5 Team USA teammates Pacers wish they could pair with Tyrese Haliburton
By Jack Simone
5 Team USA teammates Pacers wish they could pair with Tyrese Haliburton: 2. Mikal Bridges
After getting traded by the Phoenix Suns in the Kevin Durant deal, Mikal Bridges turned into a bonafide star for the Brooklyn Nets, and he’s exactly the type of player the Indiana Pacers should want to surround Tyrese Haliburton with.
Post-trade, Bridges averaged over 26 points a night on amazing efficiency for Brooklyn, shooting 47.5% from the field and 37.6% from distance on 6.7 three-point attempts per game.
His blend of isolation scoring ability, off-ball movement, and catch-and-shoot talent make him the prototypical wing star in today’s NBA. Any team around the league would love to get him on their squad.
Bridges is the exact type of player the Pacers have been searching for this summer. Indiana has reportedly been attempting to trade for Toronto Raptors forward OG Anunoby, and Bridges would simply be an upgraded version of that idea.
At 27 years old, Bridges is entering the prime years of his career, and adding him to the current Pacers lineup would not only give Haliburton a great co-star but it would also solidify the Pacers as one of the better defensive lineups in the NBA.
Bridges is the two-way threat that Indiana desperately wants to add, and in this dream scenario, they’d get to do just that.
Hypothetical starting lineup: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Mikal Bridges, Jarace Walker, Myles Turner