The Kevin Durant to Phoenix trade changed the landscape of the NBA last winter and catapulted the team into being championship or bust. Before that, the Suns had a meticulously built core with young players with room to improve over the seasons.
The Suns’ humiliating 2022 playoffs loss to the Dallas Mavericks made them look at superstar additions the second the offseason started, with Durant being widely linked. While the trade didn’t go through in the summer, Mikal Bridges revealed to Paul George that he knew his time in Phoenix was nearing its end.
“In the summer, KD said he wanted to go to Phoenix. It was kind of in the back of my head because we’re not dumb. I knew I was gone, Cam Johnson knew he was gone. It ain’t Booker leaving. I don’t think it’s DA, I don’t think it’s CP. So, I always made jokes. Me and Cam were like, ‘Damn, KD about to come here bro. Pack your bags. We outta here.'”
Mikal Bridges on his trade to Brooklyn:
“I knew I was gone, Cam Johnson knew we was gone. It ain’t Booker leaving.” 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/6oAfhGCQId
— LEEZUS (@AndrewLeezus) July 24, 2023
As they predicted, Mikal and Johnson made their way to Brooklyn after new Suns owner Mat Ishbia pushed for the Durant trade to be finalized. The Suns’ front office didn’t want to give Bridges up last summer. He averaged 17.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 56 games with the Suns in 2022-23.
Mikal Bridges Spoke His Fate Into Reality
During the podcast, Bridges narrated a story from a few days before the Durant trade was made official. The Suns were playing the Nets in Brooklyn and Bridges revealed that he jokingly told arena staff in Brooklyn that he’ll be back there before the trade had been finalized.
“When the KD thing happened, I was just like, ‘Damn.’ I didn’t think it was really gonna happen. Even when we got to Brooklyn the day before when we were going to play them, I was f***ing around in the gym like, ‘This is my home’. I was dapping the guys up that work there like, ‘Imma see you, bro. Imma be back here in a couple of days.’ Then I got f***ing traded two days later.”
It must have hurt to be traded away after the growth he showed in Phoenix, but being in Brooklyn unleashed the full range of Mikal’s game. He averaged 26.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 27 games for the Nets and is hoping to keep them as a playoff team next season.
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