Brooklyn Nets' Return on Kevin Durant Trade Grows Following Mikal Bridges Trade

The Nets' return on trading Kevin Durant continues to grow as each move is made.

Apr 12, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports / Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

The Brooklyn Nets are getting active. One day removed from the 2024 NBA Draft -- an event in which the Nets have no skin in the game -- the team moved Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks.

No, that's not a typo. The Nets and Knicks made a move, and they did so for a fringe star player. Bridges get to reunite with his Villanova championship-winning squad, including Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Dante DiVincenzo.

With the trade, the Nets' return on a former blockbuster trade involving Kevin Durant grows. Bridges was included in the initial return, and his moves add to the list of what the Nets have gotten back.

Now, the return on the superstar grows as follows:

• Cam Johnson
• Eight unprotected first-round picks
• One protected first-round pick
• 2028 first-round pick swap
• 2028 unprotected pick swap
• Three second-round picks

In the current age of the NBA, a proven method to build a contender is having a strong draft while compiling young talents to develop. The Nets can now follow that mold as a full-blown rebuild is underway. Assuming Johnson is moved to a contender, the list of added picks will continue to extend and the Nets will have an easier time rebuilding.

After years and years of malpractice and selling their future, Brooklyn seems to be recovering from a mishandling of star talent and depletion of assets. By replenishing draft picks, the Nets are finally headed in the right direction as a franchise.

Sure, the Nets are going to take a short-term hit, but expect the team to bounce back and have fun, young talents worth keeping an eye on as they develop. How they manage the assets returned from the initial Durant trade will determine their path back to eventual contention.

The Nets will certainly be a team to keep an eye on in the draft cycles moving forward as that's where they will now make their money as a franchise, while also having an exceptional amount of cap space available in the offseasons moving forward.

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READ MORE: Brooklyn Nets to Enter Likely Rebuild Following Trade with Knicks, Rockets

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