After the Brooklyn Nets traded away Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, many were ready to just write the team off.
Supposedly devoid of a star-level talent on the roster, it looked like the Nets were primed and ready to start a rebuild. That’s how most of the NBA world saw it. But the Nets read the situation completely differently.
Sure, they gave up a couple of high-level players in two separate trades. But they absolutely got one back in Mikal Bridges.
The Nets value Bridges just as they would a superstar player and the team has already proven that by turning down two incredible offers for their up-and-coming swingman. One came shortly after they traded for him when Brooklyn received an offer of four (!!!!!) first-round picks in an effort to pry Bridges away. The other came in a reported offer from the Portland Trail Blazers for the No. 3 overall pick and Anfernee Simons.
It’s clear: Brooklyn believes Bridges is a star. And in the 2022-23 season, he proved the team right. He averaged 26.1 points in Brooklyn while shooting 47 percent from the floor and 37 percent from 3-point range. And he was still guarding the opposing team’s best players on the perimeter.
Ahead of the NBA Draft, Bridges partnered with eBay to promote their new Collectors Camp — a program created to teach collectors about the trading card marketplace, particularly in the sports world.
Participants in the camp receive actual training from industry experts provided by eBay who teach things like trading strategy, how to read the marketplace and industry insights. The aim is to turn casual collectors into legitimate investors and professional sellers.
The camp will travel throughout the summer, including to the MLB All-Star game in Seattle this July. Brooklyn, however, was its first stop — Bridges’ new stomping grounds.
For The Win got a chance to chat with Bridges about the camp, his time in Phoenix with the Suns, his move to Brooklyn and other fun moments from the NBA season.
What follows is our conversation. Enjoy.
[mm-video type=video id=01h3mx2tqp3ns207dcv7 playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01h3mx2tqp3ns207dcv7/01h3mx2tqp3ns207dcv7-83251cfb14d032eb78597277044dce41.jpg]
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.