Mikal Bridges Trade Could Force The Knicks Into Tough Choices In Free Agency

The New York Knicks agreed to a blockbuster commerce Wednesday night time for Brooklyn Nets ahead Mikal Bridges, in accordance with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In alternate, they’re sending out ahead Bojan Bogdanovic, 4 unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, 2031), a 2025 protected Milwaukee Bucks first-round choose, a 2028 unprotected first-round choose swap and a 2025 second-round choose for Bridges and a 2026 second-rounder.

The deal reunites Bridges together with his former Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. They appeared to unanimously approve of the commerce.

5 first-round picks and an unprotected choose swap is a steep price for Bridges, who profiles as a low-end No. 2 possibility or high-end No. 3. Nonetheless, his well-below-market contract—he is incomes $23.3 million subsequent season and $24.9 million in 2025-26—may have pushed his commerce worth greater than his on-court play would dictate.

Both manner, it is an comprehensible gamble for the Knicks to make. They have been one recreation away from an Jap Convention Finals look, they usually simply added one of many league’s premier two-way wings. With Bridges, Hart, DiVincenzo, Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride all signed by no less than the 2025-26 season, the Knicks at the moment are coming into a transparent two-year championship window.

Draft picks weren’t the one factor that the Knicks gave up for Bridges, although. Except they tweak the framework of the deal earlier than it turns into remaining, they’re going to be hard-capped on the $178.7 million first apron since they’re taking again extra wage than they’re sending out (in accordance with the present reporting, anyway). If Bogdanovic is the one contract they embrace on this deal, the Knicks is not going to be allowed to have greater than $178.7 million of wage on their books at any level between now and June 30, 2025.

That would power the Knicks into successfully having to decide on between re-signing OG Anunoby or Isaiah Hartenstein in free company this summer season.

With seven gamers underneath assured contract—Brunson, Bridges, Hart, Robinson, DiVincenzo, McBride and Julius Randle—the Knicks have already got $125.8 million in assured wage on their books subsequent yr. That leaves them with roughly $52.7 million in flexibility under the primary apron and eight roster spots to fill if they do not choose up their staff choices on DaQuan Jeffries and Jericho Sims and waive Mamadi Diakite, whose $2.3 million contract will not be totally assured till January.

The Knicks even have the No. 24 and No.25 picks within the 2024 NBA draft (as of publish time, anyway), which can come at a mixed price of roughly $5.6 million. In the event that they preserve each of these picks, they’re going to be at $131.4 million in whole wage (not counting Jeffries, Sims and Diakite), which would go away them $47.3 million under the apron.

If Anunoby instructions anyplace near his full most beginning wage ($42.3 million), the Knicks would not have sufficient flexibility underneath the apron to re-sign him and fill out the remainder of their roster with out making different strikes. Nonetheless, each Wojnarowski and SNY’s Ian Begley reported Tuesday night time that the Knicks do nonetheless hope to re-sign him.

That would successfully stop them from retaining Hartenstein, although.

Maybe that was within the playing cards anyway. Because the Knicks signed Hartenstein to a two-year deal in 2022, they solely have Early Chicken rights on him in free company. Which means they’ll provide him a beginning wage price 175% of what he earned in 2023-24 ($9.2 million), which might come out to roughly $16.2 million. He can obtain 8% annual raises from there, however the Knicks cannot provide him greater than a four-year, $72.5 million contract in whole.

The Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder, who mission to have greater than $30 million in cap area this offseason, have already been linked to Hartenstein given their want for an additional large man. In keeping with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, he is additionally “anticipated to attract important curiosity” from the Orlando Magic, who can create practically $50 million in cap area this summer season with out batting a watch.

Between the onerous cap and their Early Chicken limitations, the Knicks is likely to be resigned to dropping Hartenstein in free company. Nonetheless, they may nonetheless hypothetically increase the framework of the Bridges deal earlier than it turns into finalized to keep away from getting hard-capped on the first apron.

In the event that they combination two or extra contracts for Bridges’ deal and in the end ship out extra wage than they’re taking again, the Knicks would as a substitute be hard-capped on the $189.5 million second apron. That will purchase them roughly $11 million in extra wiggle room to re-sign Anunoby, Hartenstein and restricted free agent Treasured Achiuwa.

Nonetheless, the NBA’s new collective bargaining settlement prohibits groups from aggregating a number of gamers on minimal contracts in the course of the offseason. Which means the Knicks could not embrace two of Sims, Diakite and Jeffries within the Bridges deal to make sure that they’re taking again much less wage than they ship out. They could need to loop in one other staff to tackle Robinson or Randle as a substitute.

Scotto talked about facilities Goga Bitadze and Jonas Valanciunas as potential free-agent targets for the Knicks in the event that they do lose Hartenstein. Both manner, they’re going to have to be aware of whichever onerous cap they’re in the end topic to, significantly with regards to negotiations with Anunoby. In the event that they splurge an excessive amount of to re-sign him, it is going to drastically restrict their skill to spherical out the remainder of their roster.

The Knicks cemented themselves as one of many favorites within the Jap Convention with the Bridges commerce, however not with out a steep price. Past the massive haul of draft picks that they gave up, they’ve now difficult the remainder of their offseason enterprise, too.

Except in any other case famous, all stats by way of NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleansing the Glass or Basketball Reference. All wage data by way of Spotrac and salary-cap data by way of RealGM. All odds by way of FanDuel Sportsbook.