A year after pulling the plug on the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving experiment, the Brooklyn Nets are starting almost from scratch with a young and intriguing roster.
While they may not reach the play-in tournament this season, they have a few studs who they can build around, starting with Mikal Bridges.
In fact, the 27-year-old wing is the one man they want to build around starting this offseason, per Adrian Wojnarowski via Legion Hoops.
REPORT: The Nets plan to rebuild their roster around Mikal Bridges this offseason, per @wojespn.
Face of the franchise. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/65TrjQ2sPJ
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 20, 2024
Bridges, the No. 10 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, started his pro career as a role player on a young Phoenix Suns team.
By 2021, he had become a full-time starter and was one of the game’s best 3-and-D players while helping the Suns reach the NBA Finals.
He found himself packing to head to the New York City metropolitan area when the Suns traded him to Brooklyn last February as part of the Durant deal.
While Bridges had been a decent supplemental scorer in Phoenix, he immediately blossomed on his new team.
He scored 26.1 points a game last season with the Nets, and so far this season, he’s at 21.7 points per game, and he’s continuing to shoot a very solid percentage from 3-point range.
The Nets have some other good young pieces, and perhaps the most intriguing one is Ben Simmons, who has seldom suited up for them ever since arriving in 2022’s James Harden deal.
He has played in just 12 games this year, but when he’s available and willing, he can grab rebounds, run the fast break, hit the open man, and play some high-level defense.
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