How a Trade Changed Everything for Two N.B.A. Players and Their Dogs

When Mikal Bridges was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Nets in early February, he had to join his new team without stopping at home in Arizona first.

So it fell to Cameron Payne, one of Bridges’s close friends on the Suns, to break the news to their dogs, who are best pals, or so their owners say. The moment called for compassion and candor, and Payne brought both.

Bridges’s dog, Sonny, is a yellow Labrador retriever. Payne’s dog, Uno, is a 25-pound French bulldog. They were lazing around Bridges’s house in Phoenix when Payne approached them. He addressed his comments mainly to Sonny, whose routine would be most disrupted.

“Man,” Payne recalled telling the dog, “Uno’s staying, and, Sonny, I think you’re leaving.”

Sonny and Uno seemed to consider this, or perhaps had no idea what was going on.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/sports/basketball/nba-suns-dogs-payne-bridges.html