now public knowledge that the Bridges trade was not a display of general manager Sean Marks pressing the panic button.

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