Watching the Twins succeed from afar.....

[CardsSunsDbacks]

This from the Nets realgm message board. Told ya. In this one thread they are saying he is better than Booker and calling him Kahwi 2.0


Same.

Always thought Bridges (and even Ayton) was being held back by high usage Booker and ball dominant Paul. Booker has always been empty calories to me like LaVine but w/o Paul to help win games.

Which is why in the summer I wanted Bridges over Brown as well because they are imo very similar talent wise but with Bridges you get Cam Johnson and a ton picks because he's been underutilized and underrated.

LOL at Booker being high usage (or empty calories) or Paul being ball dominant. Neither of those things are particularly true on this team. Mikal had more than enough touches to break out on this team, but was simply not aggressive in looking for his shots.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

I am watching the Nuggets dominate the Grizzlies. I am happy for Mikael but we had zero chance at a championship this year without Durant

 

[Phrazbit]

This from the Nets realgm message board. Told ya. In this one thread they are saying he is better than Booker and calling him Kahwi 2.0


Same.

Always thought Bridges (and even Ayton) was being held back by high usage Booker and ball dominant Paul. Booker has always been empty calories to me like LaVine but w/o Paul to help win games.

Which is why in the summer I wanted Bridges over Brown as well because they are imo very similar talent wise but with Bridges you get Cam Johnson and a ton picks because he's been underutilized and underrated.

Crazy that anyone would think Booker is empty calories at this point.

We've won a lot of games without Paul on the court over the last 3 years.

 

[SunsTzu]

This from the Nets realgm message board. Told ya. In this one thread they are saying he is better than Booker and calling him Kahwi 2.0


Same.

Always thought Bridges (and even Ayton) was being held back by high usage Booker and ball dominant Paul. Booker has always been empty calories to me like LaVine but w/o Paul to help win games.

Which is why in the summer I wanted Bridges over Brown as well because they are imo very similar talent wise but with Bridges you get Cam Johnson and a ton picks because he's been underutilized and underrated.

Most the posters on that board didn't even know who Bridges was before KD requested a trade so you can't really take them seriously with the evaluations.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

Crazy that anyone would think Booker is empty calories at this point.

We've won a lot of games without Paul on the court over the last 3 years.

I guarantee he hasn’t watched 5 Suns games this season lol. DBook plays hard on both ends and is doing a much better job making decisions. He still plays hero ball at times so the efficiency “could” be better but he’s not empty calories.

 

[clyde2tw]

This from the Nets realgm message board. Told ya. In this one thread they are saying he is better than Booker and calling him Kahwi 2.0


Same.

Always thought Bridges (and even Ayton) was being held back by high usage Booker and ball dominant Paul. Booker has always been empty calories to me like LaVine but w/o Paul to help win games.

Which is why in the summer I wanted Bridges over Brown as well because they are imo very similar talent wise but with Bridges you get Cam Johnson and a ton picks because he's been underutilized and underrated.

Wait until teams start to double team Mikal like Book always faced. Mikal has very good handle and quick steps with soft shooting touches, and he just this season started to make plays on his own instead of catch and shoot, and make great progress in short time. His upside is an allaround player, a poorman's Pippen, Butler, Kawhi. But it's ridiculous to compare him to Book or Brown, now or in the future. I'll always root for him and Nets is a perfect situation for him to develop his off. skills.

 

[Hoop Head]

This from the Nets realgm message board. Told ya. In this one thread they are saying he is better than Booker and calling him Kahwi 2.0


Same.

Always thought Bridges (and even Ayton) was being held back by high usage Booker and ball dominant Paul. Booker has always been empty calories to me like LaVine but w/o Paul to help win games.

Which is why in the summer I wanted Bridges over Brown as well because they are imo very similar talent wise but with Bridges you get Cam Johnson and a ton picks because he's been underutilized and underrated.

I knew it would happen but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Happy for Mikal but also a little bummed we locked him into a great contract because the way he's playing and the role he's used in deserves the max. He's definitely going to end up on a few of the "best value contract" articles over the next couple of years, deservedly so.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

I knew it would happen but I didn't expect it to happen so soon. Happy for Mikal but also a little bummed we locked him into a great contract because the way he's playing and the role he's used in deserves the max. He's definitely going to end up on a few of the "best value contract" articles over the next couple of years, deservedly so.

