Nets’ Draft-Pick Haul From Knicks for Bridges Is Less Important Than It Seems

When the New York Knicks finally made their blockbuster trade for a star wing to complete a starting five that is built for contention, it seemed incredible that they only had to part with one player in Bojan Bogdanović. The reason the Brooklyn Nets caved to Mikal Bridges’ request to be traded across town to the rival Knicks is because New York offered a draft-compensation haul that they simply couldn’t refuse.

Brooklyn secured four unprotected first-round picks in 2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031, an unprotected first-round pick swap in 2028, a top-four protected pick via the Milwaukee Bucks in 2025, and a second-round pick in 2025. This was a massive return for a player in Bridges who, while very good, has never sniffed an All-Star team in his career. The 27-year-old Bridges had no future in the current timeline of the franchise, making this a stellar trade for Brooklyn.

The scars that many teams have borne throughout NBA history from sending bunches of first-round picks to another team, only to see that team secure future stars while the piece received in return was disappointing, has caused some concern around the Knicks. Will parting ways with five first-rounders come back to bite them in the coming years?

While Brooklyn aced this trade, so did the Knicks. Here’s why the huge haul of picks isn’t a big problem for New York.

New York Has Their Complete Future Rotation Set Already

All 10 of NY’s franchise cornerstones are 29-years-old or younger

With the Bridges trade now complete, New York seemingly has their future group of players solidified, with a few small exceptions. One of the key moves was made on Wednesday when they re-signed Anunoby to a five-year deal.

The Knicks must also decide what to do with the future of their center position. Isaiah Hartenstein is a free agent who should command big bucks on the open market and is drawing interest from several teams, namely the Oklahoma City Thunder. One of him, or Mitchell Robinson, has likely played their last game in the orange and blue, and the other will assume the starting role at the five.

Lastly, New York may consider dealing Julius Randle for a star wing scorer upgrade or a connective piece role player for fit reasons, but it seems rather unlikely that they go this route unless a home-run trade becomes available.

With all that said, the Knicks will likely have a nine-man rotation going into 2024-25 that consists of Jalen Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, Randle, Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Deuce McBride, Precious Achiuwa, and Hartenstein/Robinson. Every single player listed is 29 years old or younger and is under contract for at least the next two seasons, except for Achiuwa (Assuming Anunoby signs a five-year extension).

Because of this, draft picks suddenly become somewhat meaningless for a franchise that will look to go to battle with the same core of players for the next half-decade-plus. Perhaps the 2029 or 2031 selections could be meaningful if this group breaks up by then, but even that is no guarantee.

There will simply be no room for any draftees to develop under Tom Thibodeau’s watch, barring catastrophic injury to several players.

These Draft Picks Are Likely To Be Late First-Rounders

If New York’s plan works, they will be contenders for years to come

Because all five of the selections NY sent to Brooklyn, as well as the Milwaukee pick, are likely owned by contending teams, they should fall somewhere in the mid-to-late 20s for the foreseeable future. It is difficult to see a scenario where the Knicks aren’t at the top of the league for at least the next four to five seasons, diminishing much of the value of their future draft selections.

Very few teams are set up as well as New York should be for the next half-decade, with their excellent core of players, improving youth, incredible culture, and sharp front office. Furthermore, the Knicks will be able to trade any of their overqualified role players for first-round picks in the future if their plan doesn’t pan out. Guys like DiVincenzo, McBride, Hart, and their two centers would fetch at least one pick, if not more.

New York’s front office has proven to be savvy with their moves on the margins, so you can expect smaller trades to be made over the year to recoup the lost draft capital if things go south.

Knicks Still Have Plenty of Picks Going Forward

New York also retained financial flexibility with the Bridges deal

The incredible turnaround of the Knicks’ front office into one of the most patient, methodical, and clever units in the NBA has allowed New York to move off so many valuable draft picks and still be equipped with several more in the future. Through many savvy moves on the margins over the past six years, New York has stockpiled enough selections to withstand such a loss of capital.

NY still has their two selections in the 2024 Draft as well as three other first-rounders until 2031. Furthermore, they have two protected picks from the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons which will convey at some point, giving the Knicks plenty of draft capital going forward to bolster their depth or make more trades.

Another aspect of this trade that will benefit New York in the near future is the reasonable salary of Bridges. Set to make roughly $24M per season until he hits free agency in 2026, the Knicks still had more than enough room to retain Anunoby and possibly Hartenstein, though the latter seems more unlikely at this point. Still, choosing Robinson over Hartenstein seems like a small price to pay to acquire a two-way stud like Bridges.

Although New York parted with a huge portion of their assets over the next eight drafts, they still have more than enough flexibility going forward to continue improving its already elite roster.

Related

Did the Knicks overpay for Mikal Bridges?

New York traded Bojan Bogdanovic, six picks and a pick swap to the Nets for Bridges on Tuesday, but considering the Knicks still have a boatload of picks for the next few drafts, I think a slight overpay is nothing for Knicks’ management to lose sleep over.