Nets Got 'Megastar' Return for Mikal Bridges

Mikal Bridges was extremely valuable for the Brooklyn Nets.

Feb 22, 2024; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Brooklyn Nets guard Mikal Bridges (1) reacts after making a three point basket against the Toronto Raptors in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images

The Brooklyn Nets didn't necessarily want to trade Mikal Bridges this offseason, but they got an offer from the New York Knicks that was simply too much to refuse.

The Nets got five future first-round picks and three players in exchange for Bridges as the main framework of the deal.

Bleacher Report writer Dan Favale wrote about how dynamic the return from the trade was.

"Frame the Mikal Bridges bounty however you like. It was, in no uncertain terms, a ransom—so much so the Brooklyn Nets may have okayed the deal even if they didn't re-acquire the rights to their next two firsts from Houston," Favale writes. "This is an instance where the selling side needs no extensive justification. The Nets brokered a megastar return for a zero-time All-Star. Viewed in conjunction with getting back their next two firsts, devil's advocate cases do not exist."

The Nets have no guarantees that any players or picks they got back in return from the Knicks will amount to anything, but they acquired some hope, and that may be the most valuable thing now part of the organization.

The team may not be good anytime soon as a result of this trade, but the Nets have the ability to get back on their feet at some point in the next few years. That, more than anything, is valuable to the Nets.

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