Advertisement

Nets trading Mikal Bridges to Knicks for Bojan Bogdanović, draft picks: Report

The Villanova Knicks just added another former Wildcats star to the mix

ryan young
Staff writer
·4 min read
303

Mikal Bridges is headed to Manhattan to join his former teammates.

The Brooklyn Nets struck a deal to trade Bridges to the New York Knicks on Tuesday night, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. In exchange, the Nets will receive Bojan Bogdanović and a slew of future draft capital — including four unprotected first-round picks.

The deal will reunite Bridges, a former Villanova star, with former Wildcats Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. Bridges spent three seasons at Villanova and won two national championships there.

The group even hopped on a big FaceTime call Tuesday night.

The Nets will receive an unprotected first-round pick in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031, according to Wojnarowski. They'll also receive a protected first-round pick from the Milwaukee Bucks in 2025, a second-round pick in 2025 and a protected pick swap in 2028.

Bridges averaged 19.6 points and 4.5 rebounds last year with the Nets, his first full season with the team after they landed him in the Kevin Durant deal with the Phoenix Suns before the deadline in 2023. He has two years left on his four-year, $90.9 million deal.

Mikal Bridges headshot
Mikal Bridges
SF - NY - #25
2023 - 2024 season
19.6
Pts
4.5
Reb
3.6
Ast
0.4
Blk
34:48
Min

Bagdanović, 35, was traded to the Knicks earlier this season from the Detroit Pistons and was critical in their playoff run — which ended in the Eastern Conference semifinals for a second straight season. He averaged 10.4 points and two rebounds in 29 games off the bench.

The Nets, who have since hired head coach Jordi Fernández, went just 32-50 last season and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They are now looking at a significant rebuild, which, considering the draft picks they now have available, is absolutely possible in the coming years.

Though the Knicks still have important pieces to figure out this offseason — especially when it comes to free agent OG Anunoby — they are clearly hoping Bridges' Villanova reunion can power them at least to the Eastern Conference finals after what will be a 25-year drought next spring.

The Nets weren't done there.

Shortly after that deal was reported, the Nets struck a deal to restructure several draft picks with the Houston Rockets.

According to Wojnarowski, that deal was done because the Rockets want to make a move to land Suns star Kevin Durant in a future trade. While the Suns haven't said they are willing to deal Durant, who will enter his 18th year in the league this fall, the Rockets now have the picks to potentially pull off such a deal.

On Wednesday afternoon, ahead of the NBA Draft, Suns owner Mat Ishbia seemed to insist that neither the Suns nor Durant want to part ways with each other.

"NBA Draft night is the best. Everyone talking about the drama and storylines, some are right and some are just wrong," he wrote on social media. "My turn. Phoenix loves Kevin Durant and Kevin Durant loves Phoenix, and we are competing for a championship this year because we have the team to do it. Gotta love draft night! Go Suns."

If a deal with Durant doesn't happen, which Ishbia believes it won't, the Rockets are "determined" to use the Suns' picks to be aggressive elsewhere. The Rockets are reportedly "seeking a major upgrade now." Houston went 41-41 last season and just barely missed the playoffs under first-year head coach Ime Udoka.