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NEW YORK — Mikal Bridges didn’t ask for a trade, according to Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks. In his first public comments since the blockbuster between the Nets and the New York Knicks, Marks said Monday that the deal came together quickly and Bridges didn’t know about it “until I called him.” At that point, he said, he and Knicks exec Leon Rose were already finalizing the details.
“I think it’s been reported that Mikal wanted to leave or requested a trade,” Marks said. “That could not be further from the truth. I think that’s just not in Mikal’s character, it’s not who he is and that definitely did not happen. He was told by me when I called him up and let him know that we’re at the two-yard line.”
The night that the two teams reached an agreement, SNY’s Ian Begley reported that “Bridges’ side was prepared to force the issue” by telling teams he wanted to play with the Knicks, and that his side had “made it clear” to Brooklyn that he wanted to reunite with New York’s Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart, his former college teammates. Marks denied this, and said that Brooklyn simply decided that the Knicks’ offer, which included five-first round draft picks (of which four are unprotected) and a pick swap, was too good to pass up.
“I think you have to look yourself in the mirror,” Marks said. “And as an organization you have to look at yourself and say, ‘OK, what’s the best path for us moving forward here?'”
Before the trade, the Nets had long maintained that Bridges — who will be introduced as a Knick on Tuesday — was a core part of their future. The plan was to trade for a star to play with him. After all, bottoming out wouldn’t do them any good, since they’d already traded away their draft picks.
At the same time as they made the trade with the Knicks, though, they made a trade with the Houston Rockets that gave them control of their 2025 and 2026 first-round picks. Neither of those trades would have happened without the other.
“They’re absolutely connected,” Marks said. “I think when you look at doing the…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nets-gm-sean-marks-says-mikal-bridges-didnt-request-trade-knicks-presented-by-far-the-best-offer/
Author : James Herbert
Publish date : 2024-07-08 19:31:26
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