Consider the fact that Tobias Harris is making $14 million more a year and Mikal is averaging more points than him this season and is a better defender, he’s definitely on the best value contract. Hopefully he makes the All-Star team next year.

 

[Hoop Head]

Consider the fact that Tobias Harris is making $14 million more a year and Mikal is averaging more points than him this season and is a better defender, he’s definitely on the best value contract. Hopefully he makes the All-Star team next year.

And Philly chose to pay Harris over Jimmy Butler. Talk about a bad contract. I'm surprised Embiid hasn't forced his way out yet. I think that's coming though. By the deadline next year we'll start hearing about him forcing his way out unless they add a legit #2 next to him. Harden isn't it, although he's better than he was in Brooklyn.

 

[Phrazbit]

And Philly chose to pay Harris over Jimmy Butler. Talk about a bad contract. I'm surprised Embiid hasn't forced his way out yet. I think that's coming though. By the deadline next year we'll start hearing about him forcing his way out unless they add a legit #2 next to him. Harden isn't it, although he's better than he was in Brooklyn.

Philly dumped Butler because Ben Simmons wasn't willing to play with another primary ball handler. Embiid basically said as much.

I agree that Embiid will likely look for an exit in the next year or so, I've talked about the likelihood before. We would have been the obvious destination by a country mile, but now we have nothing to offer. This is the "opportunity cost" of the Durant trade.

We gotta win.

 

[Phrazbit]

The wounds are going to hurt for a long time.

If we win a title it will be just fine. If we don't win a title it will suck on multiple levels.

Yep, that is the long and short of it.

If you value stats like win shares, this trade will likely be one of the the most lop sided of all time. Bridges' value alone going forward in that stat will likely double or triple Durant, toss in Cam Johnson and whatever picks we give up... it will be a gargantuan disparity.

We have to win... now.

 

[Hoop Head]

Yep, that is the long and short of it.

If you value stats like win shares, this trade will likely be one of the the most lop sided of all time. Bridges' value alone going forward in that stat will likely double or triple Durant, toss in Cam Johnson and whatever picks we give up... it will be a gargantuan disparity.

We have to win... now.

I can't help but feel we went all in on a full house, which is a good hand but it's beatable. It's a gutsy move, I'll give that to Ishbia because there was zero chance of this happening under Sarver.

 

[Proximo]

If we get to sign him in 3 years when he is an all star free agent this will end up being ok.

 

[Sparky16]

Wait until teams start to double team Mikal like Book always faced. Mikal has very good handle and quick steps with soft shooting touches, and he just this season started to make plays on his own instead of catch and shoot, and make great progress in short time. His upside is an allaround player, a poorman's Pippen, Butler, Kawhi. But it's ridiculous to compare him to Book or Brown, now or in the future. I'll always root for him and Nets is a perfect situation for him to develop his off. skills.

Bridges has better handles, D and probably finishes around the rim better than Book. BUt book is a scorer and when you need someone to hit a shot, my $ is on Booker. My pipe dream is that somehow MB reaches FA and comes back

 

[Hoop Head]

I can see Bridges as an Eddie Jones type. Strong defender, possible All-Star but ideal 3rd option.

 

[DJ Tabooh]

Bridges has better handles, D and probably finishes around the rim better than Book. BUt book is a scorer and when you need someone to hit a shot, my $ is on Booker. My pipe dream is that somehow MB reaches FA and comes back

The finishing around the rim I will agree with as at times Book struggles with that because he’s not long or super athletic. But to say Bridges has better handles is asinine.

Mikal has definitely improved his handle and creating for himself but not to the extent of Booker. Now can he continue to develop that, sure. But it’s way to small of a sample size to say that right now.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Bridges has better handles, D and probably finishes around the rim better than Book. BUt book is a scorer and when you need someone to hit a shot, my $ is on Booker. My pipe dream is that somehow MB reaches FA and comes back

Handles? No way.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Anyone notice that Bridges is wearing the number 1 in Brooklyn. He is the ultimate complementary player. He got to Brooklyn and looked around and figured out that his team had no lead guy--no Booker. So he took on the Book role. That guy will do whatever is necessary to win.

