Nets were always ‘prepared for a rebuild’ with right Mikal Bridges offer
NY Post
LAS VEGAS — Nets GM Sean Marks has only spoken publicly once since the team traded Mikal Bridges, and team owner Joe Tsai not at all.
But multiple highly placed sources peeled the curtain back on Brooklyn’s thinking, explaining its heel turn from chasing stars to embracing a rebuild as all part of game theory.
“[The view had been] that if you’re in New York City, you can’t be a bad team, because the fan base is not going to support you. It’s such a big media market, if you’re a terrible team, everything gets very bad,” one source told The Post of the organization’s initial aversion to a rebuild.
“But you also have to think about the long term. You cannot be a mediocre team for a long time. So you have to set yourself up to either be really good, and if you only see a path to be just mediocre in the near term, then you have to consider an option that can take you to a rebuild.”
Frankly, the Nets were worse than mediocre.
They finished last season 32-50, their worst record since 2017-18.
The Jets were quiet on Day 2 of free agency after adding a new quarterback Monday.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Brett Berard has displayed both a fiery passion and an admirable patience in the last six months of his hockey career, which reached the NHL level for the first time at the end of November.
PORT ST. LUCIE — The baseball calendar says the Mets have about two weeks until Opening Day, but Francisco Lindor’s mind is on another timetable as these dog days of spring training pass.
The man with the best nickname on the team is one of the few Knicks who has made it this far relatively unscathed in the court of public opinion.
For a guy who seemingly is always headed out the door, Darius Slayton has a way of never leaving.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Rangers stood by their defensive structure in the immediate aftermath of their Weekend of Missed Opportunities, in which they had two chances to capture the top wild-card spot in the East and failed to do so in such disappointing fashion.
PORT ST. LUCIE — Luis Torrens helped inject life into the Mets’ season last year but now faces even larger responsibilities with the team.
The Jets are having a Fields Day.
SACRAMENTO — P.J. Tucker understands his reputation as a hard-nosed player who is willing to vocalize displeasure.
The Yankees have insurance on Gerrit Cole, which is a positive thing in a very worrisome situation.
Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, oh, the Rangers might’ve had a weekend if they had only buckled down after taking a 3-1 lead into the final 10 minutes in Ottawa on Saturday.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers’ last two steps to a championship were eliminating the New York teams last October, and it is hard to miss how much of a better February and March Los Angeles is having as well.
The Jets kicked off free agency by keeping one of their own.