Irving demanded a trade in February, and four-time scoring champ Durant followed days later. Compared to Irving’s dramatics and Durant’s injuries — now 34 and having played just 134 combined games over the past four regular seasons — Bridges represents a lower ceiling but higher floor that the Nets seem comfortable with., the Trail Blazers’ apparent determination to keep the point guard and move their No.
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. Mikal Bridges sits courtside with Nets owner Clara Wu Tsai during a Liberty game at Barclays Center.“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.
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.That stretch taught Bridges to be more aggressive on the court. He’ll mesh that with his understated leadership qualities heading into next season.