Across the Bridges
Nets star looks to come back and be ‘better’ next season
Mikal Bridges says it hasn’t really hit him yet that he will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2020, but that is the dire reality of the situation for the Nets.
Brooklyn will play out the string with its final three games of the season this week, beginning with their last home game Wednesday night against the also-eliminated Raptors at Barclays Center.
“It’s not fun at all,” Bridges said after practice Tuesday in Brooklyn. “It still hasn’t hit me yet. When the season ends, it probably will. But it’s not fun.
“Obviously, you want to keep playing. The last time I was here [in a non-playoff situation], it [was] probably my second year in the league with the Suns. Yeah, you don’t want to be done in April.”
The 27-year-old Bridges, who was acquired at last season’s trade deadline from Phoenix in the Kevin Durant blockbuster, has two guaranteed years remaining on his contract with a salarycap hit of $23.3 million for 2024-25.
Asked about how he is approaching the offseason, and the franchise’s long-term direction, Bridges said he fully expects to be back with the Nets.
“Yeah, 100 percent. I don’t think I look at anywhere else,” Bridges said. “I don’t think about my contract at all. Just try and come back, and my biggest thing this summer is to be better than I was this year. Take a lot from what I learned.
“Obviously it was not what I wanted and what we wanted as a team, but you can’t really sulk about it. Didn’t play your best. That’s cool. Might get some hate for it, but just get in the gym, get better and learn from it. My intention is definitely to stay here. I got nowhere else to be.”
Bridges has appeared in all 79 games so far, and he’s averaging 20.0 points per game, a drop from the 26.1 he posted in 27 appearances last spring following the trade. That helped the Nets secure the No. 6 playoff position in the Eastern Conference, though they were swept in the first round by the 76ers.
The Nets will conduct a coaching search this summer after Kevin Ollie was named the interim replacement when Jacque Vaughn was fired with a 21-33 record in February. The Nets are 10-15 under Ollie — who led his alma mater, Connecticut, to an NCAA championship in 2014 — and in 11th place in the East at 31-48 overall.
Asked if he hopes to be consulted about the coaching search or personnel moves this summer, Bridges replied, “[Whatever] they want, man. I just try to play basketball. They know I want to win, and [they will] figure out the best guy to help us win.”
In the meantime, the former Villanova star said he must “keep attacking the days” until the regular season concludes with road games against the Knicks (Friday) and the 76ers (Sunday).
“The season’s not over yet, so just keep playing strong, finishing strong,” Bridges said. “Times like this, especially out of the playoffs, you kind of relax, and so just stay with it and continue to [finish] the season strong.”
Bridges, named one of 12 finalists for the league’s Teammate of the Year award, said he understands the final games will be about learning more about young players such as Noah Clowney and Jalen Wilson.
Wednesday night also marks the team’s Fan Appreciation night for the Barclays faithful.
“It’s tough, this season we’re having. A lot of losing [even though there were] a lot of expectations this year,” Bridges said. “But for them to even come here when we’re not playing at our best shows [they are] true fans.
“There might be some who aren’t true fans, [those] who don’t show when we’re losing, but I appreciate everybody who still comes [while] we’re trying to figure this thing out and everything.”