Keith was stunned by the Mikal Bridges trade news on Tuesday night, as he reacted to another trade where the Nets dealt away a star player who made it clear that he didn’t want to be in Brooklyn long term.
“None of us saw this coming tonight,” Keith said. “The Brooklyn Nets are easily bullied. They’re easily told what to do. They’ve had multiple guys force their way out.
“James Harden just wanted to go to the booty club. On west coast trips, he wanted to go to the club. Didn’t like it in Brooklyn…Sean Marks actually accepted a trade with Ben Simmons. Nobody in the NBA was doing that.”
Bridges reportedly wanted to play for the Knicks and with his former Villanova teammates, and the Nets granted that wish. Keith credits the team for “swallowing their pride” and getting a load of picks back in return, even if it meant trading with their city rivals for the first time in over 40 years.
“Mikal Bridges wanted this,” Keith said. “Once he came to him and said he wanted to be a Knick, they said ‘We’re not gonna hold you hostage.’”