Burned Bridges: Mikal Bridges opens up about draft night trade
As he prepares to face the Philadelphia 76ers team that spurned him five years ago, Mikal Bridges did not mince words.
Bridges stopped by "Stephen A.'s World" and admitted to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith that being traded by his hometown team on draft night "upset and pissed (him) off for a pretty long time."
He ultimately landed with the Phoenix Suns, where he played a key role in the team's run to the 2021 NBA Finals. Bridges admitted that the trade "was actually probably one of the best things" to happen to him, as upset as it might have made him in the moment.
After playing his collegiate blal at nearby Villanova, Bridges looked as though he was set for a storybook career arc when the Sixers selected him 10th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft. He helped lead the Wildcats to two NCAA Tournament championships and believed that he was about to receive a chance at doing the same for his home city.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Sixers sent him packing moments after selecting him, a decision that has come into focus with Bridges set to face the team in the playoffs as a member of the Brooklyn Nets.
Given that Philadelphia is led by MVP candidate Joel Embiid, Bridges and crew can use any motivating factors they can find. He was acquired by Brooklyn midseason, coming over as Kevin Durant headed out to the desert.
To date, Bridges has looked like a potential building block for the Nets moving forward. In 27 regular season games with Brooklyn, Bridges averaged 26.1 points per game, the best mark of his career. While He didn't have any control over how his NBA career began, he will certainly have a say in how this next chapter unfolds.
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