The Brooklyn Nets are going nowhere fast this season. They entered Wednesday’s NBA action at a mere 19-27 on the campaign and as the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference.
It has led to speculation that general manager Sean Marks might look to move off veterans for other assets ahead of next week’s NBA trade deadline.
The likes of Mikal Bridges, Spencer Dinwiddie, Nic Claxton and Dorian Finney-Smith woud likely draw interest from contenders.
What we do know is that Brooklyn’s brass has pushed back against dealing Bridges since it acquired him in the Kevin Durant blockbuster ahead of last season’s NBA trade deadline. Apparently, nothing has changed on this front.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Nets declined to even entertain any offers from the Houston Rockets about a potential Bridges trade. The Athletic also reported that Houston had offered up “multiple first-round picks” to land Bridges from Brooklyn.
- Mikal Bridges stats (2023-24): 21.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.7 APG, 46% shooting
If the Nets’ brass firmly believes Bridges is a cornerstone player moving forward, trading him in-season wouldn’t make much sense. He’s under contract through the 2025-26 season. Any move of this would would make more sense during the offseason with more time to talk with other teams and a likely heightened level of interest.
Related: Brooklyn Nets’ Mikal Bridges not happy with minutes vs. Milwaukee Bucks
As it stands now, Brooklyn is still battling for a potential play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. We’ll see how the next week or so goes ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline to get a better understanding of whether the team is going to sell off other veteran assets.
As for the Rockets, they are a surprising 22-24 on the season. It seems as if general manager Rafael Stone would like to pull off a needle-moving trade ahead of the deadline.