Nets Get 'Full Reset' After Mikal Bridges Trade

The Brooklyn Nets are starting over with Mikal Bridges no longer on the roster.

Mikal Bridges /

The Brooklyn Nets are entering a new era after trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks.

The Nets got a massive package for Bridges, which included five future first-round picks and a pick swap among other assets.

The move propelled ESPN writer Chris Herring to put the Nets in the sixth and final tier of Eastern Conference teams.

"In dealing Bridges to the Knicks -- and then reacquiring the rights to the remaining first-round picks and swaps they'd sent to the Rockets for James Harden back in 2021 -- Brooklyn has completely restocked its draft-pick cabinet," Herring writes. "Perhaps most importantly, though, the Nets gave themselves the ability to bottom out for the next couple seasons, now that they'll have the ability to benefit from those picks again. And with players like Cam Johnson and Dorian Finney-Smith still on the roster, the Nets might not even be done with their teardown yet. After a wild last few years in the star-hunting phase, Brooklyn now figures to take a breath and find its next one through the draft."

In the piece, Herring calls the sixth tier "Committed to a full reset", which couldn't be more indicative of the Nets' placement right now. The Bridges trade knocks out any expectations for the upcoming season and puts Brooklyn in position to be among the worst teams in the league in hopes of being able to select someone talented enough at the top of the draft to help make them good again.

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