If you had any doubt the Nets were going to rebuild around Mikal Bridges, sit down and read Nick Friedell’s ESPN opus on how Brooklyn sees Bridges: not just as their best player, but a leader and the foundation stone for the franchise’s post-Big Three era ... on the court, and off, the face of the Nets in the public’s mind.
That later point is one that takes up a lot of Friedell’s interviews with Bridges, Sean Marks and Monty Williams, his coach in Phoenix. There’s ample discussion of how the trade went down from Bridges angle and his arrival in Brooklyn, but there’s no doubt they see Bridges not just replacing Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving between the lines, but creating a whole new look, too.