Sources – Mikal Bridges at center of rare Knicks, Nets trade

On the eve of the NBA draft, the Knicks and Nets made their first commerce with one another since 1983 and did so in dramatic trend, as New York agreed in precept to amass Mikal Bridges from Brooklyn for Bojan Bogdanovic, 5 first-round draft picks, a first-round decide swap and a second-round choice, sources informed ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Tuesday.

Brooklyn will obtain unprotected New York picks in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031, together with an unprotected decide swap with New York in 2028. Brooklyn additionally will obtain a top-four protected 2025 first-round decide through the Milwaukee Bucks, in addition to a 2025 second-rounder.

The Knicks will purchase a 2026 second-round decide from the Nets to finish the deal.

Bridges, 27, has by no means missed a recreation in his NBA profession, and he averaged 19.6 factors this previous season for Brooklyn. He’s seen as one of many elite 3-and-D gamers within the league.

The deal is the fifth between the 2 New York franchises because the Nets entered the NBA in 1976 — and the primary because the Nets traded Len Elmore to the Knicks for a 1984 second-round decide (used on Tom Sluby) on June 22, 1983.

Nearly 41 years to the day later, the groups struck a real blockbuster commerce with large reverberations for each franchises transferring ahead.

With the Knicks, Bridges reunites with former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo, who led the Wildcats to the 2016 nationwide championship. Brunson, Bridges and DiVincenzo went on to win a second title collectively two years later.

Now, they will look to assist finish a 52-year championship drought subsequent spring for the Knicks, who gained a playoff collection in back-to-back seasons for the primary time in 24 years after beating the Philadelphia 76ers 4-2 within the first spherical this previous spring earlier than dropping to the Indiana Pacers in seven video games within the Jap Convention semifinals.

Sources informed Wojnarowski that New York stays targeted on making an attempt to re-sign ahead OG Anunoby, whom they acquired midseason from the Toronto Raptors and who is about to turn out to be an unrestricted free agent this summer time. The Knicks additionally hope to re-sign heart Isaiah Hartenstein however are restricted in what they’ll pay him resulting from solely holding his early Chicken rights — which suggests, at most, he can signal a four-year, $72.5 million take care of the workforce.

By touchdown Bridges and Anunoby in consecutive offers, New York is arming itself with as a lot size, versatility and capturing on the perimeter as doable with a view to cope with the champion Boston Celtics for Jap Convention supremacy.

Bridges has performed 474 straight video games to start his profession, the longest streak within the NBA over the previous 40 seasons. He’s considered one of 4 gamers with 1,500 factors, 150 3-pointers and 75 steals in every of the previous two seasons, becoming a member of Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards and Jayson Tatum.

Bridges is owed $23.3 million and $24.9 million over the ultimate two years of his present contract. He’s eligible to signal a two-year extension on Oct. 1 and may lengthen for an extra three years and $113 million in six months.

Brooklyn, in the meantime, has firmly picked a course, not solely by transferring on from Bridges however by sending out a number of of the first-round decide rights it obtained from the Phoenix Suns — together with Bridges — within the Kevin Durant blockbuster commerce in February 2022.

Now, Brooklyn has management of its 2025 and 2026 drafts — each of that are thought-about very sturdy with high-end prospects, together with Cooper Flagg in 2025 and Cameron Boozer, the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, in 2026.

Bogdanovic, 35, averaged 15.2 factors between the Knicks and the Detroit Pistons final season. The Nets drafted him in 2011, and he performed the primary 2½ years of his profession with them.

Data from ESPN Stats & Data and ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used on this report.