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Summary:
- The New York Knicks have acquired Brooklyn Nets’ forward Mikal Bridges in a surprising trade.
- The 27-year-old has two seasons and $48.2 million left on his contract.
- Bojan Bogdanovic will be transferred to the Nets which will also get the Knicks’ first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031.
According to sources that have remained anonymous until the deal is officially announced, the New York Knicks have big plans to win NBA’s Eastern Conference League this upcoming season thanks to a rare and surprising trade inked with the Brooklyn Nets.
The Knicks will allegedly acquire forward Mikal Bridges from the Nets for Bojan Bogdanovic. The dramatic deal, which is the first one involving the two franchises since 1983, also involves four unprotected first-round picks, a 2025 protected first-round pick, two second-round picks, and a pick swap.
The Nets will also get the Knicks’ first-round picks in the upcoming years (2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031).
Bridges Played in Every Game
The 27-year-old is one of the best two-way players of the game, averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, as well as 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals.
Bridges, who still has two seasons and $48.2 million on his contract, shot 43.6% from the field, 81.4% on free throws, and 37.2% on 3-pointers for the Nets in the 2023-2024 season.
He also never skipped a single game in his entire six-year career. He played in 83 games in 2022-2023 after Phoenix traded him to the Nets for Kevin Durant.
The player will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2025-2026 season.
The Knicks lost seven games to Indiana in the Eastern Conference semifinals as they were but were hampered by a series of key player injuries.
The list includes OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and Bogdanovic. Jalen Brunson also had to abruptly exit Game 7 because he fractured his hand.
Big Sacrifices for Bridges
The Knicks gave up four unprotected first-round picks along with other important assets for the stunning trade, in an attempt to improve and compete with Boston for the East title.
The franchise still has some work to do with its roster. OG Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein are free agents and re-signing might not be possible.
The Nets are still trying to recover from the Kevin Durant-James Harden-Kyrie Irving era that wasn’t able to generate any significant results while attempting to get quality NBA draft picks that would help them rebuild.
The Nets also agreed to a draft-picking deal with Houston. The former will get a 2025 pick swap as well as a 2026 first-round pick from Houston.
