Former Suns Star to Dominate Trade Rumors This Summer

PHOENIX -- It's not often where fans of an organization will still loyally follow and root for an individual player's success after being traded - though that's very much the case with former Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges, who was dealt to the Brooklyn Nets during the 2022-23 season.

Bridges was a fan-favorite and prominent member of the 2021 NBA Finals squad that nearly brought home Phoenix's first title.

Now, he's in Brooklyn, though that might not last for long.

"Plenty of teams" are looking to target Bridges in trade talks this summer according to Evan Sidery.

Although the Nets have remained unwilling to trade Mikal Bridges, plenty of teams are preparing to target him once again this offseason.

The Rockets were reportedly willing to include Jalen Green alongside returning their draft picks at the deadline, which Brooklyn refused.… pic.twitter.com/MpWCpS0udZ
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) May 18, 2024

Bridges - one of the best two-way players in the game - is set to dominate NBA trade talk over the summer according to Bleacher Report.

"Shipping out the closest player they have to a cornerstone is wildly unappealing when they don't control their own first-rounder again until 2028. They are more likely to buy or tread water than burn everything to the ground," wrote Dan Favale.

"But that won't stop the bids from coming in droves.

"Rival teams understand the unsettling complexity of Brooklyn's situation. The franchise occupies a weird space in which it's nowhere near good enough to believe it's a heartbeat away from contention yet incentivized to act in stark contrast to that actuality.

"Immediately, this is an existence that lends itself to overly aggressive trade pursuits rather than selloffs. But it's also a state fragility—vulnerability on which organizations with assets will try to pounce.

"Whether anyone's successful is immaterial for our purposes. We will hear tales of grand offers made for Bridges. Hell, we already have.

"And unless the Nets go out and bag one of the big names on the trade market, those overtures aren't going to stop."

Bridges is under contract with Brooklyn through the next two seasons with cap hits of $23.3 million and $24.9 million, respectively.

While he's not quite superstar level, Bridges is certainly in the upper echelon of NBA players, and if he can continue improvement in the scoring department, teams may look to pay a pretty penny for his services.

Whether the Nets listen to offers remains to be seen - but it certainly feels like we haven't seen the last of trade rumors with Bridges involved.