For those who can’t read the article bc of the paywall
**Though sources told The Post that the Nets’ interest in dealing for Damian Lillard is very real, the Trail Blazers’ apparent determination to keep the point guard and move their No. 3 overall pick in next month’s draft for a veteran to appease him sparked different rumors of swapping Bridges for the selection.**
**But all indications are that’s not happening.**
The Grizzlies reportedly offered four first-round picks for Bridges, and the Jazz — one of the few teams with more first-round selections than the Nets over the next handful of years — has also been mentioned.
But the Nets, who don’t have control of their own picks due to the initial trade to acquire Harden from the Rockets, aren’t interested in a full-on rebuild.
Nets owner Joe Tsai and Marks see Bridges as a keeper, and he’s already the face of the franchise.
Bridges sat courtside with Nets and Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai at last weekend’s Liberty home opener at Barclays Center, and called her “literally one of my favs.”
Bridges has rapidly become one of the Nets’ favs.
“I think he’s proven to a lot of people that his role can continue to get better and better and bigger and bigger,” Marks said.
“But now that when the ball is in his hands in those key crucial moments of games, can he step up? Can he be that guy that we can rely on in big moments? I think we saw it a little bit in Phoenix when Devin Booker was out. He carried a considerable load for them. And then we saw this year where he came in and immediately was a crowd favorite.”
Part of that was giving a crowd dispirited by the loss of Durant and Irving at least some modicum of hope for the future. Bridges outpaced all reasonable expectations, averaging 26.1 points for the Nets on .475/.376/.894 solid shooting splits along with strong defense.
Some have advocated selling high on Bridges, presuming he cannot possibly maintain that level of play. But Bridges also averaged 23.1 points on .484/.377/.918 shooting in his final 13 games with the Suns, taking up the scoring load for an injured Booker.
Leadership lessons
That stretch taught Bridges to be more aggressive on the court. He’ll mesh that with his understated leadership qualities heading into next season.
“The team we’ll have, obviously it might be a little bit different when the time comes — you never know, we’ve got free agents and stuff like that,” Bridges said.
“It’s funny because I was just a role player, so coming in and being like the star, you feel that star treatment. I kind of don’t like it because I was just down there with those guys a couple of months ago. I don’t like all this s–t. But it’s just [about] winning and being selfless, not trying to just make everything about me.”
That kind of team-first ethos is what the Nets are trying to return to.
Take for example Royce O’Neale’s rally-killing inbounds turnover with the Nets down three points and 6.7 seconds left in their Game 3 loss to Philadelphia.
Bridges stepped up to take responsibility, refusing to throw his teammates under the bus.
It was in stark contrast to league MVP Joel Embiid saying “me and James can’t win it alone” after the 76ers’ Game 7 loss to Boston.
“You want your teammates to be happy, don’t want your teammates to ever feel like you’re just going to stab them in the back,” Bridges said on “The Pivot Podcast.”
“It’s just about me wanting to be a leader where I want to lead in a positive way, so if I do get on one of my teammates, they know it’s coming from the right place.
“As a leader, I’ll take all the blame, I’ll do whatever, I’ll try to help us win all the time. But if somebody f–ks up and I’m hot, you know I’m not just hot just to … some people yell to yell. That’s not who I am. I’m yelling because I’m frustrated, but it’s for the best of the team. So coming into next year, it’s just being a leader, and from the jump, just show how we should win. All about this year is winning. Everybody wants to get paid. I’m like, s–t, when you win, everybody eats.”
That’s the same sort of high character that Bridges brought to Villanova and then to Phoenix, the kind that the Nets are rapidly learning about.
“You guys are without a doubt going to see the person that he is,” Bridges’ father, Jack, told The Post. “Of course you wouldn’t know this without him being a part of your organization. So you guys will see that, the organization will see that, the community, the fans, the team. I’m sure his teammates already see it. He’s just a great kid, a great guy all around.”
zestysnacks
Lol where do they talk about lillard
jrtasoli
Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas and a pick. Otherwise, move on.
ulrickm
This article is basically about how much Marks/ownership/the fans like Mikal, the title is just to generate clicks lol
jonnysnowballs
Please no. The guy is almost 33 and already become injury prone the last 3 years
5 Comments
For those who can’t read the article bc of the paywall
**Though sources told The Post that the Nets’ interest in dealing for Damian Lillard is very real, the Trail Blazers’ apparent determination to keep the point guard and move their No. 3 overall pick in next month’s draft for a veteran to appease him sparked different rumors of swapping Bridges for the selection.**
**But all indications are that’s not happening.**
The Grizzlies reportedly offered four first-round picks for Bridges, and the Jazz — one of the few teams with more first-round selections than the Nets over the next handful of years — has also been mentioned.
