Knicks reportedly add to Mikal Bridges blockbuster trade with Nets
The Brooklyn Nets agreed to trade Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks for a package of Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, a first-round pick via the Milwaukee Bucks, an unprotected pick swap and a second-round pick last week, according to ESPN. This trade has now been expanded, The Athletic reported on Thursday.
New York is now also sign-and-trading guard Shake Milton to Brooklyn, which sends forward Keita Bates-Diop to New York. Milton will sign a three-year, $9 million deal with the Nets.
Bridges, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, will be reunited with his former Villanova teammates Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo. Bridges averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and a steal per game in 82 games with the Nets last season. He's an excellent defender and a career 37.5% 3-point shooter.
Bridges will join a Knicks forward group that, last season, featured OG Anunoby. Anunoby opted out of his contract on Tuesday, according to multiple reports. If Anunoby re-signs with the Knicks — something he's widely expected to do — then New York will have two All-Star-quality wings at their disposal alongside the trio of Hart, Brunson and DiVincenzo.
The Nets acquired Bridges in February 2023 as part of the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns. The Knicks traded for Bogdanovic at the trade deadline last season. Bogdanovic's postseason was cut short due to a foot injury in New York's first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia 76ers that required season-ending surgery.
The Knicks finished the 2023-24 season with a record of 50-32 and were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals after winning back-to-back series for the first time since 1999-2000.
