The Empire State Building lit up blue and orange on Tuesday night, officially celebrating the Mets’ victory. But the lights came on in those same colors for the Knicks just minutes after news broke that New York sent a staggering five first-round picks across the East River for Brooklyn to finally part ways with defensive stalwart Mikal Bridges.
Rival teams were sensing Brooklyn’s growing willingness to part ways with Bridges in recent days, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Utah and Houston were two of the other teams league personnel had mentioned as being actively involved in pursuing Bridges. The Nets had turned down offers for Bridges in previous transaction cycles that compiled as many as four first-round picks, sources said. And as of Monday, none of Brooklyn’s talks with those three teams or others were considered anything close to serious, sources said. That was until the Knicks came back with four unprotected first-round picks — starting in 2025 — plus a protected first-round pick from the Bucks, and then the rights for Brooklyn to swap early-rounders with New York in 2028, league sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports.
All of this amounts to six years of total draft capital, one of the largest returns, if not the largest, for a player who was never named an All-Star in NBA history. Bridges is arguably worth more to the Knicks than any other team, a chance to bring in a fourth Wildcat of Villanova’s three-year career behind Jalen Brunson who captured national titles in 2016 and 2018. Bridges also marks one of the best options that New York could have. have found to counter Boston’s two-way wing lineup that just won this year’s championship. Bridges always had one eye on New York, sources said, especially after the Knicks added Donte DiVincenzo last summer following the February 2023 trade deadline deal that brought Josh Hart through the door. These Wildcat connections run deep, and NBA figures have even mentioned Kyle Lowry as a target for New York in free agency, sources said.
Bridges, however, did not request a trade this week, sources said. If anything, this is an indication that Brooklyn scanned the market for potential additions this summer and didn’t find the star running mate that the Nets staff had long hoped Bridges would help attract to Brooklyn. Damian Lillard surely had his eye on the Nets last summer, but he ended up in Milwaukee. The entire league is preparing for Donovan Mitchell to sign an extension with Cleveland. And the hiring of Jordi Fernández – the highly respected Canadian national team head coach who last served as Mike Brown’s assistant – to the Nets bench gave Brooklyn a first-year bench leader with the experience to compete. because of the postseason and the youth and openness to building a program, compared to a head coach simply focused on contention like Mike Budenholzer.
The Nets, of course, were always aware of Bridges’ interest in joining New York. The Knicks, sources said, upped the ante on Tuesday with a significant offer that Brooklyn simply couldn’t refuse, marking the first time these two neighboring franchises had reached a deal since 1983. That synergy alone was a shock to many observers. league veterans. When Kevin Durant first requested a trade from the Nets during the summer of 2022, several members of Brooklyn’s staff swore that the club would never send the All-Star to Madison Square Garden. That the Knicks went all-in, mortgaging five of their eight available first-round picks that New York once determined was too much for Mitchell, was clearly enough to encourage the Nets to work on the other side of the bridge.
Things are very different at Penn Station, of course, since those New York talks with Utah fell through. Since then, Brunson has become a bona fide MVP candidate, one of the league’s most vaunted playoff scorers. New York was inches away from the Eastern Conference finals, and a healthy Knicks team had convinced many figures around the league that they posed the biggest threat to challenge Boston in the East. Adding Bridges likely cements that notion, even if Philadelphia can manage to steal Paul George from the Los Angeles Clippers. All signs point to New York also re-signing OG Anunoby, and you have quite the contrast with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the defensive end of Boston’s drives and kicks.
All of this is a strong argument for Brunson to sign the four-year, $156 million extension that he can sign on July 12. For all that money, it would still be a very low salary for an All-Star who just finished fifth on the MVP list. In what could be a key moment in the NBA market, Brunson actively choosing $100 million less than what would be available to him next summer would be a sea change for players of his caliber who have commanded an absolutely high price. over the last decade and more. That’s been a course correction since LeBron James reversed his pay-cutting days in Miami. However, finances would be much more difficult for New York to build a lasting winner, and the Knicks already appear likely to waive Isaiah Hartenstein and become an unrestricted free agent due to salary constraints following the Bridges deal.
The Nets are likely to re-sign Nic Claxton, despite what is billed as a clear shift toward a rebuild. Brooklyn received Bojan Bogdanović as a salary match for Bridges, and the veteran could have some immediate trade value for the Nets. Bogdanović is expected to return in October after season-ending foot and wrist surgeries, sources said. If you need more evidence of Brooklyn’s pivot, the Nets reached a subsequent deal with Houston after landing their blockbuster Bridges. In short, Brooklyn had been discussing various frameworks with the Rockets since the trade deadline to send the Nets’ picks back to Barclays Center. All of which adds up to Brooklyn being able to directly benefit from its own drop in the rankings, and not give the third pick to Houston again.
The Nets took back the pick swaps they had previously sent to Houston as part of the January 2021 James Harden trade, got back their own 2026 first-round pick, and then sent the Houston Phoenix’s 2027 first-round pick from the Durant to the Suns. at last year’s deadline, in addition to other Suns trades. The full terms, by source:
Houston gives up 2025 right to trade HOU/OKC first-round pick for BKN first-round pick
Houston acquires the right until 2025 to trade HOU/OKC first for PHX first
Brooklyn acquires 2026 BKN first
Houston acquires 2027 PHX first
Houston acquires 2029 most favorable of DAL first and PHX first, and Houston acquires 2029 the right to exchange HOU first for less favorable of DAL first and PHX first (put another way, Houston receives/retains the two most favorable of DAL, HOU and PHX first, and Brooklyn receives/retains the least favorable of DAL, HOU and PHX first)
For weeks, the NBA has been labeling George’s decision to remain in Los Angeles and test the open market (or perhaps opt out of the final year and nearly $50 million on his contract and request a trade) as the linchpin of this offseason. Its outcome impacts the potential outcomes and cap space of many teams — and therefore many players who could benefit or lose out on their own options. Bridges to New York directly impacts Hartenstein, but could its biggest ripple effect be the further instigation of teams willing to trade for a final piece that could help them get over the hump?