Nets general manager Sean Marks says star forward Mikal Bridges can be Brooklyn’s No. 1 scoring option moving forward — but that’s not going to stop him searching for another one this offseason.
Speaking to reporters in his end-of-the-season exit interview, Marks was complimentary of the job Bridges did holding down the fort as the Nets’ primary option on offense after he arrived in Brooklyn as part of the Kevin Durant deal.
The GM, however, also left the door open for striking an offseason deal that brings more of a household-name kind of star scorer into the fold for next season, especially if it vaults Brooklyn back into championship contention.
“It would be way too soon to call that. I think we need to let the dust settle a little bit but we’ve always been prepared,” Marks said on Sunday. “In this day and age, we’ve all seen players demand trades, players behind the scenes ask for this, teams change — whether it’s ownership groups or front offices and next thing you know, they pivot. So, we’ve just have to be ready for whatever comes our way, and if we can make a change that [now] we can compete, then we’ll be strategic about it, because I don’t think we want to put ourselves in a place where we’re costing the future for right now, either. So I think we’ve got a bright pathway, and right now I’m enjoying that.”
Bridges’ position as the leader of a team with championship aspirations has been the center of conversation as the Nets were swept out of the first round of the playoffs. They failed to beat the Sixers in Game 3 despite James Harden’s third-quarter ejection and lost Game 4 with MVP frontrunner Joel Embiid out nursing a sprained right knee.
In those games, Bridges struggled to generate his own offense. After shooting 10–of-16 in the first half of Game 1, Bridges shot just 21-of-69 from the field in Games 2 through 4. He shot just 6-of-18 from the field and coughed up a crunch-time airball in Brooklyn’s series-ending loss on Saturday.
“I love my guys to death and I told them, that’s on me, I’m sorry I couldn’t come through and just win some games. I just wanted to make some shots but I promised them I’ll be better next time,” he said postgame. “I’ve just gotta be better. I feel like these past games, I’ve been letting my team down.”
Bridges, however, averaged 27 points per game for the Nets through the second half of the season. He also joined a short list of only 43 players in NBA history to play 83 games in an 82-game NBA season, a testament to his willingness to be available for his teammates.
The Nets thrust their new star into the spotlight after the Durant deal and he responded with the best offensive output of his career. Few thought he would be capable of performing on this big a stage when his role was smaller in Phoenix.
“Regarding Mikal, I think he’s proven to a lot of people that his role can continue to get better and better and bigger and bigger, so I think I would be pretty silly to be up here and limit him and say he cannot be something,” Marks said. “I think that a few people have had their eyes open to what he can do, but now when the ball’s 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. You could get behind him. It’s just the way he played, how he played and he didn’t shy away from those moments either. So I would definitely not limit him and say he could only be this for us.”
There are some rumblings, however, that Damian Lillard has interest in a potential trade that sends him to Brooklyn.
Lillard sat courtside when the Nets lost Game 3 to the Sixers on Thursday. Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn was unaware of the Trail Blazers star’s presence until after the game, but both Bridges and Cam Johnson knew the superstar scorer would be in attendance.
Bridges and Lillard are close friends — and the Nets could be in the market for a new point guard if they are not sold on Spencer Dinwiddie’s capabilities as a floor general.
The options are plentiful for a Nets team with a treasure trove of draft assets and several movable, team-friendly contracts. The Nets own seven first-round picks through 2030 and won’t be shy about striking a deal if it brings the right kind of player on board.
“Do we build quick and expedite this thing? Because a player comes around that we know, ‘Hey this player or players would fit within a group and give us an opportunity to really get back in and be contenders again,’” Marks said. “That could happen, but at the same time, I don’t think we’re in any hurry. We’re not going to be pushed to make changes just for the sake of making changes. I think we will do our due diligence and give this group at least some time to build and come together. And not only the group of players but the group of coaches with them, too.”
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