Mikal Bridges on KD Trade: ‘I would have probably made that trade too’
Mikal Bridges was a member of one of the biggest deadline splashes in recent memory when he was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for superstar Kevin Durant.
Bridges, 26, initially reacted to the trade with thanks and understanding. While a little surprised, Bridges understands that the NBA is a business above all else.
“I get it. I 100 percent get it. That’s just how it is. I would rather say I’d rather be happy that I got traded for KD than probably like somebody else who I didn’t think would be good or something like that. So just being a realist at the end of the day,” Bridges said in an interview with ESPN on Saturday.
“Obviously, I’m going to miss everyone there, miss my home, miss all my friends that’s back there, but I get it. You’re getting Kevin Durant, bro. Maybe I would have probably made that trade too.”
Bridges is one of the most amicable guys in the NBA. He’s a guy you want on your basketball team on and off the floor. He is being paid a large sum of money for his 3-and-D role, but also for the type of man that he is.
Chris Paul even called him “one of the nicest guys I’ve ever been around” in 2021.
As for the Brooklyn Nets, they were the biggest sellers at the trade deadline. They officially knifed the KD-Kyrie experiment, shipping Irving off to the Mavericks on Feb. 5.
It’ll be interesting to see Brooklyn’s path for the rest of the season. They acquired key role players like Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith but traded their golden gooses. They still sit at fifth in the Eastern Conference, even after their loss to Philadelphia on Saturday.
What Happened on Trade Day?
One factor from this story that surprises me is that the first person to tell Bridges about his being traded to Brooklyn was fellow teammate Damion Lee.
“He was like, ‘Bro, I’m sorry to see this and that,’” Bridges said. “And I was so confused. I was just chillin’, like, ‘What are you talking about?’ And he was like, ‘You got traded for KD.’ And I was like, ‘Get out of here!’ And I went to Twitter and refreshed it and it was right there.”
It’s shocking how often this happens in sports: the team trading away a player doesn’t even give him the courtesy of a phone call. How do you trade away a guy who has been on your team for the past five seasons and not even let him know about it?
In any event, Bridges will have to move on with his new team. 23 points against Philadelphia is a good start.
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