Which Nets have benefited most from Mikal Bridges trade to Knicks?

NEW YORK — The Knicks landed Mikal Bridges in a blockbuster deal last summer that sent shockwaves across the NBA. Whether or not he actually forced his way out of Brooklyn, as some reported, is anyone’s guess. The move was designed to further bolster New York’s championship odds. The banner-thirsty franchise took it a step further and acquired All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns in October.

Entering the 2024-25 season, Cam Johnson, who had been teammates with Bridges back to their days as youngsters in Phoenix, said returning Nets players do not harbor any negative feelings toward him. Trades are just the nature of the business. Then again, players, coaches and general managers tend to omit key details when asked to comment on sensitive topics in the public eye.

True feelings will be revealed when Brooklyn faces Bridges for the first time since the trade on Friday at Madison Square Garden.

“He was always somebody that definitely brings a positive vibe to the locker room, but as teams evolve, then personalities evolve, and flow evolves,” Johnson said of Bridges at Media Day in September. “So, he’s somebody that’s going to be missed as a teammate, as a friend, as a brother. But for us, it’s not even something that we’re thinking about. It’s not something where you go in the locker room, and we have like a little locker with his memorabilia in it. The page is turned, his page is turned. He’s fully bought into what’s going on there, we’re fully bought into what’s going on here.”

The Bridges trade signaled a rebuild for Brooklyn. The Nets landed five first-round picks, among other assets, in exchange for the veteran forward. The move gave GM Sean Marks ideal flexibility in terms of roster construction going forward, but how has the Bridges deal affected Brooklyn’s roster in the present?

The Nets, led this season by first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez, have gotten off to a surprising 5-7 start this season and have been highly competitive in almost every game they have played, with an early-season road loss to the Orlando Magic and Wednesday’s blowout loss to the Boston Celtics being the only games where they have appeared to be Eastern Conference bottom dwellers.

Ironically enough, the Knicks, who were supposed to ascend into the upper echelon of NBA teams after trading for Bridges and Towns, have won just five games in 11 tries — the same win total as Brooklyn. It is early and the Knicks have plenty of time to get back on track, but part of their struggles can be attributed to Bridges playing below his usual standard. He has not exactly been the 3-and-D threat New York was promised. He is shooting just 30.4% from deep through his first 11 appearances, his shooting mechanics have been heavily criticized, and his defensive rating of 119.1 is the worst on the team.

Meanwhile, Johnson is having a bounce-back season with the Nets after enduring his fair share of struggles in 2023-24. With Bridges gone, Johnson has been given more responsibility offensively and he is playing about six additional minutes per game compared to last year. He is averaging 16.5 points per game, his best scoring average since he first arrived in Brooklyn in 2022-23, and shooting 47.3% from the field, the second-best mark of his career.

Nets ran into some trouble last season trying to fit Johnson, Bridges and Cam Thomas together in the starting five. Johnson and Bridges, dubbed “The Twins”, basically played the same position — off-ball wings who are not the best creators who cannot guard 4s defensively. In a more featured role this season, Johnson has absolutely thrived on offense. He has four games with at least 20 points through his first 12 appearances. He only had two such games at this point last year. To be fair, Johnson also missed seven of the Nets’ first eight games last season because of injury.

“The one thing about being available is you can find rhythms, adjust and find that flow,” Johnson said. “When that’s constantly being interrupted it comes a little harder. So, it allows you to focus on certain things and take advantage of certain things and certain looks.”

Where would Ziaire Williams be if Bridges was still on the roster? Probably not in Brooklyn. But things played out the way they did, and the Nets entered this season with a glaring hole on the wing — especially after trading Royce O’Neale to Phoenix at last season’s deadline.

Trading for Williams was a low-risk, high-reward kind of move for Brooklyn. He was just 22 years old at the time of the deal, so he certainly fit the team’s timeline. Turns out a change in scenery is all the former lottery pick needed. Through his first 12 appearances, he is averaging career-highs in points (9.8), rebounds (4.6), steals (1.0), and is shooting a career-best 46.3% from the field while playing 21.2 minutes per night.

Bridges, who averaged 34.8 minutes last season, does not miss games and he rarely gets injured. Even if Bridges stuck around and Marks still made a move for Williams, Williams probably would not be playing as much, so his career-best efforts would not be possible. And if he cannot get on the court, what would that mean for fringe wings fighting to stick on a roster like Tyrese Martin, who played 17 minutes in Wednesday’s loss to Boston?

Lastly, an argument can be made that no player has benefited more from Bridges’ absence than Thomas, a guy who is trying to prove that he can be a true No. 1 option in the league on a winning team. Bridges was viewed as Brooklyn’s all-around best player last season, and while Thomas still led the team in scoring, the ball was in Bridges’ hands a lot down the stretch in tight games.

Thomas not only ranks third in the league in fourth-quarter scoring this season at 7.9 points per game, but he is also averaging a career-best 23.8 points per game through his first 12 appearances and has a career best effective field goal percentage of 50.9%.

Some of it has to do with Thomas’ continued improvement. Some of it has to do with Fernandez’s coaching and how he puts the 23-year-old in the best position to succeed. A lot of it can be tied into Bridges’ absence. Thomas knows the Nets are his team. He does not have to defer to anyone, really. And that level of sureness can make a major difference in performance.

____