Getty Devin Booker #1 of the Phoenix Suns.
It’s all fun and games until it becomes real and, in this case, it can become very real in the summer of 2026.
That’s when newly-minted Brooklyn Nets wing Mikal Bridges‘ contract — worth four-year, $90.9 million — is set to expire making him an unrestricted free agent. And he could rejoin his former team in Phoenix, presumably after their experiment with former Net Kevin Durant has concluded.
He is certainly already being recruited.
“It’s tough, Phoenix Suns star Devin Booker said after leading his team to a 117-16 win over the Indiana Pacers in their first game after trading away Bridges and Cameron Johnson for Durant via ESPN’. “That was the spirit of our team, having those twins. You know, I think the only good part about it is they have each other to lean on. But they will be very well missed here in The Valley, as everybody knows. But friends and brothers for life. We’ll stay in contact forever and we’ll see what they’re doing in, what, 2026?”
Johnson’s four-year, $18.6 million deal expires after this season and although he is going into restricted free agency ($8 million qualifying offer, per Spotrac), he is good enough to where there would likely be teams interested in signing him to an offer sheet meaning the Nets will need to pay him this summer, in an interesting proposition for a franchise in transition.
They have to pay someone, though. Fortunately for Johnson amid an injury-interrupted season and questions about his contract, he lands in Brooklyn now.
mikal bridges and cam johnson on finding out they were traded, the “last supper type vibe” with their ex-teammates in the hallway of the hotel, etc.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like Booker will leave the desert to make a reunion happen.
His current five-year, $158.2 million contract is set to expire after the 2024 season. But he already has another $224 million over five years waiting for him meaning he won’t be leaving Phoenix at least until after the 2028 season unless the Suns or Booker himself has a major change of heart.
He has previously spoken of wanting to build a super team but doing so around him in Phoenix. The blockbuster trade for Durant, 34, would seem to indicate a willingness to surround their franchise cornerstone with whatever he needs to succeed under new owner Matt Ishbia.
“Those two guys are big part of building this organization to what it is today. I can truly say I love them.”
Devin Booker on losing Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson, but gaining Kevin Durant.
“You have one of the best players to ever touch a basketball coming in here.” #Suns
As for the imminent partnership with the former Nets franchise cornerstone?
“The respect is mutual. Somebody that I probably watched the most highlights of. Somebody that I’ve admired for a very long time. Somebody that I’ve stayed in communication with since the Olympics and before that. So just want to introduce him to the Valley. Introduce him to our team, our culture. He’s a hooper, he loves hoop. That’s all he does so he’s going to fit right in.”
Booker continued saying that he was eager to learn and compete from Durant now that they are teammates but, for Nets fans, his comments about Bridges’ future should not necessarily go unnoticed.
Mikal Bridges Was Highly Sought After
Both Johnson and Bridges are highly thought of in league circles. But Bridges in particular was on the radar of teams at this year’s trade deadline with at least one team making a potentially franchise-altering offer, per HoopsHype NBA insider, Michael Scotto.
“The Memphis Grizzlies offered the Brooklyn Nets four first-round picks for Mikal Bridges, said Scotto. “It’s unclear if the picks included protections or not.”
Per Zach Lowe on the ‘Lowe Post’ podcast on February 10, at least three were unprotected.
The new guys making an instant impact!
Cam Johnson’s first points as a Net ➡️ a steal and score from Mikal Bridges!
Watch #NETSonYES LIVE: t.co/aRu5PF6QsA
Given that Bridges is just 26 years old and under team control for three more seasons, there is a chance the Nets could revisit any conversations had for the 6-foot-6, 209-pound forward in the summer.
But any interested team is going to have to open up their draft coffers – though it should probably be noted that Memphis is a younger team meaning their future picks have a different value than an older team that may not be together by the time those picks convey. The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2027 and 2029 first-round picks are an example.
L.A. used the former to unload the contract of polarizing point guard Russell Westbrook, a rumored option for Brooklyn on the buyout market but it was a hot commodity.
The Nets have also been honed in on both Bridges and Johnson for some time.
“This past summer, when the Nets and Suns discussed trade scenarios involving Kevin Durant, the main pieces of the talks centered around Bridges and Cam Johnson, whom the Nets coveted,” reported Scotto.
Nets Did Not Want Suns’ Deandre Ayton
As good as the package the Nets received looks now and may prove to be in the long run, some might wonder why the Nets did not target big man Deandre Ayton in the deal.
“Deandre Ayton was not a realistic option for Brooklyn since he needed to be involved in a sign-and-trade during his free agency, which would’ve hard-capped the Nets,” Scotto said in his report.
Brooklyn was also rumored to be haggling with the Toronto Raptors about including Nic Claxton in a potential deal. No specifics about that deal have emerged but the Nets did have an interest in Raptors forward OG Anunoby.
It is clear that, even without the star power on the floor, the Nets still have plenty of cache in league circles and will be a focal point for the foreseeable future.