The Brooklyn Nets reportedly turned down a mountain of draft picks for the centerpiece of their Kevin Durant haul.
According to HoopsHype’s Mike Scotto, the Grizzlies desperately tried to snatch two-way wing Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn’s hands by offering four first-round draft picks. It’s quite a haul for a player who has yet to make an All-Star appearance.
The Nets kept Bridges, whom the Phoenix Suns tried to keep off the Durant trade talks.
Bridges is expected to make his Nets debut Saturday in his hometown Philadelphia, along with Cam Johnson, the other 3-and-D wing from the Durant package.
The Nets are high on Bridges, who was averaging career numbers across the board (17.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists over 36.4 minutes) this season in 56 games, all starts, with the Suns.
The 10th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Bridges is expected to start for Brooklyn as a foundational piece of their rebuild following the end of the Durant-Kyrie Irving era.
While the 6-foot-6 Bridges appeared to be not enthused about the move to Brooklyn, leaving a Suns team that is now among the title favorites.
But on a personal level, Bridges will have a shot at stardom while trying to carry the Nets as they cling on the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Entering Saturday night’s game, Brooklyn sits fifth in the East with a two-and-a-half-game lead over the Miami Heat.
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