Mikal Bridges trade qualities: Did the Knicks, Nets and Rockets all win?

Maybe you were worried that the New York Knicks didn’t have enough players from Villanova after their success this season with Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. Well, don’t worry anymore.

The Knicks are acquiring Mikal Bridges and a second-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanović, five first-round picks and a second-round pick, league sources confirmed Tuesday night. The Nets also make a trade with the Houston Rockets, exchanging the first-round picks Phoenix owes them from the Kevin Durant trade to get back their own picks from the James Harden trade.

The Nets have traded Mikal Bridges to the Knicks, sources say @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/whfKZ66tmZ

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2024

Sources: The Brooklyn Nets trade a 2025 Suns pick swap, a 2027 Suns first-rounder and a first-rounder and trade to the Houston Rockets in 2029 for their own 2025 pick swap and the 2026 first-round pick from James Harden -transaction.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 26, 2024

ESPN reported that the details of the trade included four unprotected first-round picks from the Knicks, a protected first-round pick from the Bucks and a future second-round pick along with Bogdanovic. There are a lot of picks being thrown around. A lot can be deduced from this. So let’s get the red ink out and throw some numbers on this trade.

Knicks acquire Mikal Bridges and a second-round pick

Last season, the Knicks finished as the East’s No. 2 seed, reached the second round of the playoffs and then fell to Indiana after injuries to several key players, including OG Anunoby.

The Knicks acquired Anunoby midseason and left after that move. It helped catapult them to the top of the East, even when Anunoby missed 27 regular-season games with an elbow injury after the trade and then suffered a hamstring injury in the Indiana Series. That makes the acquisition of Bridges, who has not missed a game in his six-year NBA career, even more important. (Technically, Bridges missed one game in the 2022-2023 season when he was traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant deal, but the NBA does not consider this a missed game. In fact, he played 83 games that season due to schedules of the two teams he played for.)

We can start by talking about how the 27-year-old Bridges is one of the better two-way players in the NBA. His defense was excellent most years, although it took a dip when he was asked to create more offense in Brooklyn. He went from being a decent safety valve on offense with an excellent defense in Phoenix to a 21-point-per-game scorer with a solid defense in Brooklyn. Placing him on the Knicks allows him to expend much more energy on the defensive end of the court, and pairing him with Anunoby allows New York to put some serious pressure on opposing scorers. The Knicks have yet to re-sign Anunoby in free agency, but that has been expected to happen since he moved to New York in late December.

This is a lot of draft capital to give up for Bridges; what is essentially five first-round picks and a second-round pick is a Rudy Gobert-level package. But adding Bridges to the mix with Hart, DiVincenzo and Brunson boosts a team that already has the best chemistry in the league. It could cost Knicks big man Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency, but it would be difficult to keep him unless he was cut. We’ll see if Julius Randle is still in the Knicks’ long-term plans after this move, but they have a loaded rotation to battle for supremacy in the East.

Class A

Nets acquire Bojan Bogdanović, six first-round picks, their own 2025 pick swap from Houston and a second-round pick

There are so many picks flying around these two trades with the Nets, so let’s break down everything they appear to be acquiring besides bringing back Bogdanović, who played in Brooklyn from 2014-2017. Here are the picks the Nets get in this trade:

• Four unprotected Knicks first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031;
• A top-four protected first-round pick from Milwaukee in 2025 via New York;
• A 2025 first-round pick swap they owed to Houston from the Harden trade;
• A 2026 first-round pick they got from the Harden trade to Houston;
• An unprotected 2028 pick swap with the Knicks’ first-round pick;
• A 2025 second-round pick from New York.

That’s more picks than Rudy Gobert would make on a single play in Quin Snyder’s offense! (This joke is intended for a very niche audience, but I hope the editors don’t delete it.)

This is a surprising move by the Nets considering their situation reportedly rejected Jalen Green and more than four first-round picks from Houston at the trade deadline. Between these two trades, they acquired a host of picks to replenish their cabinet and can now take advantage of wrestling on the court again. (Houston has the third pick in this draft because of a pick owed to them by the Nets from the Harden deal.)

The Nets are banking on the idea that the Knicks will be bad again, hopefully (for Brooklyn) no later than 2029. That remains to be seen, as the Knicks have put together an incredible roster and could continue to have more and more success in the Brunson- era. It’s important for the Nets to get back to making their own choices as they head into next year’s draft class, which is loaded with top prospects who could ultimately become franchise changers. Brooklyn is fortunate that the third overall pick it dealt to Houston this offseason is in a down year.

Brooklyn has now essentially acquired nine first-round picks, along with Cameron Johnson, from the 2023 Durant trade. We’ll see what else the Nets can do to rebuild this roster over the next few seasons in a favorable market.

Class A

Rockets acquire Suns 2025 pick swap, 2027 first, 2029 first and Brooklyn pick swap

Let’s take a look at what the Rockets are acquiring here from the Nets as they shuffle a number of first-round picks in preparation for an aggressive summer of trade opportunities. Here’s what they’re getting from the Brooklyn trade:

• Phoenix’s 2025 first-round pick swap owed to Brooklyn from Kevin Durant trade;
• First-round pick out of Phoenix in 2027 due to Brooklyn in Durant trade;
• 2029 first-round pick from Phoenix or Dallas, whichever is more favorable;
• 2029 first round pick swap for less favorable picks from Phoenix or Dallas.

Under new coach Ime Udoka, the Rockets surprised many last season by finishing 41-41. Young players like 21-year-old Alperen Şengün and 22-year-old Jalen Green grew up tremendously, as did 21-year-old Jabari Smith Jr. in his role. We also saw some good things from Amen Thompson (21) and Cam Whitmore (19) in the 2023 first round, as well as Tari Eason (23) in the 2022 first round. Veterans Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Jeff Green turned out useful mentors for this young cast of players. The Rockets don’t want to miss the playoffs again, and now they are armed with some impressive draft picks and other assets to become major players on the trade market.

Perhaps Houston could try to convince the Phoenix Suns that their three-star core isn’t going anywhere and offer their picks back for Durant or Devin Booker sometime in the next season or two. Phoenix wants to win now, but that situation could quickly turn ugly after last season’s first-round sweep by Minnesota. Regardless of who the Rockets target in the trade market, they have one of the most impressive treasuries of trade assets to entice a team with a disgruntled star looking to win elsewhere.

This trade might be the first win-win-win we’ve seen in a while, but that depends on what the Nets and Rockets do with all this shuffling.

Class A-

(Top photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)