Atlanta Labeled As a "Best New Fit" For Brooklyn Nets Forward Mikal Bridges

Jackson Caudell | May 9, 2024

Mar 2, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray (5) shoots past Brooklyn / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

This has the makings of a wild summer in the NBA.

There are a number of teams who could be looking to reshape their rosters, two of them being the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks. Both franchises are in difficult positions to make their team better because of their lack of their own future draft capital and they may have some difficult decisions to make this summer.

Ever since the Nets acquired him as a piece of the Kevin Durant trade, there has been no shortage of interest in forward Mikal Bridges. Teams have been trying to trade for him, but the Nets have been reluctant to do so up to this point and some of that might have to do with the fact that they don't have any of their own draft picks due to the James Harden trade. It is hard for the Nets to completely rebuild without their own picks and that is why they might not trade Bridges, as he is their best player by a good margin.

That won't stop teams from calling and in a recent artictle titled "5 NBA stars on the wrong team". Bleacher Report Analyst Greg Swartz labeled the Hawks as one of the best new fits for Bridges if he were to be moved:

The Phoenix Suns largely used Mikal Bridges as a complementary three-and-D wing. On the Brooklyn Nets, he's been asked to do too much offensively.

"The 27-year-old would fit best on a team where he can get more scoring opportunities than he had in Phoenix but doesn't have the pressure of being a primary offensive option like he does in Brooklyn.

It doesn't help that the Nets don't have a sense of direction at the moment. They went 32-50 this season, but they refuse to embrace a teardown because of how much future draft capital they owe to the Houston Rockets.

Trading Bridges now with two years left on his contract would help the Nets get maximum value for him, and it would give him a much better chance to return to the NBA Finals.

Finding a potential fit for Bridges isn't hard. Every team would love to acquire a 20 point-per-game scorer who defends at a high level and hasn't missed a single game in his six-year career.

The Philadelphia 76ers could undo their draft-night mistake of trading Bridges to Phoenix and look to acquire him again to play between Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Atlanta Hawks will always need more defensive help around Trae Young, and a healthy Memphis Grizzlies squad is a star wing away from being one of the best teams in the West."

Best New Fits: Philadelphia 76ers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies

Now to be clear, there has not been any reporting to suggest that Bridges is available for trade, but that might not stop teams from calling and asking because as Swartz said, Bridges is just a good fit on nearly any team, especially if that team already has a top scoring threat. Bridges is being asked to do too much on Brooklyn, especially on offense, but he would fit great next to Trae Young. It would take a lot to pull Bridges away from Brooklyn if he were to become available and I don't know that the Hawks have enough to get a trade done, but that should not stop them from calling in the event that Bridges become available.

This summer could see a lot of movement around the league and Atlanta seems like a team that is certainly going to be talked about a lot. Don't be surprised if the Nets are too.