The Empire State Building lit up blue and orange on Tuesday night, officially celebrating the Mets’ victory. But the lights flashed the same colors for the Knicks just minutes after news broke that New York sent five surprising 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 mentioned by league personnel that were actively involved in pursuing Bridges. The Nets have rejected offers for Bridges in previous trade cycles that compiled as many as four first-round picks, sources said. And as of Monday, none of Brooklyn’s conversations with those three teams or others were considered anything serious, sources said. That is until the Knicks return four unprotected first-round players — starting in 2025 — plus a protected first-round pick from the Bucks, and then Brooklyn’s rights to trade first-rounders to New York in 2028, league sources confirmed to Yahoo Sports.
It all amounts to six total years of draft capital, one of the biggest — if not the biggest — returns for a player who has never been named an All-Star in NBA history. Bridges is probably worth more to the Knicks than any other team, a chance to bring in a fourth Wildcat from Villanova’s three-year run behind Jalen Brunson, who won national titles in 2016 and 2018. Bridges is also considered one of the best options that New York could find a way to counter Boston’s two-way wing lineup that just won this year’s championship. Bridges has always had his eye on New York, sources said, especially after the Knicks signed Donte DiVincenzo last summer following the February 2023 trade deadline deal that brought Josh Hart in the door. Those Wildcat connections run deep, and Kyle Lowry has even been mentioned by NBA figures as a target for New York in free agency, sources said.
Bridges, however, did not request the trade this week, sources said. In fact, this is an indication that Brooklyn searched the market for potential additions this summer and didn’t find the star running mate that Nets folks were hoping Bridges would help attract to Brooklyn. Damian Lillard certainly 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 hiring Jordi Fernandez – the highly regarded Canadian national team coach who last served as Mike Brown’s assistant – to the Nets sideline brings Brooklyn a first-year bench leader with postseason experience and youth and openness to building a program, compared to a purely competition-focused coach 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 struck a deal since 1983. That synergy alone was a shock to many veteran league observers. Around the time Kevin Durant first requested a trade from the Nets during the summer of 2022, several Brooklyn employees vowed that the club would never send the All-Star to Madison Square Garden. The Knicks going all-in, mortgaging five of their eight available first-round picks, which New York once determined were too much for Mitchell, was clearly enough for the Nets to start working on the bridge.
Things are very different above Penn Station, of course, since New York’s negotiations with Utah broke down. 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 convinced many league figures that it posed the biggest threat to challenge Boston in the East. Adding Bridges likely cements that notion, even if Philadelphia manages to steal Paul George from the Los Angeles Clippers. All signs point to New York re-signing OG Anunoby as well, and you have plenty of upside for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the defensive side of Boston’s offense and shooting.
All of this makes a strong argument for Brunson to sign the four-year, $156 million extension he is eligible to sign on July 12. For all that money, it would still be a huge payday for an All-Star fresh off a fifth-place MVP finish. In what could be a key moment in the NBA market, Brunson actively picking up more than $100 million less than would be available to him next summer would be a seismic influence from players of his caliber who commanded the absolute highest value last season. decade or more. This has been a course correction since LeBron James abandoned his pay-cutting days in Miami. The finances, however, would be much more challenging for New York to build a long-term winner, and the Knicks already appear likely to lose Isaiah Hartenstein to unrestricted free agency due to cap constraints following the Bridges deal.
The Nets are still likely to re-sign Nic Claxton despite what is considered a clear pivot to 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 following season-ending foot and wrist surgeries, sources said. If you need more evidence from the Brooklyn big man, the Nets struck a follow-on deal with Houston after getting their blockbuster in Bridges. In short, Brooklyn had been discussing various structures with the Rockets since the trade deadline about sending the Nets’ picks back to Barclays Center. All of this makes Brooklyn able to directly benefit from its own drop in the rankings – and not award the third pick to Houston again.
The Nets received back the pick swaps they had previously sent to Houston as part of the James Harden trade in January 2021, got back their own 2026 first-round pick, and then sent the Nets’ 2027 first-round pick. Houston Phoenix traded Durant-to-Suns at last year’s deadline, in addition to other Suns trades. The full terms, by source:
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Houston gives up 2025 right to trade HOU/OKC first-round pick for BKN first-round pick
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Houston acquires 2025 right to swap HOU/OKC first for PHX first
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Brooklyn Acquires 2026 BKN First
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Houston Acquires 2027 PHX First
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Houston acquires the most favorable 2029 of DAL first and PHX first, and Houston acquires the 2029 right to exchange HOU first for the least favorable of DAL first and PHX first (stated otherwise, 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 labeled 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 key domino of this offseason. Its outcome impacts the potential outcomes and cap space of so many teams and therefore so many players who could benefit or lose their own options. The bridges to New York directly impact Hartenstein, but could their biggest ripple effect be the additional instigation of teams willing to trade for a final piece that could put them over the hump?
