Nets' Mikal Bridges jokes on Clippers' Paul George podcast about Suns trading him for Kevin Durant

Mikal Bridges said multiple times during his four years with the Phoenix Suns that he didn't want to leave the Valley. Then he was sent to the Brooklyn Nets in a trade package for Kevin Durant in February.

Bridges provided plenty of laughs about his backstory of the trade during his guest appearance on Los Angeles Clippers' All-Star Paul George's "Podcast P Show" released on Monday.

Phoenix's former starting forward even promoted the interview clip on Twitter by saying: "I play too much lmfao."

Bridges initially told the podcast's co-host and actor Jackie Long that it was "really tough" to accept being dealt to Brooklyn with his fellow former Phoenix starter and close friend Cameron Johnson, then-sidelined Jae Crowder, and five future first-round draft picks for Durant and T.J. Warren.

Cam Johnson stays with the Brooklyn Nets on a four-year deal worth $108 million

But after Durant initially requested to be traded to Phoenix last summer, Bridges said he frequently joked with Johnson they both had one foot out the door.

Bridges knew from the media speculation that Brooklyn wanted young All-Star caliber talent, which meant himself and Johnson, in return for the former MVP, and their names were in the trade talks. Brooklyn didn't want to take on Deandre Ayton's four-year max extension for $133 million that he signed last July, neither were they interested in 38-year-old Chris Paul in the trade.

In addition, Devin Booker was off the table because was still being paid on his rookie max salary last season from Phoenix. There's a clause in the NBA and NBPA's collective bargaining agreement that doesn't allow a team to have two rookie max-paid players on its roster after they were traded from the team with which they signed that deal. Brooklyn already had rookie max-paid Ben Simmons, who was dealt to Brooklyn from Philadelphia during the 2021-22 season.

“In the summer, KD said he wanted to go to Phoenix so it was kind of in the back of my head ‘cause, you know, we’re not dumb, like, if you want to come here, I was gone and Cam Johnson knew we was," Bridges said.

"I knew it, so I’m like, ‘Well, it ain’t Book leaving, I don’t think it’s D.A. and I don’t think it’s CP (Chris Paul).' I always made jokes, me and Cam were like, ‘Damn, KD bout to come here. Pack your bags, we outta here!'"

Durant decided to stay in Brooklyn just weeks before training camp in September, Bridges played 56 games for Phoenix and averaged 17.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest. Johnson averaged 13.9 points in his fourth year for Phoenix, but suffered a knee injury and missed most of the 2022-23 season's first half as he sat out for 37 games.

Then after Durant had his own knee injury in Brooklyn's win over Miami on Jan. 8, Brooklyn lost seven of their next 12 games before his ex-Brooklyn teammate and fellow superstar Kyrie Irving began to be placed in trade talks again. Phoenix was among the teams who were in negotiations to get Irving, which Bridges' said his uneasy feelings resumed from the months during the Durant trade talks.

Irving was eventually traded to Dallas on Feb. 6, which ended Brooklyn's highly touted trio with Durant and James Harden, who was traded to Philadelphia at the previous season's trade deadline.

After Irving was dealt to Dallas on Feb. 6, news surfaced that same day about how Phoenix had offered Paul for Irving. Paul was eventually dealt to Washington in exchange for Bradley Beal in June.

Then Durant asked to leave Brooklyn again upon Irving's departure. He was granted his original wish to Phoenix on Feb. 8, the day after Phoenix's road win in Brooklyn, which was the third of Phoenix's five-game road trip.

“Even when I got to Brooklyn that day for when we was about to play them, I was f---ing around in the gym like (looks upward, raises his hands), 'This is my home.’ Then I get f------ traded two days later. So it was like some karma on my a--,” Bridges said as they all laughed with him. “I'm dapping the guys up that work there up like, 'I’ma see you bruh. I’m be back here in a couple days.”

George asked Bridges if the trade happened was a “favor” for the timing when Phoenix played at Brooklyn. But Phoenix actually went through with the trade when the team was scheduled to play in Atlanta, two days after their win over Brooklyn.

“I wish they did it without … we went to Atlanta, and then we had to fly back," Bridges said. "I wish they just did it after the game to let me just stay.”

Bridges made an immediate impact for Brooklyn. He scored his career-high 45 points in his third game for the team in its home win over Miami, and emerged as Brooklyn's top scorer at 26 points per game.

Bridges helped lead Brooklyn to finish the regular season at 45-37, the same as Phoenix's record, and Brooklyn was the Eastern Conference playoffs' sixth seed, swept by Philadelphia in the first round. He was the only player in the league last season to play 83 games, continuing his five-year streak without missing an NBA game since he was drafted.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Nets' Bridges jokes about how Suns traded him, Cam Johnson for Durant