It is official. The New York Knicks are reuniting Mikal Bridges with his Villanova teammates Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo after agreeing to a trade with the Brooklyn Nets. The Knicks are sending Bojan Bogdanovic along with four unprotected first-round picks, a protected first-round pick via Bucks, an unprotected pick swap, and a second-rounder.

This comes as a massive shift for the Knicks, who are looking to retool its squad with the hopes of getting back to the top of the league after missing out on a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals when they lost to the Indiana Pacers in Game 7. Armed with a two-way guard in Bridges, it does seem that they are on the way to bigger development this offseason.

This addresses the need for the Brooklyn Nets, who did not have a draft pick until 2026 prior to the trade. The deal gives them a total of five first-round picks, a pick swap, and a second-round pick. So far, these picks will convey starting 2025, and will be there until 2028, which is the protected pick swap.

A New Dawn for the Knicks

For those who didn’t know, Brunson, Bridges, Hart, and DiVincenzo spent three seasons at Villanova together and went on to win a total of two national championships there. The Knicks have suffered a lot of injuries during the playoffs, and adding an Iron Man player in Mikal Bridges would be a good note, especially when he has not missed a game since entering the league. Bridges played a total of 82 games last season and was averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists for the Nets, which was his first full season since being traded from the Phoenix Suns.

The Knicks would have to come up with some changes in the squad still. OG Anunoby is coming in as a free agent this July, and with Bridges now in the squad, it does seem that there are still some unknowns whether Anunoby would be signed or not. The Knicks are slated to enter the 2024-25 season with a 25-year drought the Eastern Conference Finals, and fans are hoping to see Bridges be the spark who can help the Knicks reach that stage.

Nets Surging for Bigger Hopes

The Brooklyn Nets have also engaged in a deal after sending Bridges to New York, this time earning more picks to bring in some picks with the Houston Rockets. Houston is said to acquire the favorable first-rounders from Dallas and Phoenix after the Nets returned the 2026 first-rounder in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick from the Suns.

For the Nets, this comes as a favorable exchange as it means that they can position themselves in the coming years and structure a much more favorable rebuild. Let’s not forget the fact that the Nets are keen to make the most of the coming seasons in the hopes of finding value in their players to make some key trades in the long run.

For the Rockets, however, the goal is to bring in Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant in a future trade. While the Suns have already stated that they are not open to trading Durant, the Rockets are now armed with a luxury of picks that can possibly sway the Suns to bring in Durant in the long run.