Nets turned down blockbuster offer for Mikal Bridges from Rockets including Jalen Green, multiple first-round picks

The Brooklyn Nets are in one of the least desirable positions an NBA franchise can be in – rebuilding while another team has control of your future assets.

Brooklyn sent four first-rounders and three pick swaps to the Houston Rockets in 2021 in exchange for 10-time All-Star James Harden, which has blown up in their face emphatically, considering how quickly his tenure with the Nets unraveled.

That’s all water under the bridge now. But the Nets were presented with a golden opportunity to right their previous wrongs ahead of this year’s trade deadline when the Rockets pursued them with an intriguing offer that could’ve helped Brooklyn expedite what looks like a bleak and long rebuild with no turnaround in sight.

Nets turned down trade package involving Jalen Green, multiple firsts

The Nets reportedly turned down a blockbuster trade with Houston that would’ve sent two-way wing Mikail Bridges to the Rockets in exchange for ascending young guard Jalen Green and “multiple first-round picks,” per The Athletic’s Senior NBA insider Shams Charania.

Wow. That is a stunning and devastating choice for a Nets franchise that has failed to commit to a rebuild one way or the other. But they had a chance to officially wave the white flag after their failed experiment of mortgaging their future to form what may go down as the most talented trio in league history, which resulted in the three only playing 16 games together.

Not only could Brooklyn have asked the Rockets for their remaining picks from the Harden deal, but they would also have been able to land the 2021 No. 2 overall pick, who continues to show improvement on both ends of the floor.

Green has been the catalyst for a red-hot Houston team that has won eight straight games, averaging 27.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game with .514/.417/.796 shooting splits. His efforts have put the Rockets in contention for the NBA Play-In Tournament, trailing the Golden State Warriors by one game for tenth place in the Western Conference.

Regardless of where the Rockets finish in the standings, it will be fascinating to see how the team handles contract negotiations with Green, who is eligible for an extension this summer and will likely be seeking a big payday after what has been an impressive run to close out the season and the best stretch of his career.

Conversely, Brooklyn seeing Green level up his game after rejecting an offer featuring him and multiple first-round picks is like pouring salt all over the figurative wound that they had a chance to close by trading Bridges.

Bridges is a very talented player who is firmly in the prime of his career and under contract for multiple years at a team-friendly cost. Moreover, he is the ideal complimentary piece alongside any star(s) player as someone who can defend virtually anyone and is an excellent three-point shooter, so it makes sense why the Nets are reluctant to part ways with him. But they passed up an offer that may never arise again, and that decision will forever haunt them.