The Brooklyn Nets had Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden all together on one team. They managed to only play 17 games together, and were all off the team less than 2 years apart from each other. Although the Nets managed to have possibly the biggest downfall from a team in the history of sports, there seemed to be light at the end of tunnel.
Ever since the Nets traded the short-lasting big three and got Mikal Bridges in the Phoenix trade, it was clear how much the front office valued him. Not only was Bridges the main piece in the Kevin Durant blockbuster deal that also included Cam Johnson and two later second round picks in exchange for Jae Crowder, but he also managed to not miss a single game in his career on top of that.
Bridges was coming off of a career year in Phoenix at the time of the 2022-23 trade deadline, averaging 20.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 3.3 apg, on 53.4/36.9/83.4 splits. With Bridges averaging career high numbers and still playing defense at a DPOY caliber level, it made sense why Sean Marks had the vision of making him a franchise cornerstone at the time.
When Bridges was traded to Brooklyn, it was clear that he was the new first option for the revamped squad. And to end the year, Bridges managed to exceed expectations, averaging 26.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 2.7 apg on 47.5/37.6/89.4 splits in 27 games with 34.2 minutes averaged per game.
Although the Nets ended up getting swept by the 76ers, and Bridges had an underwhelming series, it was apparent to not jump ship just yet, and to wait and see if he can keep up what he was doing in the 27 games he was a part of.
With all of these expectations in place for this past 2023-24 season, Bridges along with mostly everyone else on the Nets, had down years, in terms of expectations. Bridges averaged 19.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 3.6 apg on 43.6/37.2/81.4 splits in 34.8 mpg on a 32-50 Nets squad with superstar aspirations for him.
Although it was a rough overall season, there was still hope Bridges could be the guy Marks hoped he could be, and he seemed to be staying put, in hopes of acquiring a future superstar that Bridges could compliment.
Even with him having an underwhelming season as an attempted first option on a boring team, it was clear that the interest in Bridges around the league was still very real.
With this news, it was clear that although Marks has been firm on keeping Bridges and still seemed very unlikely that a trade would happen, the Nets seemed more open to moving off of him for a ridiculous offer that could recuperate a lot of their future.
But just one day later, it happened.
Sean Marks was not done, just minutes later, it was announced that the Nets have traded with Houston in a draft pick only exchange, but this wasn't just any type of trade.
Not only did Marks manage to trade Mikal Bridges for essentially 5 first round picks, a second rounder and an expiring Bojan Bogdanovic that could be moved, but being able to gain control of their own draft picks for the foreseeable future, having a historic haul of picks from the Knicks, and possibly having a ridiculous amount of money in 2025 with Cam Johnson, Dorian Finney-Smith, Ben Simmons, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Dennis Schroder all possibly being involved in trade talks throughout the draft and offseason to help the rebuild, is very inspiring.
Marks has been heavily criticized over the past few years for how he has failed to find a lasting head coach, failed to find a solid, consistent supporting cast, and how he's mismanaged the value of the assets on the team each year by waiting too long to move off of them, most notably guys like Joe Harris, Spencer Dinwiddie, Patty Mills, and Royce O'Neale. But although it seemed like the Nets were going to be in for a rough future, Sean Marks made top tier level trades by gaining lots of picks and having a whopping 15 first rounders over the next seven years.
It is clear the Nets will have a rough season this upcoming year, but with the rebuild being in effect, it hurts a lot less when the young players on the roster are progressing and still being able to have the high chance of drafting in the top 3 in a stacked 2025 draft class. Obviously drafts are risky and players don't always turn out, but rebuilds have proven to work out for the most part, and Marks has shown the ability to draft with what he has, most notably Jarrett Allen, Caris Levert, Nic Claxton, and the superstar hopeful, young polarizing offensive guard, Cam Thomas.
It will be interesting to see what Marks decides to do with the remaining veterans on the team this upcoming offseason, but it has been clear that the Nets are still very hopeful of getting into this first round of the 2024 draft, and plan on offloading players that can enhance the rebuild in Brooklyn for the foreseeable future.
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