Grade the Trade: Thunder are title favorites after new blockbuster proposal

Laying out the trade

The Brooklyn Nets are teetering on the edge of a knife with two paths before them. They were relatively healthy this season and still came nowhere near the playoffs, but tanking seems off the table given the fact that the Houston Rockets own their first-round picks for the next few seasons.

At the same time, pushing their chips in to try and win now ignores the fact that they don't have a No. 1 or No. 2 option to lead the way.

The Nets just hired a new head coach in Jordi Fernandez and may be ready to face the music and get value for their current players in order to rebuild a young core to start winning in a few seasons. If they make that decision, teams will be lining up to make trade offers for current face of the franchise, MIkal Bridges.

Bridges is the super soldier version of a 3-and-D wing, capable of playing lockdown defense (perhaps no one has guarded Stephen Curry better in the last half-decade) and elite 3-point shooting.

Over the past couple of seasons, he has also grown as an offensive creator and can take full advantage of teams putting lesser defenders on him. With the Nets he has been miscast as the No. 1 option, but could still thrive on a team with other stars. He may be the most scaleable star in the NBA.

Here's an offer pitched by popular trade site Fanspo that would bring Mikal Bridges to Oklahoma City:

Brooklyn would land four picks in the exchange, including two first-rounders, as well as two solid veterans in Luguentz Dort and Kenrich Williams. Dort, in particular, would have a strong market if the Nets wanted to flip him to another team. The two first-round picks here would be Houston's 2024 first, likely to fall in the late lottery, and the Miami Heat's 2025 first.

The Nets probably are looking for more on the trade market, and perhaps they find it; the Thunder could certainly put in another pick if a bidding war develops. At the same time, a pick guaranteed in the lottery is more valuable than future maybes, strengthening this offer for the Thunder.

Let's say for the sake of argument that the Nets are game for this trade. Should the Thunder pull the trigger to bring Bridges to the Great Plains?