This past weekend, the Brooklyn Nets officially announced the completion of the franchise’s first trade with the New York Knicks since 1983 that landed them five first round picks. At the core of the transaction, the Nets dealt forward Mikal Bridges to the Knicks in exchange for New York’s first round draft picks in 2025, 2027, 2029 and 2031, Milwaukee’s first round draft pick in 2025 which the Knicks owned (protected one through four) and a first round pick swap in 2028.
The Nets also gave up to the Knicks forward Keita Bates-Diop, a 2026 second round draft pick, and the draft rights to guard Juan Pablo Vaulet. The Knicks included forwards Bojan Bogdanović and Mamadi Diakite, and guard Shake Milton, in addition to the Nets’ own second round draft pick in 2025 that New York had possessed.
The Nets added to their stockpile of capital near the end of last month by reacquiring their 2025 pick first rounder (originally a pick swap) and 2026 first round pick, both traded to the Houston Rockets along with other assets in January 2021 for James Harden, by handing the Rockets a 2027 first round pick gained from the Phoenix Suns in the February 2023 Kevin Durant deal. Now they begin anew with first year head coach Jordi Fernandez shaping a young squad.
Speaking with the media on Monday at the HSS Training Center located in Industry City in Brooklyn, Nets general manager Sean Marks discussed the franchise’s thought process in deciding to trade Bridges to the Knicks.
“It’s a difficult decision because Mikal was a focal point of this organization for the last year since we did the (Durant) trade,” said Marks. “Not an easy decision, but at the same time when you have an offer like we did from New York, I think that sets us up on a very, very clear direction and pathway to continue to build this team with sustainable success, and that’s the ultimate goal here.”
Marks also addressed the re-signing of rising 25-year-old center Nic Claxton to a four-year, $100 million contract.
I give Nic a heck of a lot of credit for seeing the next steps he’s taken year by year with his game,” complimented Marks. “I think he’s still scratching the surface here and I just love his overall approach to him wanting more and more and more development.”