 

[elindholm]

Bridges has better handles, D and probably finishes around the rim better than Book.

Not in the games I've watched. Bridges's defense is better, but he's a turnover waiting to happen as soon as he tries to create, and he's often out of control by the time he gets to the basket.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yep, that is the long and short of it.

If you value stats like win shares, this trade will likely be one of the the most lop sided of all time. Bridges' value alone going forward in that stat will likely double or triple Durant, toss in Cam Johnson and whatever picks we give up... it will be a gargantuan disparity.

We have to win... now.

I'm putting this trade mostly on the owner, because I don't think James Jones gives up Bridges in the trade.

Robert Sarver left his stamp on the Suns as a fan/owner. Let's hope Mat Ishbia has more success.

 

[Germz249]

The wounds are going to hurt for a long time.

Its does sting but would he have been utilized the same way here to get those numbers?

Well I will be right next to ya hurting also..

 

[Mainstreet]

Its does sting but would he have been utilized the same way here to get those numbers?

Well I will be right next to ya hurting also..

Bridges wouldn't have put up those numbers in Phoenix but it wouldn't have taken away his growth as a player. IMO, he had already turned the corner.

Without the trade for Durant, the Suns were loaded for both the present and the future. They would have had to tweak their roster for the playoffs but they wouldn't have had to sold the farm.

A scary thought occurred to me. It's not out of the realm of possibility, the Suns and Nets may meet in the Finals in the not too distant future.

 

[Cheesebeef]

This from the Nets realgm message board. Told ya. In this one thread they are saying he is better than Booker and calling him Kahwi 2.0


Same.

Always thought Bridges (and even Ayton) was being held back by high usage Booker and ball dominant Paul. Booker has always been empty calories to me like LaVine but w/o Paul to help win games.

Which is why in the summer I wanted Bridges over Brown as well because they are imo very similar talent wise but with Bridges you get Cam Johnson and a ton picks because he's been underutilized and underrated.

LOL… told ya? You said the media would start regarding him as the next Booker/Kawhi. What you just pointed to was a message board is calling him booker/Kawhi! Kinda a big difference considering people HERE were doing the same thing. Why? Because home message boards usually overrate their own players.

If you don’t believe me, why don’t you go back to right before the All-Star break when that same message board was probably calling Cameron Thomas the next Michael Jordan.

That message board also called Booker empty calories. But hey… if the nets message board says it must be true, it must be true.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Let's see how good and aggressive he is when teams start to really focus on taking him out of the game.

We would probably also be seeing some similar story lines if it was Ayton that we traded and he was over there averaging like 24/12. Ultimately we walked away with 3.5 years of a top 5 to top 10 players in the game and we didn't have to trade our best player to do it. An argument could be made that Mikal was our 3rd best player.

 

[Yuma]

Bridges wouldn't have put up those numbers in Phoenix but it wouldn't have taken away his growth as a player. IMO, he had already turned the corner.

Without the trade for Durant, the Suns were loaded for both the present and the future. They would have had to tweak their roster for the playoffs but they wouldn't have had to sold the farm.

A scary thought occurred to me. It's not out of the realm of possibility, the Suns and Nets may meet in the Finals in the not too distant future.

I LOVE Bridges and Cam Johnson. I HATED them leaving. Us old timers hated Hornacek getting traded, but we all knew, without a guy like Barkley, no way would we get past the Bulls. It's the same thing here. We see teams like the Bucks and the Mavs who figured us out. That was with Cam and Bridges. In just two games I have seen the most wide open threes for Booker since he was a rookie and no one covered him, LOL. Durant became the best player on a team that has Devin Booker!!! Just think about that! How often can you add a guy over a player of Booker's talents? This is HUGE. The simple fact is, there was no way we can give another team nothing in return for an all time great player. You have to trade usually good young talent and then some. My dream is Bridges and Cam hone their skills, become guys that can carry teams, then come back to PHX in free agency! After we have won a championship here of course!