The New York Knicks are reportedly acquiring Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031, and an unprotected pick swap in 2028. According to ESPN, they are also getting Milwaukee’s top-four protected pick in 2025.
In second trade, the Nets regained control of their own 2025 and 2026 picks by sending Houston Phoenix’s 2025 and 2027 picks, which were acquired in the Kevin Durant trade.
Karalis’ analysis: The Knicks saw Boston in their way and decided they didn’t have enough wing depth to compete, so they went all in for Brooklyn’s star player.
The first big question is how the deal is structured because that will impact whether they can keep OG Anunoby. Under the current reported structure, the Knicks will be hard-capped at the first apron because they took back more money than they sent out. With only 10 players under contract and $46 million to go until they hit the first apron, giving Anunoby a contract that starts at $40 million a year will make fielding a team almost impossible and it would cost them Isaiah Hartenstein, Precious Achiuwa, Alec Burks, and Shake Milton.
IF the deal goes through as reported, then the deal essentially becomes Bogdanovic, Anunoby, Hartenstein, and Achiuwa for Bridges and that's a lot to give up. If they restructure the deal to add some salary, then they can bring Anunoby back, re-sign Hartenstein and maybe Achiuwa, and build out a deep roster.
So the final analysis of this trade has to wait a couple of weeks until the final structure and the ripple effects are figured out.
If they keep Anunoby, then the Knicks have him, Bridges, Julius Randle, and Josh Hart on the perimeter to defend Boston’s wings. They can throw some switchable lineups out there with Mitchell Robinson behind them as rim-protecting support. Even with Jalen Brunson as an attackable weak spot, there is a lot of defense behind him to make up for his shortcomings. That would make Kritstaps Porzingis and Al Horford pivotal in a playoff series against the Knicks. Pulling Robinson out of the paint would be critical and it would allow the Celtics to pick at those weak spots.
Bridges helps ease the scoring burden on Brunson and provides some insurance against Randle disappearing in the playoffs. Brunson’s playoff run was incredible, but it’s hard to believe he can provide that consistently. Adding Bridges will make it so Brunson doesn’t have to score 40 a game for the Knicks to put up points.
Taking the pressure off Randle might be the biggest impact of this deal. Now, blitzing Brunson to get the ball out of his hands gives the Knicks two real scoring options. With Bridges’ ability to score, Randle will face less resistance and pressure to carry the scoring load on nights Brunson doesn’t have it. Randle can have a 17-point game if Bridges is there to score 25. And any additional scoring on the floor just gives role players more space to operate.
So defending the Knicks will obviously be tougher. With Tom Thibodeau’s embracing of analytics, the Knicks will have some big scoring nights. The question with Thibodeau is whether he will learn from running his team into the ground and them falling apart in the second round. There's only so much the human body can do, even at that level of athletic performance. Thibs always seems determined to figure out what that limit is.
The Knicks have a pretty clear chance to be a top two or three team, depending on how the Milwaukee Bucks improve their defense. New York is trying to build a team to beat Boston, and they got a little closer with Bridges, but the Anunoby piece needs to be resolved before we crown them as Boston’s biggest challenger. They will play tough defense and they’ll be harder to stop with Bridges, but Boston is still the better team.
However you slice it, it’s clear that teams are starting to look at Boston as a major obstacle for the foreseeable future. New York is trying to load up on wings to try to replicate, and beat, the Celtics. They got closer, but I’m not sure if it’s close enough. If New York can’t bring Anunoby back, then how much they actually improved will be up for more debate.
As for Brooklyn, they are loading up on draft picks hoping for a quick rebuild. They have four picks in the 2025 draft now, including their own. So if you're a fan of Cooper Flagg, there's a pretty good chance he'll be playing in Brooklyn. The Nets are hoping to hit on a couple of young stars a year from now and make this rebuild a quick one. If they can hit on some picks, they can use some of those leftover picks to hunt established stars a few years from now.