Brett Brown Might As Well Have Murdered Mikal Bridges
by Boobie
We should have known it was too good to be true. The unheralded hometown kid who, through hard work and belief in himself, became a star, lead his college team to two national championships, and then got drafted by the team he rooted for growing up? It’s the stuff of fairy tales, and fairy tales don’t come true. But for a couple minutes on Thursday night, one did.
The Philadelphia 76ers choosing Mikal Bridges with the tenth overall pick in the NBA Draft seemed as pre-ordained as something as convoluted and unpredictable as a late-lottery selection could possibly be. I read tons of mock drafts on the day of; I’m pretty sure every single one of them nailed it. The fit on a team that needed wings who could shoot and defend was perfect, and fans were overjoyed when the makeshift front office of Brett Brown, Marc Eversley, Ned Cohen, et al. didn’t overthink the decision and went with the right guy.
Then, the betrayal. The Sixers cruelly traded Bridges away to Phoenix for a younger player and a future first round pick, like a lecherous middle-aged billionaire divorcing his wife of 20 years for some 21 year old floozy. Worse, they let him go out and hold an entire press conference about how excited he was to play for the team before doing so, making a fool out of him before kicking him out the door.
When the Sixers and former president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo mutually agreed to part ways after the strange burner account scandal just a couple weeks ago, it seemed like the franchise had reached a true trough; it was the embarrassing incident that would be a black mark on this era forever. It’s incredible that they’ve already made that a footnote compared to the true disgrace that was to come.
What kind of Mickey Mouse organization selects a player, only to send him off to another, less successful organization in exchange for other things? This kid’s mom effectively works for Josh Harris, the team’s owner, and he’s apparently OK with treating him, and by extension his mother and the entire fanbase, as so much cattle to be bartered with. Mikal Bridges went to college just a 45 minute drive into the suburbs away from the Wells Fargo Center; he has been there before too. This is a real person, and for the team to act like he’s nothing more than an asset to be bandied about in attempts to put the team in a better position to win is inhumane.
Brett Brown might as well have murdered Mikal Bridges live on television Thursday night. Is it worse to kill someone’s body or their dream? I’d argue the latter, since they then have to live with the misery of dashed hopes for the rest of their life, rather than simply dying.
The argument that the team wasn’t intentionally trotting out Bridges while intending to trade him holds no water. Sure, the Suns came to the Sixers with the offer rather than vice versa, but at that point, the team needed to look at the situation and make it clear they were committed to their guy. You don’t just draft a player if you don’t intend on keeping them on the team for a decade, come what may. Heading into a summer where the goal is to land a big star to put the team over the top, optics are more important than talent and flexibility, and the optics of this move are nothing short of the Holocaust; Part 2.
If this is how the team is going to be run, if this is how they’re going to treat the people — yes, Brett Brown, Mikal Bridges is a PERSON — then you have to wonder whether the fans should continue to support them. Maybe the right move would be for everyone who claims the Sixers as their favorite team to switch allegiances, following Bridges to Phoenix. At least that franchise lets its players know their wanted.
