Contrary to Popular Opinion, Mikal Bridges Did Not Request Brooklyn Nets Exit After Disastrous Season

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Many may have believed that Mikal Bridges had fled the Brooklyn Nets out of choice, but by all accounts, he was indeed unaware of his trade to the New York Knicks until being informed about the deal by general manager Sean Marks.

2023/24 was very much a season to forget for all those connected to the Barclays Arena franchise; that goes for fans and employees alike. It cost Jacque Vaughn his job in February and saw the Nets suffer an abysmal 32-50 regular season record, their worst since 2017/18.

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After five seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Mikal Bridges moved to the Nets in February 2023, starting all 82 regular season games in 2023/24, but his numbers were far from impressive, his 19.6 points per game average being a long way down from the 26.1 secured in the portion of the previous season with Brooklyn.

Marks was keen to make it clear that Bridges’ move to the New York Knicks was not a case of a player looking to flee the scene; quite the contrary:

“I think it's been reported that Mikal wanted to leave or requested a trade," Marks said in July, according to a CBS Sports report. "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 deal that saw Bridges move to Madison Square Garden earned Brooklyn five first-round draft picks, four unprotected, as well as a pick swap, was apparently a deal Marks and his organization could not ignore.

"I think you have to look at yourself in the mirror," Marks continued. "And as an organization, you have to look at yourself and say, 'OK, what's the best path for us moving forward here?'"

On playing under New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, Bridges stated in another CBS Sports report: “Thibs a great coach. Who doesn’t wanna play all the time?…I fit…Y’all must not have been watching me in Phoenix; Coach Monty…the man played me 50-something minutes against De’Aaron Fox…& I was sick as a bat, couldn’t breathe…”

Having guided the Knicks to back-to-back Conference semifinals, resulting in losses to the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers, Tom Thibodeau was rewarded with a new three-year extension.

The new contract is well-earned; we are, after all, talking about a coach who took the Knicks to the postseason for the first time in eight seasons, doing so in his first season in charge. In 2023/24 his side completed a 50-32 regular season winning record, their best since 2012/13.

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