IT'S A LITTLE after 1 o'clock in the morning on Thursday, Feb. 9, and Mikal Bridges, the talented swingman from the Phoenix Suns, is awake inside the Four Seasons hotel in Atlanta. The trade deadline is 14 hours away.
For months, Bridges has known that if the Suns swung a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for superstar Kevin Durant, he would likely be in it. His phone buzzes. It's Phoenix guard Damion Lee on FaceTime. He breaks the news that Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Jae Crowder and a haul of first-round draft picks are headed to Brooklyn.