The Brooklyn Nets “never showed interest” in trading Mikal Bridges to the Portland Trail Blazers for the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.
Damian Lillard, who is close friends with Bridges, wanted the Blazers to trade the third pick for a star. However, Portland kept the pick and selected Scoot Henderson, who plays the same position as Lillard.
Lillard, the best player in Portland franchise history, has demanded that the Blazers trade him to the Miami Heat.
“I have not heard convincing evidence that a sensible deal exchanging the No. 3 pick (and another player, likely Anfernee Simons) ever materialized for Portland,” Lowe wrote. “Moving up in the lottery — jumping from No. 5 to No. 3 — changed everything. For most talent evaluators, Henderson is better than the typical No. 3 pick — maybe much better. Trading a prospect that valuable for a veteran is a weighty decision. It has to be the right veteran — available, reliable, good enough to put you into the inner circle of title contention, hopefully not so old you have completely knee-capped your future.
“The Brooklyn Nets never showed interest in swapping Mikal Bridges for that Simons/No. 3 package, sources said; it’s unclear if the teams discussed it.”
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Mikal Bridges & Brooklyn Nets Updates
The Phoenix Suns traded Bridges to the Nets in the blockbuster Kevin Durant trade last season. Bridges took his game to another level with Brooklyn, averaging 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 27 games with Brooklyn.
Bridges signed a four-year, $90.9 million rookie scale extension with the Suns in October 2021. The Nets would love to acquire Lillard, but Dame is only interested in playing for the Heat next season.
NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers, Mikal Bridges & Brooklyn Nets Updates
Lillard doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract, so the Blazers can trade him anywhere. However, since Lillard’s agent — Aaron Goodwin — has been telling teams not named the Heat to not trade for his client, most people around the NBA believe Lillard will eventually land in Miami to play with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.
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