But the Nets, who don’t have control of their own picks due to the initial trade to acquire Harden from the Rockets, aren’t interested in a full-on rebuild.
Nets owner Joe Tsai and Marks see Bridges as a keeper, and he’s already the face of the franchise.
Bridges sat courtside with Nets and Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai at last weekend’s Liberty home opener at Barclays Center, and called her “literally one of my favs.”
Bridges has rapidly become one of the Nets’ favs.
“I think he’s proven to a lot of people that his role can continue to get better and better and bigger and bigger,” Marks said.
“But now that when the ball is in his hands in those key crucial moments of games, can he step up? Can he be that guy that we can rely on in big moments? I think we saw it a little bit in Phoenix when Devin Booker was out. He carried a considerable load for them. And then we saw this year where he came in and immediately was a crowd favorite.”
Part of that was giving a crowd dispirited by the loss of Durant and Irving at least some modicum of hope for the future. Bridges outpaced all reasonable expectations, averaging 26.1 points for the Nets on .475/.376/.894 solid shooting splits along with strong defense.
Some have advocated selling high on Bridges, presuming he cannot possibly maintain that level of play. But Bridges also averaged 23.1 points on .484/.377/.918 shooting in his final 13 games with the Suns, taking up the scoring load for an injured Booker.
Leadership lessons
That stretch taught Bridges to be more aggressive on the court. He’ll mesh that with his understated leadership qualities heading into next season.
“The team we’ll have, obviously it might be a little bit different when the time comes — you never know, we’ve got free agents and stuff like that,” Bridges said.
“It’s funny because I was just a role player, so coming in and being like the star, you feel that star treatment. I kind of don’t like it because I was just down there with those guys a couple of months ago. I don’t like all this s–t. But it’s just [about] winning and being selfless, not trying to just make everything about me.”
That kind of team-first ethos is what the Nets are trying to return to.
Take for example Royce O’Neale’s rally-killing inbounds turnover with the Nets down three points and 6.7 seconds left in their Game 3 loss to Philadelphia.
Bridges stepped up to take responsibility, refusing to throw his teammates under the bus.
It was in stark contrast to league MVP Joel Embiid saying “me and James can’t win it alone” after the 76ers’ Game 7 loss to Boston.
“You want your teammates to be happy, don’t want your teammates to ever feel like you’re just going to stab them in the back,” Bridges said on “The Pivot Podcast.”
“It’s just about me wanting to be a leader where I want to lead in a positive way, so if I do get on one of my teammates, they know it’s coming from the right place.
“As a leader, I’ll take all the blame, I’ll do whatever, I’ll try to help us win all the time. But if somebody f–ks up and I’m hot, you know I’m not just hot just to … some people yell to yell. That’s not who I am. I’m yelling because I’m frustrated, but it’s for the best of the team. So coming into next year, it’s just being a leader, and from the jump, just show how we should win. All about this year is winning. Everybody wants to get paid. I’m like, s–t, when you win, everybody eats.”
That’s the same sort of high character that Bridges brought to Villanova and then to Phoenix, the kind that the Nets are rapidly learning about.
“You guys are without a doubt going to see the person that he is,” Bridges’ father, Jack, told The Post. “Of course you wouldn’t know this without him being a part of your organization. So you guys will see that, the organization will see that, the community, the fans, the team. I’m sure his teammates already see it. He’s just a great kid, a great guy all around.”
Lol where do they talk about lillard
Ben Simmons, Cam Thomas and a pick. Otherwise, move on.
This article is basically about how much Marks/ownership/the fans like Mikal, the title is just to generate clicks lol
Please no. The guy is almost 33 and already become injury prone the last 3 years