Maybe you’re worried that the New York Knicks don’t have enough players from Villanova after having success this season with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. Well, worry no more.
The Knicks will acquire Mikal Bridges and a second-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, five first-round picks and a Second round pick. The Nets also traded with the Houston Rockets for the first-round picks owed by Phoenix in the Kevin Durant trade in order to acquire their own picks from the James Harden trade.
Nets have traded Mikal Bridges to Knicks, source says @TheAthletic @stadium. pic.twitter.com/whfKZ66tmZ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2024
SOURCE: The Brooklyn Nets are trading a 2025 Suns draft pick, a 2027 Suns first-round pick and a first-round pick, and a 2029 first-round pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for The James Harden deal swapped 2025 draft picks and a 2026 first-round pick.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2024
ESPN reported the details of the deal, which includes four unprotected first-round picks from the Knicks, a protected first-round pick and a future second-round pick from the Bucks, and Bogdanovic. There were a lot of draft picks being thrown around. A lot can be deduced from this. So let’s eliminate the losses and score this trade.
Knicks acquire Mikal Bridges, second-round pick
Last season, the Knicks entered the second round of the playoffs as the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but suffered injuries to several key players, including OG Anunoby, against the Indiana Pacers. Got into trouble.
The Knicks acquired Anunoby midway through the season and took off after the move. That helped propel them to the top of the Eastern Conference despite Anunoby missing 27 regular-season games with an elbow injury after the trade and then a hamstring injury in the series against Indiana. That makes acquiring Bridges, who hasn’t missed a game in his six-year NBA career, even more important. (Bridges technically missed one game in 2022-23, when he was traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant deal, but the NBA didn’t count it as a missed game.
deeper
‘I just want to play every game’: Nets’ Mikal Bridges isn’t just the NBA’s Iron Man, he’s determined
We can start by talking about how Bridges, 27, has become one of the best offensive and defensive players in the NBA. His defense has been excellent for years, although it declined when he was asked to create more offense in Brooklyn. He went from an offensive safety valve and stellar defense in Phoenix to a 21-point-per-game scorer with solid defense in Brooklyn. Adding him to the Knicks would allow him to devote more energy on the defensive end, and pairing him with Anunoby would allow New York to severely limit opposing scorers. The Knicks still have to re-sign Anunoby in free agency, but that’s been expected since he moved to New York in late December.
This is a significant draft capital package for Bridges. Essentially, five first-round picks and a second-round pick are Rudy Gobert-level draft picks. But adding Bridges along with Hart, DiVincenzo and Brunson would bolster a team that already has some of the best chemistry in the league. That could open up Knicks big man Isaiah Hartenstein to free agency, but retaining him will be difficult unless he accepts a discount. We’ll see if Julius Randle is still in the Knicks’ long-term plans after this move, but they have a loaded rotation to compete for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Grade: A
The Nets receive Bojan Bogdanovic, six first-round picks, their own 2025 pick from Houston and a second-round pick
The Nets have a lot of draft picks in these two trades, so let’s break down everything they appear to be getting besides bringing back Bogdanovic, who played in Brooklyn from 2014-2017. These are the picks the Nets received in this trade:
- The Knicks’ four unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031;
- A top-four protected first-round pick in 2025 from Milwaukee via New York;
- They received Houston in exchange for a 2025 first-round pick in the Harden trade;
- They received Houston’s 2026 first-round pick in the Harden trade;
- A 2028 unprotected pick swap with the Knicks’ first-round pick;
- A 2025 second-round pick from New York.
That’s more picks than Rudy Gobert had in a single game in Quin Snyder’s offense! (This joke is aimed at a very niche audience, but I hope the editor doesn’t delete it.)
This is a surprising move from the Nets, considering they reportedly turned down Jalen Green and four first-round picks from Houston at the trade deadline. Between those two trades, they’ve acquired a slew of draft picks to replenish their cupboard and can now benefit from struggles on the field again. (Houston owns the third overall pick in this draft because the Nets owe them a pick in the Harden trade.)
The Nets are banking on Knicks being bad again, hopefully (for Brooklyn) as late as 2029. That remains to be seen, as the Knicks have assembled an incredible roster and will likely continue to have more and more success in the Brunson era. It’s important for the Nets to once again have their own picks heading into next year’s draft class, which is filled with top prospects who could end up being franchise-changers. Brooklyn is lucky that the third overall pick sent to Houston this season is at a draft-year low.
Brooklyn has now essentially acquired nine first-round picks plus Cameron Johnson from the 2023 Durant trade. We’ll see what else the Nets can do over the next few seasons in a favorable market to rebuild this roster.
Grade:A
Rockets receive Suns’ 2025 pick swap, 2027 first pick, 2029 first pick and pick swap from Brooklyn
Let’s take a look at what the Rockets are getting from the Nets as they move around some first-round picks in preparation for an aggressive move this summer. Here’s what they got from the Brooklyn trade:
- Phoenix’s 2025 first-round pick swap thanks to Brooklyn in Kevin Durant trade;
- Brooklyn received the Suns’ 2027 first-round pick in the Durant trade;
- A 2029 first-round pick from Phoenix or Dallas, depending on which is more beneficial;
- Swap the 2029 first-round pick for a less favorable pick in Phoenix or Dallas.
Under new coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets surprised many with a 41-41 record last season. Young players like 21-year-old Alperen Şengün and 22-year-old Jalen Green are growing rapidly, and 21-year-old Jabari Smith Jr. has also made huge strides. growing up. We also have 2023 first-round picks Amen Thompson (21) and Cam Whitmore (19) and 2022 first-round pick Tari Eason ( 23 years old) saw some good stuff. Veterans Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green proved to be useful mentors to this young group of players. The Rockets don’t want to miss the playoffs again and now have some impressive draft picks and other assets to become a major player in the trade market.
Maybe Houston could try to convince the Phoenix Suns that their three-star core is going nowhere and offer a draft pick for Durant or Devin Booker at some point in the next season or two. Phoenix wants to win now, but after sweeping Minnesota in the first round last season, that could get ugly quickly. No matter who the Rockets target on the trade market, they have one of the more impressive troves of trade assets to lure a team with a disgruntled star looking to win elsewhere.
This trade could be the first win-win we’ve seen in a while, but it depends on how the Nets and Rockets handle all this shuffling of draft picks.
Grade: A-
(Above: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
