Nets’ Mikal Bridges names his favourite participant rising up — Kevin Durant

Mikal Bridges gave loads of insightful solutions when the Nets’ social media group posed a sequence of questions on what the brand new Brooklyn ahead’s life is like off the court docket. But when requested who his favourite participant was rising up, Bridges paused and awkwardly chuckled earlier than giving his sincere reply — Kevin Durant.

Bridges, after all, headlined the package deal of gamers and draft picks that the Suns traded for Durant on Feb. 9. Phoenix’s acquisition of the 34-year-old famous person is taken into account one of many greatest blockbuster offers in NBA commerce deadline historical past. 

His reply drew laughter from the Nets staffers filming him, possible due partly to Durant’s awkward exit from the group he signed with as a free agent in 2019 however by no means led previous the second spherical of the NBA playoffs. Despite that, Durant continues to be broadly thought of the most effective gamers within the NBA, and the Suns are broadly seen as championship contenders with a core constructed round him, Devin Booker and Chris Paul.

[Kevin Durant expected to make Suns debut vs. Hornets Wednesday]

Still, loads of Suns followers had been sorry to see Bridges and Cam Johnson go away within the commerce, which additionally despatched Jae Crowder and 4 unprotected first-round draft picks to Brooklyn in change for Durant and T.J. Warren. Bridges and Johnson each developed into helpful two-way forwards for the Suns. They had been additionally fan-favorites who embraced Phoenix and had been lively in the local people. Bridges admitted throughout a current look on J.J. Redick’s podcast that he would miss dwelling in Arizona.

However, Bridges additionally instructed ESPN lately that he’s embracing his new position as one of the vital recognizable gamers on the new-look Nets, whose commerce of Durant signaled the top of a tumultuous period wherein Brooklyn didn’t stay as much as championship expectations with Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Irving was traded to the Mavericks on Feb. 5 after quite a few off-court controversies, whereas Harden was traded to the 76ers again in February 2022.

In the ESPN interview, Bridges cited a bit of recommendation that Suns coach Monty Williams gave him, saying that Williams all the time preaches that “You ain’t getting sent off to war” when confronted with basketball-related trials. Bridges additionally talked about one other quote from Williams within the video for the Nets, saying it’s the greatest piece of recommendation he has ever obtained: “Keep your spirit up.”

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