Mikal Bridges remains a priority in the Nets' rebuild

The Brooklyn Nets acquired Mikal Bridges as part of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns last season. 

Since arriving in New York, he has proven capable of being the featured scorer on an NBA team. This season, Bridges is averaging 20.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting 45.6% from the field and 36% from three-point range. 

Given his production since arriving in Brooklyn, you could be forgiven for expecting the Nets to flip Bridges for a potential haul of assets. Yet ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski expects Brooklyn to continue building their roster around the 27-year-old wing. 

"I believe Brooklyn’s intent remains to build and add talent around Mikal Bridges," Wojnarowski said during his weekly Q&A session on Instagram's Threads. 

Brooklyn currently sits ninth in the Eastern Conference. They have multiple highly talented two-way wings on their roster. As such, they have enough trade assets to continue developing their roster around Bridges. They can also look to package some draft picks together to move up a future draft board and add some high-level young talent. 

After an ill-fated spell where the front office accumulated Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden, it would appear the Nets are looking to build via continuity and internal development. 

Going down the star route didn't bring the immediate success the front office was hoping for. Bridges was a welcomed byproduct of that difficult spell. 

Of course, Ben Simmons returning to the level we saw from him during his time with the Philadelphia 76ers would also expedite the Nets rebuilding process. Cam Johnson has also proven to be an exciting prospect for the franchise. 

Yet, based on what we've seen this season, a Simmons resurgence may no longer be on the cards. Right now, Brooklyn is in a good place. They're talented but still have room to grow. They can add talent via trade or free agency. 

Most importantly, Brooklyn already has someone they believe in and want to build around. The rest is just based on patience. Whether the front office can sustain that patience will be what makes or breaks their current rebuilding phase.